requesting advice regarding punctuation

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dinosaur2007
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Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 10:36 am

requesting advice regarding punctuation

Post by dinosaur2007 »

Hello,
I always feel confused when trying to use some punctuation marks in some situations. For example, when using the words "however" and "therefore", when to use a semicolon before them and when to put a full stop. Another thing I'd like to ask about is the problem with the word "so". When should I use a comma before it? When should I use a semicolon before it? And when should I omit punctuation marks altogether?

These rules have always been a nuisance to me when I attempt to use them. I am now requesting your help regarding this issue.

If you have comments on the the above writing regarding punctuation usage, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.
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Ryan
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Re: requesting advice regarding punctuation

Post by Ryan »

I'm sorry no one got back to you on this, dinosaur2007.

The grammatical items you identified are punctuated according to their situation. For example, the word 'however' is preceded by a semicolon when it joins two independent clauses:

Production typically peaks towards the end of each month; however, this month has been abnormal.

'However' doesn't have to connect two independent clauses, though. You can use it like this:

Production typically peaks towards the end of the month. However, this month has been abnormal.

The Purdue OWL resources can help you answer any additional questions you might have: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/04/
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