Punctuation

Punctuation marks show intonation, pauses and the logical structure of written speech. Exam tasks usually ask "In which sentence is punctuation correct?" or "Which mark replaces the dots?". Rather than memorising rules, learn to see the sentence structure: first find the sentence parts, then the clauses of a compound sentence — the mark follows from that.

§1. Marks at the end of a sentence

• Full stop — after a declarative or calm imperative sentence: Bugun havo ochiq. Darsga kech qolmang.
• Question mark — in questions, including rhetorical ones: Kim o‘z yurtini sevmaydi?
• Exclamation mark — strong emotion, command, appeal: Qanday go‘zal kun! Oldinga!
• Ellipsis — an unfinished or interrupted thought: Men aytmoqchi edim-u...

§2. The comma in a simple sentence

Homogeneous parts joined without conjunctions are separated by commas: Bozordan olma, nok, uzum oldik.

• No comma before a single va, hamda, yoki: Olma va nok oldik.
• With repeated conjunctions (ham...ham, yo...yo, goh...goh, na...na) a comma is used: Ham o‘qiydi, ham ishlaydi.
• Before adversative ammo, lekin, biroq — a comma: Kichik, lekin shinam uy.

Address forms (undalma) are set off by commas anywhere in the sentence: Do‘stim, kel. Senga, do‘stim, ishonaman. An emotional address takes an exclamation mark: Ona yurtim! Seni sevaman.

Parenthetical words (albatta, shubhasiz, menimcha, afsuski, birinchidan, xullas, aytishlaricha) are set off by commas: Afsuski, u kelmadi. U, albatta, keladi.

Detached parts — extended appositives and attributes are set off by commas or dashes: Akam, tajribali shifokor, bizga yordam berdi.

Interjections are set off: Voy, qanday chiroyli! Ha, men tayyorman.

Worked example

Bolalar ... albatta ... bayramga ... keladi — where do commas go?

1. Subject bolalar, predicate keladi — the core.
2. albatta is parenthetical: without it the sentence is complete (Bolalar bayramga keladi).
3. Answer: Bolalar, albatta, bayramga keladi.

§3. Colon and dash in a simple sentence

A generalising word with homogeneous parts:

Dash between subject and predicate. When both the subject and a nominal predicate are in the nominative with no linking word, a dash is used: Toshkent — poytaxt. Kitob — bilim manbai.

• If the subject is a pronoun, normally no dash: U talaba.
• If the predicate contains the negation emas, no dash: Bu ish oson emas.
• A dash also stands between two verbal nouns: O‘qish — izlanish.

§4. Punctuation in compound and complex sentences

Coordinated clauses. Comma before the conjunction: Quyosh chiqdi, lekin havo sovuq edi. If the clauses share a common modifier and are joined by va, no comma: Ertalab qor yog‘di va yo‘llar oqardi.

Subordinate clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma: Kim mehnat qilsa, u rohat ko‘radi. Shunisi aniqki, u haq edi. But Yomg‘ir yog‘ganligi uchun sayohat qoldirildi is a simple sentence (adverbial of cause) — no comma.

Asyndetic (conjunctionless) compound sentences — the most frequently tested point:

Worked example

Daraxtlar barg to‘kdi ... kuz keldi — which mark?

1. Two predicates, to‘kdi and keldi — an asyndetic compound sentence.
2. Logical link: the second clause names the cause (why did the leaves fall? — autumn came).
3. Answer: a colon — Daraxtlar barg to‘kdi: kuz keldi.

In reverse order — Kuz keldi — daraxtlar barg to‘kdi (result) — a dash.

§5. Quotation marks, brackets and others

• Quotation marks («») — direct speech, titles of works, newspapers, organisations, words used figuratively or ironically: «O‘tkan kunlar» romani.
• Brackets — extra explanation, source: Alisher Navoiy (1441–1501) — buyuk shoir.
• Dash — at the start of a dialogue line; after direct speech before the author’s words.
• Semicolon — separates large parts that already contain commas.

§6. Converb phrases and punctuating a sentence step by step

A converb phrase (a phrase built on the forms -ib, -gach, -guncha, -a/-y with dependent words) is usually a detached adverbial and is set off by a comma: Uyga kelib, darsimni tayyorladim. (Having come home, I did my homework.) Qo‘ng‘iroq chalingach, o‘quvchilar sinfga kirdi. Such a sentence is simple, because a converb is not a predicate; the comma only marks the edge of the phrase.

• A single converb closely tied to the predicate and showing manner is usually not set off: U kulib gapirdi. (He spoke smiling.)
• No comma goes inside a combination with an auxiliary verb: o‘qib chiqdi, yozib qo‘ydi — this is one predicate.

When a sentence needs several marks, place them according to its structure: first find the predicates (simple or complex sentence?), then the mark at the clause boundary, then set off the vocative, parenthetical words, coordinate and detached parts. Finally choose the end mark from the intonation.

Worked example

Punctuate: Do‘stlar ... menimcha ... eng muhimi bitta ... ilm ... kuch. (Friends, in my view, one thing matters most: knowledge is power.)

1. Do‘stlar — a vocative at the start of the sentence → comma.
2. menimcha — a parenthetical word: remove it and the sentence is still complete → commas on both sides.
3. The part after eng muhimi bitta explains what that one thing is → colon.
4. ilm ... kuch — subject and nominal predicate in the nominative with no copula → dash.
5. Answer: Do‘stlar, menimcha, eng muhimi bitta: ilm — kuch.

Worked example

Is a comma needed in Darsni tugatib ... o‘qituvchi bizga uyga vazifa berdi (Having finished the lesson, the teacher gave us homework)?

1. There is one predicate — berdi; so the sentence is simple.
2. Darsni tugatib is a converb phrase in -ib, a detached adverbial of time.
3. Answer: yes, a comma — Darsni tugatib, o‘qituvchi bizga uyga vazifa berdi.

Check yourself

1. Which mark goes in Kitob ... do‘st?

2. Daftar ... qalam ... chizg‘ich ... hammasi stolda.

3. Menga yordam bering ... yolg‘iz uddalay olmayman.

4. Aziz o‘quvchilar ... bugun imtihon.

5. Is a comma needed before va in Olma va nok oldim?

6. Is a dash needed in Bu masala oson ... emas?

7. Is a comma needed: Kitobni o‘qib ... chiqdim.?

8. Which mark: Ertalab turib ... badantarbiya qildim.?

Common mistakes

• A colon after the generalising word: ✗ Olma, nok: hammasi pishdi → ✓ Olma, nok — hammasi pishdi.
• A comma before a single va.
• Not setting off parenthetical words (albatta, afsuski, menimcha).
• Mixing up cause and result in asyndetic sentences: cause — colon, result — dash.
• A dash after a pronoun subject: ✗ U — talaba.
• A comma after uchun in a simple sentence with an adverbial of cause.
• Putting a comma inside a predicate with an auxiliary verb: ✗ Xatni yozib, qo‘ydim.