This week we turn our attention to the practical use of punctuation and how understanding it can help improve our writing.
Punctuation isn’t grammar. But it does govern how we express grammar and, if we are audio dramatists, how a line and its meaning is communicated to an actor. It is the writer’s responsibility to communicate effectively and, though typos WILL happen, a thorough understanding of punctuation goes a long way to ensuring our intended meaning makes it to the page. As such I thought it would be a good idea to interrupt this series for a quick look at the rules of punctuation.
Before we start, though. Let’s take a quick, and amusing, look at what a difference punctuation can make.
- “Let’s eat grandma!” vs. “Let’s eat, grandma!”
- “Eat your dinner” vs. “Eat. You’re dinner!”
- “Twenty five-dollar bills” vs. “Twenty-five dollar bills”
- “I want to thank my parents, Tiffany and God” vs. “I want to thank my parents, Tiffany, and God”
- “I’m sorry I love you” vs. “I’m sorry; I love you.”
- “Man eating chicken” vs. “Man-eating chicken”
- “I find inspiration in cooking my family and my dog” vs. “I find inspiration in cooking, my family, and my dog”
- “A woman without her man is nothing” vs. “A woman: without her, man is nothing”
Most written expression can be managed with a full stop/period and a comma. Dialog is no exception and can be expressed adequately, even well, with these two tools alone. But to limit ourselves to these two forms of punctuation is to limit the range of expression we can engage in. It’s like building a house with only a hammer and a saw. It can be done, but not very well.
THE PURPOSE OF PUNCTUATION
Punctuation guides how a line is delivered. It seeks to make up for the fact that, on paper, language lacks expression (the gestures and tones of voice we use when speaking face-to-face).
Take the following lines…
- MORT: I heard about the accident, old man, and I hope you’re feeling better. Will it cost much to repair the car?”. When spoken aloud, the parenthetical “old man” is expressed by dropping the voice slightly. The full stop/period indicates a drop in the voice at the end of a thought. The question mark indicates a query that, vocally, is expressed by a slight rise in the voice.
Further, look at the following lines…
- ALVIN: And then Jack said, “if you’d only followed my instructions in the first place, you wouldn’t be in this mess”. Sheesh! He never could resist saying “I told you so!”.
When quoting someone in conversation we change our tone of voice when we want to communicate that we are expressing someone else’s words. Quotation marks indicate this on paper. Exclamation points indicate in writing that a strong emotion is being expressed. In speech strong emotions are expressed with a change of pitch and an increase in volume.
THE MARKS
There are only fourteen punctuation marks in English (that can be grouped in five broad categories) and they are surprisingly easy to learn (if harder to master).
The marks (in their categories) are as follows.
- Sentence endings: period, question mark, exclamation point
- Comma, colon, and semicolon
- Dash and hyphen
- Brackets, braces, and parentheses
- Apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis
SENTENCE ENDINGS
Full Stop/Period (.)
This one is probably the most straightforward. Also referred to as a full stop, the period denotes the end of a sentence. A full sentence is considered as one that contains a complete thought and is made up of a subject and a predicate.
- WALTER: The dog ran under the fence.
It is also used in abbreviations, such as are used in names, titles, and organizational acronyms.
- ANDREW: Call Dr. Smith. He’s having a heart attack!
Of less relevance to the audio writer, periods are sometimes used to separate numbers in a date.
- 1. 22. 1969
Question Mark (?)
A question mark also ends a sentence, however it is concerned with ending a sentence that is a direct question. Typically, sentences that are questions begin with what, how, when, where, why, or who.
- WALTER: How did the dog get under the fence?
- ANDREW: Where’s the doctor?
A question mark also denotes a shift in tone in a sentence when read out loud. This tonal shift can be useful in keeping text from getting boring.
Exclamation Point (!)
The exclamation point or exclamation mark is also used at the end of a sentence to express an intense emotion. They add emphasis to the sentence, but can easily be overused. Limit the number of exclamation points used in your plays. The emotion expressed can be varied; excitement, disgust, anger, joy, etc.
- WALTER: Look out! He bites.
- ANDREW: Doctor! Over here.
COMMA, COLON, AND SEMI-COLON
Comma ( , )
Commas separate information into readable units.
A single comma can indicate that someone is being addressed.
- BILL: Jim, how are you doing?
It can also separates one clause from another.
- WALTER: When he started digging in the yard, I didn’t expect he would tunnel his way out.
- ANDREW: To dial emergency isn’t enough, you have to try and stop the bleeding.
A pair of commas can set off an aside (or parenthetical statement) from the main idea.
- WALTER: That dog, mangy though he is, remains the most loyal creature I ever met.
- ANDREW: You’re saying that, to stop the bleeding, I should apply pressure to the wound?
A set of commas can indicate a list.
- WALTER: The dog’s tags list his name, date of birth, my address and telephone number.
- ANDREW: The insurance company wants to know his medical client number, coverage type, date of last payment, and most recent bank balance.
Colon (:)
A colon has three main uses. The first is to introduce something, such as a quote, example, explanation, or series.
- WALTER: There are four kinds of dog; pure-bred, mutt, inside, or outside.
A colon can also be used to link two independent clauses if the second clause clarifies or completes the first one. For example:
- ANDREW: We’ve got to hurry: he’ll die if we don’t.
Finally, a colon can also emphasize a subject in a sentence:
- WALTER: I only hate one kind of human being: the kind that hurts dogs.
Semicolon (;)
Where the colon can be used to expand upon an idea, the semi-colon can be used to link two ideas (two sentences) together. A full stop/period could be used in its place but the semi-colon tells us the sentences are connected in some way.
- WALTER: To err is human; to own a dog is divine.
A less common use for semicolons is within a list that uses commas.
- ANDREW: That doctor’s studied all around the world. He’s studied in London, England; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Athens, Greece.
DASH AND HYPHEN
Dash (-)
There are two types of dash.
En dash: The en dash is shorter and used to denote a range, such as between numbers or dates. It is rarely used in a script since script writers aim to make the delivery of the lines explicit.
Instead of “My first dog lived from 1990-2000” or “The doctor travelled via the New York-Chicago train” we would write “My first dog lived from nineteen ninety to two thousand” or “The doctor travelled via the New York to Chicago train”
- The company was operational from 1990-2000.
- He took the Chicago-New York train last night.
Em dash: The em dash is longer, and is sometimes used instead of other punctuation marks, like commas, colons, or parentheses. Here’s an example:
- WALTER: Take my dog – he’s the big one on the left – and put him in the house.
- ANDREW: Is this doctor any good? – Yes!
Hyphen (-)
Not to be confused with a dash, the hyphen is used in compound words to connect the two parts.
- BOB: She’s my mother-in-law.
- HETTY: He’s my ex-boyfriend.
The hyphen is also used to link words that are not usually associated with one another into a single idea.
- MAX: They’ve scheduled another Information-audit.
The hyphen also links a pair of words that function as an adjective before a noun.
- BRIAN: Australia is now a post-industrial economy, which is a kind way of saying we import everything and produce nothing ourselves.
BRACKETS, BRACES, AND PARENTHESES
Parenthesis (())
In standard English, parentheses are used to elaborate upon or make a digression from the sentence in which they appear.
- MAX: Michelle (who works at the local gas station) gave me directions to the hotel.
Commas are generally interchangeable with parentheses.
In audio drama parentheses are used to provide directions to the actor (LOUDLY), (AT A DISTANCE), (BEAT) and guides to pronunciation (KART-A-HAY-NYA) for Cartagena. Such directions are provided in all-caps to indicate they should not be pronounced out loud. Because of this it is best to avoid parenthesis and use commas or dashes where possible (though parenthesis remain an allowable element in scripts). Square brackets also have a specific use in audio drama.
Braces ({})
Braces are similar to parenthesis but are rarely used. They allow the writer to make a list within a list.
- MAX: I went home to pack my bags {clothes, toiletries, and books}, switched off the electricals, and locked my doors and windows.
They can also be used in the representation of mathematical computations.
Brackets ([])
Generally, brackets are used to clarify something, provide explanations of technical terms, and provide parenthetical comments within quotations.
- MAX: As Sun Tzu once said “The supreme art of war [in all its forms] is to subdue the enemy without fighting”.
- GEORGE: The C.I.A [Central Intelligence Agency] is a sort of club house for spies.
- ANGIE: The carburettor [a device that mixes air and fuel for combustion] is filthy. It needs to be cleaned.
In audio drama, square brackets are also best avoided as they are generally reserved for numbering sound effects [1], [2], [3], and identifying sections of the script that should be cued by the director [CUE].
APOSTROPHE, QUOTATION MARKS, AND ELLIPSES
Apostrophe (‘)
The apostrophe is used to mark possession (singular and plural).
- MAX: It’s George’s fishing rod. The basket belongs to the Georges.
- JIM: It’s the Georges’ basket?
It is also used to indicate contractions (words from which letters have been omitted).
- MAX: I can’t figure out why you’re here, Jim. It’s been frustrating me. Won’t you explain?
It can also be useful when writing dialog that involves dropped h’s and g’s.
- ELIZA: ‘ow do you know that ain’t exactly what I been sayin’ all along?
The apostrophe can also be used to indicate quotation marks within quotation marks.
- SAUL: He told me that “Gerald said ‘any fool can do it if he tries'”.
Quotation Marks (“”)
Quotation Marks are used to indicate (and enclose) words spoken by someone else.
If it appears in a novel, dialog is usually placed inside quotation marks. This is not necessary in an audio script, except where a speaker is quoting another individual.
- JENNY: George told me that “Walter is a liar. He’s never owned a dog in his life.” Would you believe that?
Generally, commas and full-stops/periods are placed inside the quotation marks, while colons, semi-colons and dashes are placed outside.
Ellipses (…)
An Ellipsis marks the omission of a word or words. If the omission includes the end of a sentence the glyph has four dots (….) instead of three.
- SERGIO: I’m gonna count backwards from ten. If you ain’t told me what I want to know by the time I’m done, well….
- TOOTS: Sergio’s gonna leave what comes next up to your imagination.
- SERGIO: Ten, Nine, Eight….
- MAX: Alright, alright. I’ll talk.
It’s not rocket science, but mastering punctuation and basic grammar helps us to communicate our thoughts on the page far more effectively than we might otherwise have been able to.
Copyright Philip Craig Robotham © 2021 .
