punctuate

Everyday

1. To punctuate writing is to put in punctuation marks, like full stops, commas, question marks and speech marks. tree →
2. To punctuate something also means to interrupt it again and again: the speech was punctuated by cheers. tree →
3. To punctuate can mean to stress a point: he punctuated his words by banging the table. tree →

In the lessons

In English lessons, pupils are told to «punctuate your writing correctly» and «punctuate the speech»: capital letters, full stops, commas in lists, apostrophes, and inverted commas round spoken words. In stories, «punctuated by» shows something happening at intervals: silence punctuated by drips. Phrases: «punctuate correctly», «punctuate the sentence», «punctuated by», «punctuated with».

Examples

• Punctuate this sentence: where are you going asked tom tree →
• Remember to punctuate your story with full stops and capital letters. tree →
• She punctuated the dialogue with speech marks. tree →
• The quiet night was punctuated by an owl's hoot. tree →
• His talk was punctuated with jokes. tree →
• The teacher punctuated each rule by tapping the board. tree →
• Can you punctuate the list with commas? tree →

Note

Noun: «punctuation» (uncountable). Spelled with «-uate», like «graduate». The second meaning is common in stories and the exam voice. Do not confuse with «punctual» (on time), though both come from a Latin word for "point".