Punctuation
Mark Name
.
,
;
period
comma
semi-colon
Explanation
Examples
to mark the end of a sentence
expressing a complete thought
I love Polish food.
to indicate an acronym
N.A.T.O. – North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
listing comma: used as a kind
of substitute for the word
“and,” sometimes for the word
“or,” in a list when three or
more words or phrases are
used
I speak Polish, Russian and English.
joining comma: slightly
different from a listing
comma, used to join two
complete sentences into a
single sentence, when it must
be used with one of the
connecting words like “and,”
“or,” “not,” “but,” “while,”
“so,” and “yet.”
I could tell you the truth, but I will
not.
gapping comma: used to
show that one or more words
have been left out when the
missing words would simply
repeat the words already used
in the same sentence.
Some English writers use punctuation
correctly and others, not.
bracketing comma: always
comes as a pair, used to mark
a slight interruption to a
sentence—an interruption
which does not disturb the
flow of the sentence and could
be removed.
This web site, I would suggest,
contains much useful information and
advice.
joins two complete sentences
together into one sentence
when they are closely related.
I hate swimming; my girlfriend loves
it.
The colors of the Union Jack flag are
red, white, blue.
;
semi-colon
(cont’d.)
joins two closely related
sentences for emphasis on the
relationship.
Neither of us spoke; we merely
waited in silence to see what would
happen.
joins two complete sentences
into a single sentence where
the second sentence begins
with a conjunctive adverb or
transition such as “however,”
“nevertheless,” “accordingly,”
“consequently,” or “instead”
I wanted to make my speech short;
however, there was so much to cover.
to separate items in a list when
one or more of those items
contains a comma
The speakers included: Tony Blair,
the Prime Minister; Gordon Brown,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for
Education & Skills.
You will need some paper; a pencil; a
pen, preferably blue or black; and
your workbook.
:
colon
indicates that what follows it
explains or elaborates on what
precedes it
There is one challenge above all
others: the alleviation of poverty.
Joanna became a director in just four
months: her father was the chief
shareholder.
-
hyphen
introduces a list
You will need the following: paper,
pencil, pen, ink.
used in writing compound
words that would be
ambiguous, hard to read or
excessively long
He had something of a
couldn't-care-less attitude to life.
to show that a word ending has One can always use some alliterabeen cut off on a line
tion as a poetic tool.
-—
em dash
used in pairs to separate a
strong interruption from the
rest of a sentence.
In each country--Egypt, India and
China--we were able to communicate
in English.
-—
em dash
(cont’d.)
All nations desire economic
growth—some even achieve it—but
it is easier said than done.
The following day we had better
luck--but that is another story,
–
en dash
smaller than em dash, larger
than hyphen; indicates a
closed range of values, such as
those between dates, times, or
numbers
June–July 1967
1:00–2:00 p.m.
For ages 3–5
pp. 38–55
President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
?
question
mark
indicates the end of a direct
question sentence
Where is the railway station in
Skwiezryna?
indicates (in parentheses) that
something is uncertain
He was born in 1886 (?) and died
in 1942.
!
exclamation
point
comes after an exclamation of
surprise, shock or dismay
“Help!” he cried. “I can't swim!”
/
slash
replaces the hyphen or en dash
to make a strong join between
words or phrases (No space
before or after it.)
the Hemingway/Faulkner generation
represents the concept of “or”
Please press your browser's
Refresh/Reload button.
Hit the Enter/Return key.
“ ”
’
indicates a line break when
quoting multiple lines from a
poem, play, or headline. (Do
enter a space before and after.)
Hickory, dickory dock / The mouse
ran up the clock / The clock struck
one / The mouse ran down /
Hickory, dickory dock.
quotation
marks
enclose a direct quotation
“I think I'm falling in love with you,”
she said.
apostrophe
to indicate possession
This is John’s car.
indicates a contraction: two
words written as one, where
one or more letters are omitted
It’s a lovely day.
(It is a lovely day.)
( )
parentheses
used in pairs to insert
explanatory details or, to set
off an interruption
Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes)
are rich in vitamin C.
Every year (sometimes every other
year) we go on a vacation trip.
[ ]
…
brackets
ellipsis,
ellipses
set off an interruption within
a direct quotation or sentence
“The newspaper reported that the
hostages [most of them French]
had been released.”
set off material which is
extraneous to the main text,
such as personal comments
within a quote
Jones claimed that, “my client is
innocent [which I never believed] and
I’ll prove it.”
set off comments in a draft
document which are not
intended to be in the final
version
Onamadapya [check spelling] is a
poetic device.
shows that some material has
been omitted from a direct
quotation
One satisfied customer wrote:
“This is the best school...in which
I have ever studied.”
indicates suspense
The winner is…
shows that a sentence has been
left unfinished because it
has simply trailed off
Watch this space...
Sources:
World-English: http://www.world-english.org/punctuation.htm
Darlington, Roger. "How to Use Punctuation." 15 Feb. 2007. 26 June 2007
http://www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/punctuation.html
Wikipedia. "Slash (punctuation)." 23 June 2007. 26 June 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slash/punctuation
Wikipedia. “Dash.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#En_dash
Compiled by Rebecca xxxxx, 2007.
Revised by Kathleen Rowe, 2011.