Why punctuation marks are needed

Punctuation is a system of punctuation marks and the rules by which they are put on the letter. Punctuation marks express the semantic completeness of a sentence, its division, pauses, intonational features of speech.

If intonation expresses the meaning of a statement orally, then punctuation marks are written. For example, a dot expresses the completeness of a sentence, and an ellipsis represents a pause or unfinished thought. Question and exclamation marks are used to express intonation, depending on the purpose of the statement. A question mark at the end of a sentence indicates a question, an exclamation point indicates a wider range of emotions (order, admiration, surprise, delight, supplication, etc.)

The comma serves as a separator of several sentences in the compound, it is used when listing homogeneous members, it isolates various turns of speech, introductory words and sentences, appeals, interjections, affirmative, negative and interrogative words. A dash highlights or separates sentences from each other, and is also used as a bundle. Depending on the semantic load of the sentence, punctuation marks in it can "replace" each other. For example, "wake up early - make breakfast" (cause-effect relationships are indicated). Or "wake up early, make breakfast" (one action comes after another). Sometimes commas are placed between definitions that precede a defined word to show their homogeneity. For example, "a loud, rolling roar came from the forest."

A semicolon connects two or more common sentences as part of a compound. At the same time, the sentence, in which the division into small semantic parts occurs with the help of a semicolon, has a final meaning in the end. For example, "After South Africa, it is simply breathtaking, the manner of speaking is swift; the thoughts are about the same as Holly had in her youth, only cut into pieces by cars and phone calls." (J. Galsworthy)

The colon helps to separate the main sentence from the subsequent listing or clarification of the main sentence. For example, "Take at least this strike: we are powerless here." (J. Galsworthy) or "This summer we visited many cities: Togliatti, Astrakhan, Chelyabinsk." In addition, the letter introduces the colon into direct speech, which is separated from the author’s words with quotation marks and commas. Punctuation marks are also used inside direct speech. They endow the cue with the intonation of the speaker.