Today, I'm talking about punctuation.
In the second part, you will improve your English fluency with a fun mini-story.
It's like having a conversation with another person in English.
Before we start, visit to get the transcript of this episode.
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Okay, today I'm talking about punctuation.
By this word, I mean the different spelling marks used when writing.
These are the main ones.
Period or full stop.
Full stop is a punctuation mark that we use to show the end of a sentence.
Commas are the ideal punctuation mark to divide sentences or indicate when to pause.
Apostrophes.
We use them to identify something that belongs to someone, or to show a letter or multiple letters are missing from a word.
Colons. are used to precede a list of items, a quotation, or an expansion or explanation.
Semicolons indicate a pause, usually between two main sentences, longer than the indicated by a comma.
Ellipsis.
We use them to show that one or more words have been removed from a quote and create suspense by adding a pause before the end of a sentence.
And we can also use it to show the end of a thought.
Quotation marks.
Inform the reader that you have used written material from other sources or direct speech.
Question marks.
Indicate that the speaker is asking a question.
They're used at the end of the question or interrogative sentences.
Exclamation marks.
These can change the sentence meaning and tone.
They still end a sentence.
But they can add emotion, whether excitement, anger or nervousness.
Round brackets are used, similarly to commas, when we want to add an explanation, an afterthought or a comment related to our primary line of thought but different from it.
Square brackets or brackets we use them for special purposes, such as technical manuals.
Hyphen We use it to join words and separate syllables of a single word.
Punctuations can be very confusing, especially if you don't know where to place them and can change the entire meaning of what you want to say.
Let's look at some examples of situations when we do not use punctuation marks properly.
Number 1.
Woman without man.
A teacher wrote the following sentence on a board and asked his class to punctuate it.
The sentence was, Woman without her man is nothing.
Half the class punctuated the sentence in the following way.
Woman without her man is nothing.
The other half of the class responded with the following.
Woman without her man is nothing.
Fascinating how punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence entirely.
Another example.
In this example, commas matter.
We could say, let's eat, granny.
Or, let's eat, granny.
Do you see the difference?
Number three.
Eat your dinner.
You say to a child, Eat your dinner.
And you say to a cow, Eat your dinner.
Here, apostrophes matter.
Another example.
I'm sorry I love you.
When you're in a terrible fight, you might say a horrible thing like this one.
I'm sorry I love you.
And when you want to make up again, you can say, I'm sorry I love you.
Number five.
I find inspiration in cooking my family and my dog.
That sounds crazy, right?
We need some commas here.
Let's hear it again.
I find inspiration in cooking my family and my dog.
That's much better.
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Okay, now it's time for you to practice your speech with a mini-story.
What's a mini-story?
A mini-story is very simple.
I give you information using phrases, and then I ask you questions.
After each question, there will be some seconds of silence.
It's your turn to answer the question.
Just try to give an easy and a short answer, not a complex one.
After your answer, I'll give you the correct answer.
And just like that, I'll tell you a story with questions and answers.
Are you ready?
When Tom sent written messages, misunderstandings always occurred.
Were there sometimes misunderstandings?
No, not sometimes.
There were always misunderstandings whenever Tom sent written messages.
When were there misunderstandings?
When Tom sent written messages, text messages.
What was there?
Misunderstandings.
There were misunderstandings.
The problem was that he never used any punctuation marks.
Yes, that was the problem.
He didn't use any punctuation marks.
The problem was that he didn't use road signs.
No, no, not road signs.
Punctuation marks.
Who didn't use punctuation marks?
Tom didn't use punctuation marks.
Tom started using punctuation marks.
But he put them all at the end of the message.
Did Tom start using punctuation marks?
Yes.
He started using punctuation marks.
He started using them.
Did he use them correctly?
No, he didn't use them correctly.
He used them incorrectly.
Tom's plan made the situation worse, not better.
What did it make better?
Nothing.
It didn't make anything better.
It made the situation worse.
What made the situation worse?
Tom's plan.
Tom's plan made the situation worse.
In the end, Tom, tired, started sending video and audio voicemails instead of written messages.
Was Tom tired?
Yes, he was tired.
What did he start doing?
He started sending videos and voice audios.
Instead of written messages.
Instead of what?
Written messages.
He started sending videos and audios instead of messages.
Very good.
That's the end of this exercise.
Poor Tom.
He didn't know where to put punctuation marks.
So he put them all at the end of the message.
That doesn't make any sense.
Tired of so many misunderstandings, he sent videos and voicemails.
That way, he avoided misunderstandings.
Perfect!
It's the end of this mini-story.
As you can see through questions and answers, you can practice and improve your speech, just like in a real conversation.
It is one of the techniques that I use in my premium courses.
I recommend you to take a look at speakenglishpodcast.com slash courses.
It will help you with your English.
See you soon.
Bye-bye.