The period is an all-powerful punctuation that can put an end,
literally, to anything you put it on. It is easy to disregard this punctuation
as you go about your PTE review online; however, that will be a big
mistake. Many test-takers have fallen to the trap of not caring enough and
ended up failing their PTE.
As a PTE test-taker, you should understand that there’s more to
this punctuation than just ending sentences. Take time to understand the
intricacies of the use of the period and boost your exam preparation.
3 USES OF THE PERIOD
1.
Ending a complete sentence
A complete sentence, of course, is a clause that has a subject and
a predicate and expresses a complete thought. A period is used to signify that
the sentence has ended. Hence that is why the period is also called a full
stop. Seems simple enough, right?
Tomorrow, a new day is coming.
BE CAREFUL WITH…
…ending a non-sentence with a period.
Remember: sentence expresses a complete thought. If it does not, then don’t end
it with a sentence.
When she arrived. I was about to sleep.
The clause “When she arrived” has a noun (she) and a verb
(arrived); however, it does not express a complete thought, unlike the
statement following it.
2. Aids in abbreviation
Abbreviations are contractions of longer words. Full stops are
used to identify abbreviations and avoid confusion.
•
etc. for et cetera
•
p.m. for post meridiem
•
Inc. for incorporated
BE CAREFUL WITH…
…sentences ending with abbreviations.
Although rule #1 states you should end sentences with a full stop if the last
word is an abbreviation, the full stop is omitted.
•
For the trip tomorrow, bring some pocket money, your mobile phone,
extra clothes, etc.
•
Meet me in the hallway at precisely 6:00 p.m.
•
I’ll be an instructor at JRooz Review Center, Inc.
Also, take although acronyms are technically abbreviations, you do
not always need to use full stops after every letter. Per usual practice, if an
acronym is pronounced as a word, the full stops are not used: NASA, NATO,
SCUBA. If each letter is pronounced, you may or may not use the full stops:
USA/U.S.A., NBA/N.B.A., UNICEF/U.N.I.C.E.F.
3. Used for indirect
questions
An indirect question is a statement where the writer states that
someone asked something.
He asked if you love him.
BE CAREFUL WITH…
…sentences that needs to end with an exclamation or question mark. These
punctuations omit the full stop at the end and are used to emphasize an emotion
(as with exclamation marks) or ask a direct question (as with question marks).
Do you
love me?
I love
you!
Avoid punctuation pitfalls by following these tips during your PTE course preparation.
SOURCES
“Rules for Using Periods.” Webucator. Accessed on July 18, 2019. Accessed
from: https://www.webucator.com/how-to/rules-for-using-periods.cfm
“Grammar Rules: Period Punctuation Rules & Examples.” Ginger. Accessed
on July 18, 2019. Accessed from: https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/use-period-correctly/
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