Unit 9: Mechanics

• Tips on Proper Spelling

  1. There are slight differences between the American English and the British English Spellings
  2. There are English words that have variant or alternate spellings, which are acceptable.
  3. Words with the letters i and e succeeding each other, such as receive, receipt, and deceive are commonly misspelled.
  4. in adding prefixes to words, the spelling of the root words does not change.
  5. English words with double letters are often misspelled.
  6. There are English words that contain silent letters, which are not pronounced when the words are read.
• Punctuation

  • is a system of symbols used to give structure to a text
  • guides the reader on how the text should be read
  • using correct punctuation adds clarity to text
• Independent clause


  clause with a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence
• Commonly used punctuation marks

  • Period (.)
  • Question Mark (?)
  • Exclamation Point (!)
  • Apostrophe (')
  • Comma (,)
  • Colon (:)
  • Semicolon(;)
  • dash or em dash (-)
• Period (.)

  1. it indicates a full stop or the end of a statement.
  2. it is used in some abbreviations. (e.g. Atty. , Dr. , Mr.)
  3. it is placed after numerals and letters in outlines and lists.
• Question Mark (?)

  1. it ends a question.
  2. it ends a question that is part of a sentence.
  3. it indicates uncertainty about a fact.
• Exclamation Point

  (Are usually used in informal writing and should not be used in formal writing.)

  1. it ends a sentence that expresses strong emotion or an interjection.
  2. it replaces the Question mark in interrogative sentences to express strong emotion.
• Apostrophe (')

  1. it is used to indicate the possessive case of nouns.
  2. it is used in place of the omitted letters in contractions.
  3. it is used in some expressions like: For goodness' sake
• Comma (,)

  1. used to separate words or phrases in a list or series
  2. used to separate clauses in sentences
  3. used to set off words or phrases that introduce example/s.
• Colon (:)

  • it introduces a list
  • it used to introduce a quotation
  • it introduces a clause or a phrase that explains what comes before it.
• Semicolon(;)

  1. Used to indicate a stop or break that is more grounded than comma but not as strong as a period.
  2. it separates two clauses.
  3. it separates items in series if they are set off by commas.
• The common das or em dash (-)

  1. it can be used in place of a colon or semicolon to connect clauses.
  2. it can be used in place of a comma before words and phrases that introduce examples or explanations.
  3. it may introduce a summary statement after a series of words or phrases.
• Capitalization

  • Writing the first letter of a word in uppercase
  • helps in deciphering the meaning of the words
• Proper nouns (Maggie, Quezon City, Quipper) are always capitalized in text
• Proper adjectives (Philippine, Canadian, Asian) are always capitalized in text
• Days of the Week (Monday, Wednesday, Sunday) are always capitalized in text
• Months of the year (August, September, December) are always capitalized in text
• Specific course titles (English 11, Theater 101) are always capitalized in text
• Kinship names are used in place of personal names; they are followed by personal names (Grandma, Dad, Aunt Paz, Uncle Alvin)
• Names of historical periods, events, and documents (The Great Depression, The Renaissance, The Constitution) are always capitalized in text
• Boldface


  commonly used in

  1. important words in a sentence or a paragraph
  2. news headlines and titles of news and magazine articles
  3. headings of paragraphs, tables, and charts
• Italics


  frequently used in

  1. Title of books and other long literary texts
  2. Foreign words
  3. Important words in a sentence or a paragraph