Punctuation Marks

PUNCTUATION
MARKS
1. Period (.)
= is placed at the end of declarative sentences, statements thought to
be complete and after many abbreviations.
Examples:
• As a sentence ender: Jane and Jack went to the market.
• After an abbreviation: Her son, John Jones Jr., was born on Dec. 6,
2008.
2. Comma ( , )
= used to show a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence
= is used in numbers, dates and letter writing after the salutation and closing.
Uses:
• Direct address: Thanks for all your help, John.
• Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies, and then we went
out to lunch.
• Separating lists or elements within sentences: Suzi wanted the black, green, and
blue dress.
3. Question Mark ( ? )
= to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a
sentence.
Example:
When did Jane leave for the market?
4. Exclamation Point (!)
= is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add
emphasis.
Within dialogue:
Example: “Holy cow!” screamed Jane.
To emphasize a point:
Example: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious!
5. Slash (/)
Uses:
a. distinguish between two terms such as “he/she”, “period/full-stop”
b. used in place of the words “or” or “and”
c. used in abbreviations (i.e., w/, w/out, and/or)
d. used to separate lines of poetry when they are reproduced in a solid
block of text.
6. Semi - Colon
= Semi-colons are most commonly used to merge two
independent clauses.
= semi-colon serves to eliminate the pause between
the two independent clauses and is therefore used
instead of a conjunction, such as and, yet, but, or, nor,
for and so.
6. Semi-Colon
Example:
There’s a crocodile in the toilet. He has a
lot of hair growing out of his ears.
6. Semi - Colon
A semi-colon can also be used as a super-comma, to separate
items in a long list.
Example:
At the chocolate factory, I scoffed acid balls, they were super
sour; everlasting gob stoppers, I spat mine out after an hour; curly
toffees, rather yummy; and iced fancies, they made me sick.
7. Colon
= most commonly used to introduce and can be used to introduce

anything: words, phrases, lists, names or quotations.
Example:
1. The hungry buffoon only had one thing on his mind: peanut butter
cupcakes.
2. The buffoon finished his feast in seconds: “I’ll never eat again,” he
said.
8. Brackets and Parentheses
• Parentheses are used to set aside messages that are not really essential to the
meaning of the text. They are always used in pairs and can contain one or more
sentences that may include references, definitions, further information or editorial
comments.
• There are three main rules governing the use of parentheses:
1) Use parentheses to enclose words that are included as an aside.
Example:
There were one hundred (100) gremlins banging at the door demanding ice cream.
2) To enclose words or figures that clarify the existing

sentence.
Example:
I refused to answer the door because (1) I am not
particularly fond of gremlins, (2) I had just got out of the
shower, and (3) I had no ice cream in the freezer.
3) The period or full stop should appear inside the parenthesis if it

contains a full sentence.
Example:
I have enclosed a picture of the damage the gremlins have done to
my property (attachment A).
I have enclosed a picture of the damage the gremlins done to my
property. (Please see attachment A.)
It is grammatically acceptable to use commas

instead of parentheses but, because the
parenthesis has the effect of acting as an aside,
they are generally used to denote that the
information is less important.
Brackets
= are the squared off notations ([ ]) used for technical

explanations or to clarify meaning. If you remove the
information in the brackets, the sentence will still make sense.
Example:
• He [Mr. Jones] was the last person seen at the house.
9. Braces ({ })
= are used to contain two or more lines of text or listed items to show
that they are considered as a unit. They are not commonplace in most
writing, but can be seen in computer programming to show what
should be contained within the same lines. They can also be used in
mathematical expressions.
Example:
2{1+[23-3]}=x
10. Dashes
There are two types of dashes:

the en dash (–) and
the em dash (—)
10. Dashes
• En Dash (–)
= gets its name from its length as it is one ‘N’ long. The en dash is used to
express a range of values or a distance:
Example:
The gremlin was around 50–60 years old, we could tell this from the state
of his teeth.
The Timbuktu–Bolton flight was delayed by 6 hours and we missed the
World Twister Championships.
10. Dashes
• Em Dash (—)
= gets its name from its width, which is roughly one ‘M’ long. It is used in a similar
fashion to the parenthesis: to indicate added emphasis, an interruption or an
immediate change of thought.
Examples:
The crocodile—who knows what he was doing in the bathroom in the first place
—used all my shower gel.
It took several people to lift the enormous pumpkin—John, Graham, Tim and
Edward.
11. Hyphen
= used to join words and to separate syllables of a single

word.
Example:
hairy-handed
12. Quotation Marks
The use of quotation marks is complicated by the

fact that there are two types in use:
(1) double quotation marks
(2) single quotation marks
12. Quotation Marks
• Single quotation marks are used to quote someone

who is quoting someone else:
Example:
“I could not believe my ears when the crocodile said,
‘Can I have some privacy here?'” Mother
exclaimed.
12. Quotation Marks
• Double quotation marks are used to directly and

exactly quote the words of someone:
Example:
“I was absolutely amazed to find a crocodile in the
bathroom brushing his teeth,” Mother said.
13. Apostrophe (')
= used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the

possessive case, or the plurals of lowercase letters.
Examples of the apostrophe in use include:
• Omission of letters from a word: I've seen that movie several times. She
wasn't the only one who knew the answer.
• Possessive case: Sara's dog bit the neighbor.
• Plural for lowercase letters: Six people were told to mind their p's and q's.
14. Ellipsis (. . . )
= used within quotations to jump from one phrase to another, omitting

unnecessary words that do not interfere with the meaning.
Examples:
• Omission of words: She began to count, "One, two, three, four…" until she
got to 10, then went to find him.
• Within a quotation: When Newton stated, "An object at rest stays at rest
and an object in motion stays in motion..." he developed the law of motion.

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PUNCTUATION

= most commonly used to introduce and can be used to introduce

2) To enclose words or figures that clarify the existing

3) The period or full stop should appear inside the parenthesis if it

It is grammatically acceptable to use commas

= are the squared off notations ([ ]) used for technical

There are two types of dashes:

= used to join words and to separate syllables of a single

The use of quotation marks is complicated by the

• Single quotation marks are used to quote someone

• Double quotation marks are used to directly and

= used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the

= used within quotations to jump from one phrase to another, omitting

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