Punctuation Rules

There are 14 punctuation marks that are commonly used in English grammar. They are the
period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parentheses,
brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis. Following their correct usage will make
your writing easier to read and more appealing.
Three of the fourteen punctuation marks are appropriate for use as sentence endings. They are the
period, question mark, and exclamation point.

The period ( . ) is placed at the end of declarative sentences, statements thought to be complete
and after many abbreviations.
 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.
Use a question mark (?) to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence.
 When did Jane leave for the market?
The exclamation point (!) is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add
emphasis.
 Within dialogue: "Holy cow!" screamed Jane.
 To emphasize a point: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious!
The comma, semicolon and colon are often misused because they all can indicate a pause in
a series.

The comma( , ) is used to show a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a
sentence. Additionally, it is used in numbers, dates and letter writing after the salutation and closing.
 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.
Whether to add a final comma before the conjunction in a list is a matter of debate. This final comma,
known as an Oxford or serial comma, is useful in a complex series of elements or phrases but is often
considered unnecessary in a simple series such as in the example above. It usually comes down to a
style choice by the writer.

The semicolon( ; ) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship

between the clauses than a period would show.
 John was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.
A colon ( : ) has three main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation,
an example, or a series.
 He was planning to study four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology and economics.
The second is between independent clauses, when the second explains the first, similar to a
semicolon:
 I didn't have time to get changed: I was already late.
The third use of a colon is for emphasis:
 There was one thing she loved more than any other: her dog.
A colon also has non-grammatical uses in time, ratio, business correspondence and references.

Two other common punctuation marks are the dash and hyphen. These marks are often
confused with each other due to their appearance but they are very different.
A dash ( - )is used to separate words into statements. There are two common types of dashes: en
dash and em dash.
 En dash: Slightly wider than a hyphen, the en dash is a symbol (-) that is used in writing or
printing to indicate a range or connections and differentiations, such as 1880-1945 or
Princeton-New York trains.
 Em dash: Twice as long as the en dash, the em dash can be used in place of a comma,
parenthesis, or colon to enhance readability or emphasize the conclusion of a sentence. For
example, She gave him her answer - No!
Whether you put spaces around the em dash or not is a style choice. Just be consistent.
A hyphen( - ) is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not
separated by spaces. For example, part-time, back-to-back, well-known.
Brackets, braces and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further
explanation or are considered a group.

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.
 He [Mr. Jones] was the last person seen at the house.
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. For example, 2{1+[23-3]}=x.

Parentheses ( () ) are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks.
However, parentheses can be replaced by commas without changing the meaning in most cases.
 John and Jane (who were actually half brother and sister) both have red hair.
The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotation marks and
ellipsis. Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not related to one another in any
form.

An apostrophe (') is 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.
It should be noted that, according to Purdue University, some teachers and editors enlarge the scope
of the use of apostrophe, and prefer their use on symbols (&'s), numbers (7's) and capitalized letters
(Q&A's), even though they are not necessary.

Quotations marks (" ") are a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning
and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word. They are also used to
indicate meanings and to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word.
 "Don't go outside," she said.
Single quotation marks (' ') are used most frequently for quotes within quotes.
 Marie told the teacher, "I saw Marc at the playground, and he said to me 'Bill started the fight,'
and I believed him."
The ellipsis is most commonly represented by three periods (. . . ) although it is occasionally
demonstrated with three asterisks (***). The ellipsis is used in writing or printing to indicate an
omission, especially of letters or words. Ellipses are frequently used within quotations to jump from
one phrase to another, omitting unnecessary words that do not interfere with the meaning. Students
writing research papers or newspapers quoting parts of speeches will often employ ellipsis to avoid
copying lengthy text that is not needed.
 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.

British vs. American English

There are a few differences between punctuation in British and American English. The following
charts details some of those differences:

British English American English

The " . " symbol is called A full stop a period
The " ! " symbol is called an exclamation mark an exclamation point
The " ( ) " symbols are called brackets parentheses
The " [ ] " symbols are called square brackets brackets
The position of quotation marks Joy means "happiness". Joy means "happiness."
The punctuation for abbreviations Dr, Mr, Mrs, St, Rd, Ct Dr., Mr., Mrs., St., Rd., Ct.