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The semicolon is half way between a comma and a colon. We sometimes use a semicolon
instead of a full stop or period. This is to separate sentences that are grammatically independent but
that have closely connected meaning.
Josef likes coffee; Mary likes tea.
2. Use a semicolon as a kind of "super comma". When we have a list of items, we usually
separate the items with commas. If the list is complicated, we may prefer to use semi-colons in
some cases.
ABC Investments has offices in five locations: Kensington, London; Brighton & Hove; and
Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester.
The apostrophe is a raised comma. Use an apostrophe in possessive forms:
the ball of the boy → the boy's ball
2. Use an apostrophe in contracted forms (the apostrophe shows that letters have been left
out):
cannot → can't
they have → they've
Certain words are sometimes written with an apostrophe (to show that they are really a
shortened form of the original, longer word):
influenza → 'flu (or flu)
telephone → 'phone (or phone)
Some people use an apostrophe when the first two figures of a year are left out:
1948 → '48
3. You can use an apostrophe to show the plural of letters and numbers:
You should dot your i's and cross your t's.
Do you like music from the 1950's?
You can use an apostrophe to show a plural form for words that are not normally plural:
Your plan is good, even if there are lots of if's and but's in it.
The ellipsis mark consists of three dots (periods). We use the ellipsis mark in place of
missing words. If we intentionally omit one or more words from an original text, we replace them
with an ellipsis mark.
Suppose we want to quote "The film focused on three English learners from Asia who were
studying at university."
Perhaps we want to omit "from Asia who were" to save space. So we write:
"The film focused on three English learners...studying at university."
The new sentence still makes sense, but the ellipsis mark shows the reader that something is
missing.
We sometimes also use an ellipsis mark to indicate a pause when someone is speaking, or an
unfinished sentence. Look at these examples:
She turned to James and said, "Darling, there is something...I need to tell you. I have never
felt like...like this before."
" Do we use a space with an ellipsis mark? That is a question of style. Many style manuals
recommend no space, like this:
three English learners...studying at university
Others recommend using a space before and after an ellipsis mark, like this:
three English learners ... studying at university
The important thing is that you choose one style and use it consistently. Do not mix your
styles.
Punctuation Styles
Although there are general rules for English punctuation, there can be differences of style.
For example, some people don't put a full stop (period) after abbreviations (Dr, Ltd); others do (Dr.,
Ltd.). Some people don't use an apostrophe in the plural form of dates (1990s); others do (1990's).
Some prefer single quotation marks ('example') rather than double quotation marks ("example").
These differences in punctuation style can be found between:

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