3.2 PUEBI Punctuation

PUEBI Punctuation Rules

Quick Answer: PUEBI defines precise roles for every tanda baca: the period ends statements and abbreviations but not ordinal dates; the comma separates list items, opens appositions, and follows formal greetings; the hyphen links reduplications; the dash sets off parentheticals. UKBI items frequently hinge on whether a comma should appear before dan, whether a hyphen belongs in a reduplication, or whether a period should follow an abbreviation.

1. Period (Titik)

The period has four jobs in PUEBI:

1. End a declarative or imperative statement: Saya akan datang besok.
2. Mark abbreviations: S.H., M.A., Dr., S.Ked., dkk. Note that not every abbreviation takes a period — dll (dan lain-lain) is written without a final period in modern usage; dkk. (dan kawan-kawan) retains its period.
3. Separate the day, month, and year in dates written as numerals: 17 Agustus 1945 (no periods between numbers; this is a frequent distractor — 17. Agustus. 1945. is wrong).
4. Separate thousands in numerals (see Section 3.1) and act as a decimal comma in some legacy styles (modern PUEBI uses the comma for decimals).

A period is not used after a Roman-numeral ordinal (Pangeran Charles III, not Charles III.), and not after symbols or units (5 kg, not 5 kg.).

2. Comma (Koma)

The comma has seven uses you must recognise:

1. List separator: Ia membeli buku, pensil, dan penghapus. PUEBI does not require a comma before dan in a simple list of three or more; the comma is optional and used mainly when items are long phrases or contain internal commas.
2. Apposition: Bapak Ahmad, seorang guru bahasa, hadir di acara itu. The commas set off the descriptive noun phrase.
3. Direct-address vocative: Dengarkan, Bapak Presiden, saran kami.
4. After the greeting in a formal letter: Dengan hormat, — the comma here is mandatory; a colon is non-standard.
5. Before a direct quotation: Ia berkata, "Saya setuju."
6. Between repeated words for emphasis: Ya, ya, saya mengerti.
7. In dates with the day before the month: Jakarta, 17 Agustus 1945 — but if the date is inline in a sentence, the comma after the year closes the date phrase.

The comma is not used between a subject and its predicate, between a verb and its object, or after yaitu/yang.

3. Colon (Titik Dua)

A colon is used:

• Before a formal list introduced by a complete sentence: Peserta rapat adalah: Bapak Ahmad, Ibu Siti, dan Bapak Budi.
• After Kepada Yth. in the address of a formal letter, not after Dengan hormat: Kepada Yth. Bapak Direktur PT Maju.
• Between title and subtitle: Bahasa Indonesia: Panduan Lengkap.

A colon does not separate a verb from its object (Ia membeli: buku is wrong) and does not appear after yakni or yaitu.

4. Semicolon (Titik Koma)

The semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses when a conjunction is omitted: Hari telah malam; kami pun beristirahat. It is also used to separate parallel list items that themselves contain commas: Ia berkunjung ke Jakarta, Jawa Barat; Bandung, Jawa Barat; dan Bogor, Jawa Barat.

5. Hyphen (Tanda Hubung)

The hyphen has three core uses:

1. Reduplication: buku-buku, anak-anak, laki-laki — the hyphen is mandatory between the two identical tokens.
2. Compound words from two free morphemes: anak-anak (repeated for plural) vs anak-emas (compound "favourite child") — both use hyphens but for different grammatical reasons.
3. Word-continuation across a line break in printed text.

A frequent UKBI trap: writing bukubuku or anak anak without the hyphen. Both forms are wrong; the hyphen is part of the spelling of the reduplication.

6. Dash (Tanda Pisah) and Quotation Marks

The em-dash (—) sets off a parenthetical phrase: Ia — meskipun lelah — tetap bekerja. It is wider than a hyphen and is surrounded by spaces in PUEBI. The quotation marks ("…") enclose direct speech, titles of poems or articles, and quoted text: Ia berkata, "Saya akan datang." Nested quotations use single quotes: Ia berkata, "Saya dengar ia bilang, 'tidak.'" A common error is using guillemets (« ») or straight apostrophes — PUEBI uses straight double quotes for primary quotations.

7. Slash (Tanda Garis Miring)

The slash means "or" or "and/or" between alternatives: Bapak/Ibu, dan/atau, per bulan/tahun. It is also used in fractions (1/2) and as a separator in some address styles.

8. Question Mark and Exclamation Mark

The question mark ends an interrogative: Kapan ia datang? It is not used in indirect questions: Ia bertanya kapan saya datang. (no question mark). The exclamation mark ends a command or exclamation: Berhenti!, Wah, indahnya!

Punctuation Pitfalls to Watch

The most-tested punctuation errors in Merespons Kaidah are: (1) period after ordinal dates (17. Agustus 1945 is wrong); (2) colon after Dengan hormat (should be a comma); (3) missing hyphen in reduplication (anak anak); (4) comma before dan in a two-item list (makan dan minum takes no comma); (5) question mark on an indirect question. Memorise these five and you will catch the bulk of punctuation items.