User:TheGrappler/German punctuation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
German punctuation is far more consistent than that in English, and violations of punctuation rules may be considered as egregious as spelling mistakes. German punctuation marks are largely identical to those used in English, although quotation marks are written differently and use of the semicolon (;) is rare. However, usage of these marks differs significantly: notably, the comma is used only to divide a sentence grammatically and not to mark pauses in speech, and the colon and exclamation mark serve additional purposes. Formation of the genitive (to indicate possession) does not require an apostrophe: Antons Ball means "Anton's ball".[1]
[edit] References
- Hammer's German Grammar and Usage (4th edition), Martin Durrell, Hodder Arnold, Malta, 2002 (ISBN 0340742291)
- German Punctuation, Hyde Flippo, about.com (URL accessed 14 April 2006)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Durrell, Hammer's German Grammar and Usage, characterizes German punctuation as consistent at p.521 and states that deviation from correct comma usage is regarded by Germans as seriously as spelling errors on p.527.
