मराठी - इंग्रजी शब्दकोश

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पर्यावरणीय परिभाषा

अ

अद्भुत विद्युत्पात
sprite lightning
ढगांच्या वरच्या भागाकडून आयनावरणाच्या दिशेने होणा-या विद्युत्पातास अद्भुत विद्युत्पात असे म्हणतात.

अतिशीत जल
supercooled water
शून्य अंश सेल्सियस तापमानापेक्षा कमी तापमान असतानाही द्रवावस्थेत असणा-या पाण्यास अतिशीत जल असे म्हणतात.

अभिसरण
circulation

अवाहक
non-conductor / insulator

अशनी
meteor

अक्षवृत्त
latitude

अक्षवृत्तीय
latitudinal / zonal


आ

आयनावरण
ionosphere


आयनीभवन
ionization


आयाम
amplitude


आंतर्मेघीय विद्युत्पात
inter-cloud lightning
दोन ढगांमधील विरुद्ध प्रभारित विभागांदरम्यान विप्रभारण झाल्यास त्यास आंतर्मेघीय विद्युत्पात असे म्हणतात.

उ

उचल
uplift


उथळ पाण्यातील लाटा
shallow water waves


उद्रेक
erruption


उभा छेद
vertical section


उष्ण वा उन्हाळी विद्युत्पात
heat or summer lightning


उष्णकटिबंध
tropics
पृथ्वीवरील कर्कवृत्त (साडेतेवीस अंश दक्षिण) ते मकरवृत्त (साडेतेवीस अंश उत्तर) ह्यादरम्यानच्या प्रदेशास उष्णकटिबंध म्हणातात.

ऊ

ऊर्जागळती
energy leak


ऊर्ध्वगामी वारा
convective wind


ऊर्ध्वोधर
vertical


ऋ

ऋण
negative


ऋतू
season


अं

अंतर्मेघ विद्युत्पात
intra-cloud lightning
एकाच मेघातील धन व ऋण प्रभारित विभागांदरम्यान विप्रभारण झाल्यास त्यास अंतर्मेघ वा मेघांतर्गत विद्युत्पात असे म्हणतात.

क

कृत्रिम उपग्रह
artificial satellite


ख

खचणे
subsidence


खोल पाण्यातील लाटा
deep water waves


खंडीय हालचाल
continental drift


ग

गर्जनाकारी मेघ
thundercloud


गोठण
condensation


गुणधर्म
characteristics


गुणोत्तर
ratio


गुरुत्वाकर्षण
gravitational attraction
प्रत्येक पदार्थ त्याच्या वस्तुमानाच्या प्रमाणात इतर पदार्थांस आकर्षित करतो. ह्या आकर्षणबलास त्या पदार्थाचे गुरुत्वाकर्षण असे म्हणतात.

गुरुत्वाकर्षणजन्य लाटा
tidal waves
सूर्य व चंद्राच्या गुरुत्वाकर्षणामुळे समुद्राच्या पाण्यावर उठणा-या लाटांना गुरुत्वाकर्षणजन्य लाटा असे म्हणतात. भरतीच्या लाटा ह्या गुरुत्वाकर्षणजन्य लाटा असतात.

गुरुत्वीय त्वरण
gravitational acceleration


गोलक विद्युत्पात
ball lightning
विद्युत विप्रभारणामुळे लाल, केशरी वा पिवळ्या रंगाचे विजेचे तेज:पुंज गोलक हवेत तरंगताना दिसल्यास त्यास गोलक विद्युत्पात असे म्हणतात.

ज

‘ज’ व ‘क’ दर्शक
J & K leaders


जमा होणे
deposition


ज्वालामुखी
volcano


त

तरंगलांबी
wavelength
तरंग वा लाटेच्या लागोपाठच्या दोन शिखर वा द-यांमधील अंतरास त्या लाटेची तरंगलांबी असे म्हणतात.

त्वरण
acceleration
विस्थापनाच्या दरास त्वरण असे म्हणतात.

तापमान
temperature
एखाद्या पदार्थातील उष्णतेचे प्र्रमाण म्हणजे त्या पदार्थाचे तापमान.

तापमापक
thermometer
तापमान मोजण्याचे उपकरण.

त्सुनामी प्रारूप
tsunami model


त्सुनामीच्या धोक्याची सूचना देणारी यंत्रणा
tsunami warning system


द

दरी
trough

दर्शकबाण
dart leader


दाबमापक
hygrometer


दुभंग विभव
breakdown potential


दूरस्थ
distant


दूरक्षेत्र
farfield / remote


ध

धक्कालहर
shockwave


धन
positive


धननिर्झर
travelling spark


धोका-सूचना केंद्र
warning-centers

न

निकटक्ष्रेत्र
nearfield / local


निरीक्षण स्थानके
monitoring stations


नीलझोत
blue jets


प

परस्पर-संबंध / सहकार-संबंध
correlation


पृष्ठ विद्युत्पात
sheet lightning


पुन:प्रभारण
recharge


पूर-प्रारूप
flood-model


प्रवासी ठिणगी
travelling spark


प्रशांत महासागर
Pacific Ocean


प्रातिनिधिक दर्शक
pilot leader / step leader


प्रारूप
model


फ

फीत विद्युत्पात
ribbon lightning


ब

बाष्प
moisture
वायू स्वरूपातील पाण्याला वा पाण्याच्या वाफेला बाष्प असे म्हणतात.

बाष्पसंपृक्त
moisture-saturated
विशिष्ट तापमानाला हवा जेवढे बाष्प सामावून घेऊ शकते त्यापेक्षा जास्त बाष्प हवेत असल्यास त्या हवेला/ढगाला बाष्पसंपृक्त हवा/ढग असे म्हणतात.

भ

भू्कवच
crust


भूकंप
earthquake


भूकंप तीव्रता
magnitude of earthquake


भूकंपप्रवण
seismically active


भूकंप-प्रवर्तित
earthquake-induced


भूकंप-प्रारूप
earthquake-model


भूकंप लहरी
seismic waves


भूपट्ट
tectonic plates


भूस्खलन
landslide


भौतिक गुणधर्म
physical properties


भौतिक घटना
physical composition


म

मणी विद्युत्पात
beads lightning


मापनश्रेणी
scale


मूक-भूकंप
silent earthquake


मेघकण
cloud droplets


मेघांतर्गत विद्युत्पात
intra-cloud lightning
एकाच मेघातील धन व ऋण प्रभारित विभागांदरम्यान विप्रभारण झाल्यास त्यास अंतर्मेघ वा मेघांतर्गत विद्युत्पात असे म्हणतात.

ल

लाटेचे भौतिकशास्त्र
physics of waves


व

वर्गमूळ
square root


वर्णपट
spectrum


वर्णपटीय
spectral


वहनमार्ग
conducting path


व्यस्त प्रमाण
inverse proportion


व्यापारी वारे
trade winds
उष्णकटिबंधीय प्रदेशात विषुववृत्ताच्या दिशेने वाहणारे पृष्ठीय वारे. प्राचीन काळी व्यापारासाठी होत असलेल्या नौकानयनासाठी ह्या वा-यांची दिशा विचारात घेऊन प्रवास होत असे. त्यामुळे ह्या वा-यांना व्यापारी वारे असे नाव पडले. व्यापारी वारे हा वातावरणातील सामान्य अभिसरणाचे एक महत्त्वाचे अंग आहे.
वातावरण
atmosphere
भूपृष्ठाला गुरुत्वशक्तीमुळे धरून राहिलेले, वास व रंग विरहित असलेले व वायू, बाष्प आणि धूलीकण ह्यांनी बनलेले प्रवाही आवरण म्हणजे वातावरण.२

वातावरणीय विद्युत
atmospheric electricity


वातावरणातील अस्थिरता
atmospheric instability


वातावरणातील विचलन
atmospheric disturbance


वाराजन्य
wind generated


विदा3
data


विद्युतदांडा/विद्युतदांडी
lightning rod


विद्युतधारा
current


विद्युतभारित/विद्युतप्रभारित
electrically charged


विद्युतरोधन
electrical insulating


विद्युतवाहक
electric conductor


विद्युतीकरण
electrification


विप्रभार
discharge


विभव
potential
बिंदूच्या ठिकाणी असणा-या विद्युत पातळीला विभव असे म्हणतात.१

विभवांतर
potential difference
विद्युत प्रभाराच्या स्थानांतरणासाठी आवश्यक असलेल्या विद्युत पातळीतील फरकाला विभवांतर असे म्हणतात.१

विरूपण
deformation


विरूपण-प्रारूप
deformation-model


विषुववृत्त
equator
पृथ्वीवरील पृथ्वीच्या स्वत:भोवती फिरण्याच्या अक्षास काटकोन करून असलेले काल्पनिक महावर्तुळ म्हणजे विषुववृत्त. विषुववृत्त म्हणजे शून्य अंश अक्षवृत्त. विषुववृत्तामुळे पृथ्वीचे उत्तर व दक्षिण गोलार्ध असे विभाजन होते.

विषुववृत्तीय
equatorial


विस्थापन
displacement


वैद्युत दुभंग
electrical break-down


वर्षाव
precipitation


विद्युतक्षेत्र
electric field
विद्युतधारेच्या वहनामुळे प्रभावित झालेल्या क्षेत्रास विद्युतक्षेत्र असे म्हणतात.

वेधशाळा
observatory


श

शाखा विद्युत्पात
fork lightning
विद्युत विप्रभारणाचे वेळी वहनमार्गास अनेक फाटे फुटल्यास त्यास शाखा विद्युत्पात असे म्हणतात.

शिखर
crest


स

सक्रिय
active


सम प्रमाण
direct proportion


समुद्रतळ
ocean floor


समुद्रतळाची रचना / उंचसखलपणा
topography of ocean floor


सुरुवातीची माहिती
initial conditions


स्थानिक
local


स्थैतिक विद्युत
static electricity


स्फटिकी
crystalline
रेणूंच्या विशिष्ट आणि स्थिर मांडणीमुळे तयार झालेल्या रचनेस स्फटिकी रचना असे म्हणतात.

सूक्ष्मसेकंद
microseconds
एका सेकंदाचे दशलक्ष भाग केल्यास त्यातील एक भाग म्हणजे सूक्ष्मसेकंद.

संवेग
momentum


सांख्यिकी शक्याशक्यता
statistical probability


ह

हवामान प्रारूप
climate model
हवामानाची गणिती प्रतिकृती म्हणजे हवामान प्रारूप.

हवामान फुगे
weather baloons
वातावरणाच्या वरच्या स्तरातील घटकांचा अभ्यास करण्याची उपकरणे असलेले फुगे. हे फुगे जसजसे वर जातात तसतशी त्या त्या स्तरातील वातावरणीय घटकांची (जसे तापमान, दाब इत्यादी) नोंद ह्या फुग्यांमधील उपकरणांमध्ये केली जाते.

हिमगर्भ
ice nuclei

हिंदी महासागर
Indian Ocean


क्ष

क्षितिजसमांतर
horizontal

क्षेत्रफळ
area


१संदर्भ – विज्ञान १: इयत्ता १०वी क्रमिक पुस्तक, १९९४, महाराष्ट्र राज्य माध्यमिक व उच्च

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पत्रकार मित्रांनो,

तुमच्यासाठी उपयुक्त अशी माहिती या ब्लॉगमध्ये संकलित केली आहे. शुद्धलेखनाचे नियम, पारिभाषिक प्रतिशब्द, भारतीय संकल्पनांचे विवरण, लेखनसंबंधीच्या सूचना, शैली पुस्तिका, योग्य - अयोग्य शब्दांची सूची, असे बरेच काही इंटरनेटवर प्रसंगपरत्वे गवसले, ते या ब्लॉगवर आपल्यासाठी, विशेषतः जे नवोदित पत्रकार आहेत त्यांच्यासाठी संकलित केलेले आहे. या सर्व मजकुराचे श्रेय त्यांच्या मूळ निर्मात्यांचेच आहे. मी तो हमाल भारवाही.. अशीच माझी या ब्लॉगच्या निर्मितीमागील धारणा आहे. मी केवळ या मजकुराचे उपयुक्ततेचा निकष लावून संकलन केले आहे. छोट्या - मोठ्या मराठी वर्तमानपत्रांत काम करणारे पत्रकार माझ्या नजरेसमोर आहेत. आपल्याला या माहितीचा उपयोग झाला, तर माझ्या श्रमांचे चीज झाले असे मी समजेन. या ब्लॉगमध्ये संकलित करण्याजोगा काही मजकूर आपल्यापाशी असेल तर तो माझ्या ईमेल पत्त्यावर अवश्य पाठवावा.

पत्रकारितेतील उज्ज्वल कारकिर्दीसाठी आपल्याला शुभेच्छा...

- परेश प्रभू, गोवा

pareshprabhu@indiatimes.com

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संख्या कशा लिहाव्यात?

वृत्तपत्रांत संख्या कशा लिहाव्यात यासंबंधीचे इकॉनॉमिस्टच्या स्टाईल बुकमधील मार्गदर्शन

Figures

Never start a sentence with a figure; write the number in words instead. Use figures for numerals from 11 upwards, and for all numerals that include a decimal point or a fraction (eg, 4.25, 4¼). Use words for simple numerals from one to ten, except: in references to pages; in percentages (eg, 4%); and in sets of numerals, some of which are higher than ten, eg, Deaths from this cause in the past three years were 14, 9 and 6. It is occasionally permissible to use words rather than numbers when referring to a rough or rhetorical figure (such as a thousand curses).

Fractions should be hyphenated (one-half, three-quarters, etc) and, unless they are attached to whole numbers (8½, 29¾), spelled out in words, even when the figures are higher than ten: He gave a tenth of his salary to the church, a twentieth to his mistress and a thirtieth to his wife.Do not compare a fraction with a decimal (so avoid The rate fell from 3¼% to 3.1%).Fractions are more precise than decimals (3.14 neglects an infinity of figures that are embraced by 22/7), but your readers probably do not think so. You should therefore use fractions for rough figures (Kenya's population is growing at 3½% a year, A hectare is 2½ acres) and decimals for more exact ones: The retail price index is rising at an annual rate of 10.6%. But treat all numbers with respect; that usually means resisting the precision of more than one decimal place, and generally favouring rounding off. Beware of phoney over-precision. Use m for million, but spell out billion, except in charts, where bn is permissible but not obligatory. Thus: 8m, £8m, 8 billion, €8 billion. A billion is a thousand million, a trillion a thousand billion, a quadrillion a thousand trillion. Use 5,000-6,000, 5-6%, 5m-6m (not 5-6m) and 5 billion-6 billion. But sales rose from 5m to 6m (not 5m-6m); estimates ranged between 5m and 6m (not 5m-6m). Where to is being used as part of a ratio, it is usually best to spell it out. Thus They decided, by nine votes to two, to put the matter to the general assembly which voted, 27 to 19, to insist that the ratio of vodka to tomato juice in a bloody mary should be at least one to three, though the odds of this being so in most bars were put at no better than 11 to 4 . Where a ratio is being used adjectivally, figures and hyphens may be used, but only if one of the figures is greater than ten: thus a 50-20 vote, a 19-9 vote. Otherwise, spell out the figures and use to: a two-to-one vote, a ten-to-one probability.Do not use a hyphen in place of to except with figures: He received a sentence of 15-20 years in jail but He promised to have escaped within three to four weeks.With figures, use a person or per person, a year or per year, not per caput, per capita or per annum.In most non-American contexts, prefer hectares to acres, kilometres (or km) to miles, metres to yards, litres to gallons, kilos to lb, tonnes to tons, Celsius to Fahrenheit, etc. In the United States section, you may use the more familiar measurements (though remember that American pints, quarts, gallons, etc, are smaller than imperial ones). Regardless of which you choose, you should give an equivalent, on first use, in the other units: It was hoped that after improvements to the engine the car would give 20km to the litre (47 miles per American gallon), compared with its present average of 15km per litre. Remember that in few countries do you now buy petrol in imperial gallons. In America it is sold in American gallons; in most other places it is sold in litres. The style for aircraft types can be confusing. Some have hyphens in obvious places (eg, F-22, B-2 bomber), some in unusual places (MiG-31M) and some none at all (Airbus A340, BAe RJ70). Others have both name and number (Lockheed P-3 Orion). When in doubt, use Jane's “All The World's Aircraft”. Its index also includes makers' correct names. The style for calibres is 50mm or 105mm with no hyphen, but 5.5-inch and 25-pounder.Use the sign % instead of per cent. But write percentage, not %age (though in most contexts proportion or share is preferable). A fall from 4% to 2% is a drop of two percentage points, or of 50%, but not of 2%. Roman numerals should not be set in small capitals.

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Hyphens

Use hyphens for

1. FRACTIONS (whether nouns or adjectives): two-thirds, four-fifths, one-sixth, etc.

2. MOST WORDS THAT BEGIN with anti, non and neo. Thus anti-aircraft, anti-fascist, anti-submarine (but antibiotic, anticlimax, antidote, antiseptic, antitrust); non-combatant, non-existent, non-payment, non-violent (but nonaligned, nonconformist, nonplussed, nonstop); neo-conservative, neo-liberal (but neoclassicism, neolithic, neologism). Words beginning Euro should also be hyphenated, except Europhile, Europhobe and Eurosceptic; euro zone and euro area.Some words that become unmanageably long with the addition of a prefix. Thus under-secretary and inter-governmental. Antidisestablishmentarianism would, however, lose its point if it were hyphenated. A sum followed by the word worth also needs a hyphen. Thus $25m-worth of goods.

3. SOME TITLES vice-presidentdirector-generalunder-secretarysecretary-generalattorney-generallieutenant-colonelmajor-generalfield-marshal but general secretarydeputy secretarydeputy directordistrict attorney

4. TO AVOID AMBIGUITIES a little-used cara little used-carcross complaintcross-complainthigh-school girlhigh schoolgirlfine-tooth comb (most people do not comb their teeth)third-world warthird world war

5. AIRCRAFT DC-10Mirage F-1EMiG-23Lockheed P-3 Orion(If in doubt, consult Jane's "All the World's Aircraft".)

6. ADJECTIVES FORMED FROM TWO OR MORE WORDS right-wing groups (but the right wing of the party)balance-of-payments difficultiesprivate-sector wagespublic-sector borrowing requirementa 70-year-old judgestate-of-the-union messagevalue-added tax (VAT)Adverbs do not need to be linked to participles or adjectives by hyphens in simple constructions: The regiment was ill equipped for its task; The principle is well established; Though expensively educated, the journalist knew no grammar. But if the adverb is one of two words together being used adjectivally, a hyphen may be needed: The ill-equipped regiment was soon repulsed; All well-established principles should be periodically challenged. The hyphen is especially likely to be needed if the adverb is short and common, such as ill, little, much and well. Less-common adverbs, including all those that end -ly, are less likely to need hyphens: Never employ an expensively educated journalist.Do not overdo the literary device of hyphenating words that are not usually linked: the stringing-together-of-lots-and-lots-of-words-and-ideas tendency can be tiresome.

7. SEPARATING IDENTICAL LETTERS: book-keeping (but bookseller), coat-tails, co-operate, unco-operative, pre-eminent, pre-empt (but predate, precondition), re-emerge, re-entry (but rearm, rearrange, reborn, repurchase), trans-ship. Exceptions include override, overrule, underrate, withhold.

8. NOUNS FORMED FROM PREPOSITIONAL VERBS: bail-out, build-up, call-up, get-together, lay-off, pay-off, round-up, set-up, shake-up, etc. 9. THE QUARTERS OF THE COMPASS: north-east(ern), south-east(ern), south-west(ern), north-west(ern), the mid-west(ern).

10. HYBRID ETHNICS:Greek-Cypriot, Irish-American, etc, whether noun or adjective.Words gathered together in quotation marks to serve as adjectives do not usually need hyphens as well: the "Live Free or Die" state.A general rule for makers: if the prefix is of one or two syllables, attach it without a hyphen to form a single word, but if the prefix is of three or more syllables, introduce a hyphen. So carmaker, chipmaker, peacemaker, marketmaker, troublemaker, but candlestick-maker, holiday-maker, tiramisu-maker, antimacassar-maker. Policymaker (one word) is an exception. With other words ending -er that are similar to maker (builder, dealer, driver, grower, owner, player, runner, seeker, trafficker, worker, etc) the general rule should be to insert a hyphen. But some prefixes, especially those of one syllable, can be used to form single words (coalminer, foxhunter, householder, landowner, metalworker, muckraker, nitpicker, shipbroker, steeplechaser), and some combinations will be better left as two words (insurance broker, crossword compiler, tuba player).

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अवतरण चिन्हांचा वापर

कंस, स्वल्पविराम, अर्धविराम, विसर्ग अशा चिन्हांचा वापर कसा करावा यासंबंधी द इकॉनॉमिस्टच्या स्टाईलबुकमधील सूचना आपल्यालाही उपयुक्त ठरतील.

Brackets

If a whole sentence is within brackets, put the full stop inside. Square brackets should be used for interpolations in direct quotations: “Let them [the poor] eat cake.” To use ordinary brackets implies that the words inside them were part of the original text from which you are quoting.


Apostrophes

Use the normal possessive ending 's after singular words or names that end in s: boss's, caucus's, Delors's, St James's, Jones's, Shanks's. Use it after plurals that do not end in s: children's, Frenchmen's, media's.Use the ending s' on plurals that end in s—Danes', bosses', Joneses'—including plural names that take a singular verb, eg, Reuters', Barclays', Stewarts & Lloyds', Salomon Brothers'.Although singular in other respects, the United States, the United Nations, the Philippines, etc, have a plural possessive apostrophe: eg, Who will be the United States' next president? People's = of (the) people. Peoples'= of peoples. Try to avoid using Lloyd's (the insurance market) as a possessive; it poses an insoluble problem. The vulnerable part of the hero of the Trojan war is best described as an Achilles heel. Do not put apostrophes into decades: the 1990s.

Colons

Use a colon “to deliver the goods that have been invoiced in the preceding words” (Fowler). They brought presents: gold, frankincense and oil at $35 a barrel. Use a colon before a whole quoted sentence, but not before a quotation that begins in mid-sentence. She said: “It will never work.” He retorted that it had “always worked before”. Use a colon for antithesis or “gnomic contrasts” (Fowler). Man proposes: God disposes.


Commas

Use commas as an aid to understanding. Too many in one sentence can be confusing. It is not always necessary to put a comma after a short phrase at the start of a sentence if no natural pause exists there: On August 2nd he invaded. Next time the world will be prepared. But a breath, and so a comma, is needed after longer passages: When it was plain that he had his eyes on Saudi Arabia as well as Kuwait, America responded.Use two commas, or none at all, when inserting a clause in the middle of a sentence. Thus, do not write: Use two commas, or none at all when inserting . . . or Use two commas or none at all, when inserting . . .If the clause ends with a bracket, which is not uncommon (this one does), the bracket should be followed by a comma. Commas can alter the sense of a sentence. To write Mozart's 40th symphony, in G minor, with commas indicates that this symphony was written in G minor. Without commas, Mozart's 40th symphony in G minor suggests he wrote 39 other symphonies in G minor. Do not put a comma before and at the end of a sequence of items unless one of the items includes another and. Thus The doctor suggested an aspirin, half a grapefruit and a cup of broth. But he ordered scrambled eggs, whisky and soda, and a selection from the trolley. Do not put commas after question-marks, even when they would be separated by quotation marks: “May I have a second helping?” he asked.


Dashes

You can use dashes in pairs for parenthesis, but not more than one pair per sentence, ideally not more than one pair per paragraph. Use a dash to introduce an explanation, amplification, paraphrase, particularisation or correction of what immediately precedes it. Use it to gather up the subject of a long sentence. Use it to introduce a paradoxical or whimsical ending to a sentence. Do not use it as a punctuation maid-of-all-work (Gowers).


Full stops

Use plenty. They keep sentences short. This helps the reader. Do not use full stops in abbreviations or at the end of rubrics.


Inverted commas

Use single ones only for quotations within quotations. Thus: “When I say ‘immediately’, I mean some time before April,” said the spokesman.For the relative placing of quotation marks and punctuation, follow Hart's rules. Thus, if an extract ends with a full stop or question-mark, put the punctuation before the closing inverted commas. His maxim was that “love follows laughter.” In this spirit came his opening gambit: “What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison?” If a complete sentence in quotes comes at the end of a larger sentence, the final stop should be inside the inverted commas. Thus, The answer was, “You can't wash your hands in a buffalo.” She replied, “Your jokes are execrable.” If the quotation does not include any punctuation, the closing inverted commas should precede any punctuation marks that the sentence requires. Thus: She had already noticed that the “young man” looked about as young as the New Testament is new. Although he had been described as “fawnlike in his energy and playfulness”, “a stripling with all the vigour and freshness of youth”, and even as “every woman's dream toyboy”, he struck his companion-to-be as the kind of old man warned of by her mother as “not safe in taxis”. Where, now that she needed him, was “Mr Right”? When a quotation is broken off and resumed after such words as he said, ask yourself whether it would naturally have had any punctuation at the point where it is broken off. If the answer is yes, a comma is placed within the quotation marks to represent this. Thus, “If you'll let me see you home,” he said, “I think I know where we can find a cab.” The comma after home belongs to the quotation and so comes within the inverted commas, as does the final full stop. But if the words to be quoted are continuous, without punctuation at the point where they are broken, the comma should be outside the inverted commas. Thus, “My bicycle”, she assured him, “awaits me.”


Question-marks

Except in sentences that include a question in inverted commas, question-marks always come at the end of the sentence. Thus: Where could he get a drink, he wondered? Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?

Semi-colons

Semi-colons should be used to mark a pause longer than a comma and shorter than a full stop. Don't overdo them. Use them to distinguish phrases listed after a colon if commas will not do the job clearly. Thus, They agreed on only three points: the ceasefire should be immediate; it should be internationally supervised, preferably by the AU; and a peace conference should be held, either in Geneva or in Ouagadougou.

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