20.2 - Punctuation ...
The most difficult aspect of mastering punctuation in any language is
learning when to use which marks. Whilst this is not a priority when reading a
text, you need to be familiar with punctuation marks to avoid confusion
(remember Lynn Truss's panda who "Eats, shoots and leaves"?). The use
of most marks in Ukrainian is similar to English, and only the principal uses of
those which are different are discussed below.
Comma
The comma is used:
- before the last item in a list, where you would expect and in English
| Василь пішов до магазину купити сметану, молоко, хліб, яйця,
сир. |
Vasyl went to the shop to buy cream, milk, bread, eggs
and cheese. |
- to separate the items in a list containing і ...
і (both ... and)
| Василь забув купити і молоко, і
яйця. |
Vasyl forgot to buy both the milk and
the eggs. |
- before conjunctions introducing subordinate clauses, e.g. що (but not
when що forms part of a compound conjunction, e.g. через те що)
| Василь нагадав собі, що забув купити молоко і яйця. |
Vasyl remembered that he had forgotten to buy
milk and eggs. |
Dash
The dash is used:
- to link and/or separate grammatically similar parts of a sentence
| Податкова інспекція працює
– підприємці бідують! |
The tax authorities are doing their job while business owners
are feeling the pinch! |
- before a summarising word
| На нашому сайті ви знайдете інформацію про культуру, історію,
економіку – все те, що ви шукали. |
On our website you will find information on culture, history,
the economy: everything you were looking for. |
- after the subject, with nouns in apposition, to replace the verb є
| Україна – країна з тисячолітньою історією. |
Ukraine is a country with a thousand-year-old
history. |
- in quoted speech and dialogue
– Живий? – спитала відсапуючись.
|
"Are you still alive?", she asked, trying to get her breath
back.
|
| – Живий, – відгукнувся стримано. |
Still alive , he responded restrainedly. |
| (Іван Багряний, Тигролови) |
Quotation marks
Quotation marks usually have the form «...» (sometimes
„ ... “):
| «Переорганізація відбудеться у вересні»,
– повідомив міський голова. |
"The reorganisation will happen in September", said the leader
of the town council. |
Exercise 20.2A |
Exercise 20.2B
