Grammar Tips and Rules

Quotation marks

Quotation marks are used:

1. At the beginning and end of a quote. Example: “God, oh God! where are you that you don’t answer!”

2. In foreign words or expressions, archaisms, neologisms, slang, etc. Example: I went to Djavan’s “show”.

3. Emphasize words and expressions. Examples: My brother is not “that” you think.

4. Ironize the terms of a prayer. Example: There was always a “why” in everything he said.

Two points

Two points are used to:

1. Announce a character's speech. Example: The teacher ordered: -Be silent!

2. To announce an enumeration. Example: The interviewees for the program will be the following: Roberto, Carla and Rodrigo.

3. To announce a clarification. Example: listen to this carefully: you only live well when you have peace.

4. To announce a quote. Example: The philosopher Descartes said: I think, therefore I am.

5. In the invocation of correspondences. Example: Dear friend:

6. Before appositive clauses. Example: We defend an idea: that everyone should have access to health, education and security.

Parentheses

Relatives are employed to:

1. Isolate explanatory words. Example: The school principal asked the students to maintain the school, and everyone (except Bruno) decided to help.

2. Highlight dates. Example: Gregório de Matos (1633-1695) was the greatest expression of Brazilian Baroque.

3. Isolate interspersed sentences. Example: Mr Bartolomeu (may God rest his soul!) was an arrogant and bad-tempered person.

4. Scenic indications (in plays, TV scripts, etc.). Example: (Desperate Paloma enters) – Where, where is she?

Semicolon

Used for:

1. Separate coordinated clauses, if one of them already has a comma. Example: It was very hot that morning; some guests, I thought, had gone to the beach.

2. Separate coordinated sentences with opposite meanings. Example: children will travel today; adults will travel tomorrow.

3. Separates items from a list, a regulation, a decree, a law, etc. Example: Art.17 – It is prohibited: I- smoking in a closed place; II- have medium and large animals;

Points

Period (.) – Employed at:

1. Simple period. Example: The football match was exciting.

2. In the compound period: Example: I don't want you to be afraid of me.

3. In abbreviations. Example: dC – after Christ/ Av. – avenue/ pl. - plural form.

Question mark (?) – Used when you want to mark direct interrogative sentences. Example: Where are the pens I lost?

Stay tuned!

1. A question mark is not used in indirect questions. Example: Melissa asked where the books she lost were.

2. In sentences with interrogative and exclamatory intonation, the question mark and the exclamation mark appear side by side. Example: You again?! That's not possible!

Exclamation mark (!) – Employed in:

1. In exclamatory sentences. Example: What a beautiful day!

2. Interjections and onomatopoeia. Example: Wow!/ Plim-Plim!

3. Imperative verb. Example: Turn off the light!/Close the door!

4. After flying. Example: Be patient, Maria!

Reticence

Ellipsis is used to indicate:

1. Doubt, hesitation or surprise. Example: I was thinking…I don't know whether to invest money in real estate or stocks.

2. Interruption of the narrator or character's speech. Example: – I love you, said Luís in a low voice. When Jorge didn't listen, Luisa said again: “I tell you…”, but was interrupted by her parents.

3. Word suppression. Example: Cristina seemed impatient: – Daddy, I want… you know… I… I want that doll.

4. At the end of a sentence, the meaning continues. Example: And life goes on.

dash

The dash is used to:

1. Indicate the change of interlocutor in the dialogue. Example: -Good morning, Carlos. How are you? – Good morning, Aristides. I am fine.

2. Isolate the final part of a statement. Example: We all make mistakes – sometimes unjustifiable mistakes.

3. Isolate words or phrases, using a double dash. Example: Chula – a typical dance from the south of the country – is accompanied by an accordion and guitar.

4. Connect groups of words that indicate itinerary. Example: The Presidente Dutra highway is the road that connects Rio – São Paulo.

Comma usage

Maid for:

a) separate elements of an enumeration. Example: Children, young people and old people demonstrated against violence.

b) separate the appositive. Example: Rita, that happy girl, had an unhappy life.

c) wait for the vocative. Example: Dinner is served, Madam!

d) separate the anticipated adverbial adjunct. Example: Early in the morning, a terrible crash was heard.

Stay tuned!

If the adverbial adjunct came at the end of the sentence, the use of a comma would not be necessary.

e) isolate the name of the place in the dates. Example: Salvador, December 10, 2013.

f) Indicate the omission of a term. Example: Everyone was happy; he is very sad.

g) after yes and no, used as an answer, at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: – Do you go to school?

               -Yes, I will.or –No, I will stay at home.

h) to separate explanatory or rectifying words and expressions. Example: They went to the beach yesterday, in fact, the day before yesterday.

i) to separate terms displaced from their normal position in the sentence. Example: I like sweets.

j) to separate parallel elements of a proverb. Example: Like father, like son.

In the compound period, the comma is used to:

1. Separate asyndetic coordinated clauses. Example: He went to the bedroom, grabbed a blanket, thought for a few moments, lay down on the bed.

2. Separates syndetic coordinated clauses, except those beginning with the conjunction and, or and nor. Example: He did what he could, as he felt guilty about the incident.

3. Isolate explanatory adjective subordinate clauses. Example: Man, who is an intelligent being, is also prone to error.

4. Separate adverbial subordinate clauses, when they come before the main clause. Example: When the holidays arrived, everyone went to Mato Grosso.

5. To separate reduced sentences. Example: After the class ended, the students were dismissed.

No comma is used between:

1. The subject and the predicate. Example: The school students formed a committee.

2. The verb its complements. Example: The tourist asked the driver for information.

3. The name and the nominal complement. Example: Reading the newspaper is essential.

4. The name is the adnominal adjunct. Example: The morning light came through the windows.

5. The main clause and the subordinate noun, as long as it is not appositive. Example: I hope you are happy