Punctuation — we use it all the time. Punctuation is what keeps written English from being an ambiguous, nonsensical mess. But what are the different punctuation marks in English? What are their proper uses? In this article, we will cover these commonly found punctuation marks:
- Period (US) or Full Stop (UK)
- Question Mark
- Exclamation Point (US) or Exclamation Mark (UK)
- Comma
- Semicolon
- Colon
- Hyphen
- En Dash
- Em Dash
- Parentheses (US) or Round Brackets (UK)
- Brackets (US) or Square Brackets (UK)
- Braces
- Apostrophe
- Quotation Marks
- Slash
- Asterisk
- Ellipsis
Here’s a quick reference sheet:
End of Sentence Punctuation
The Period . (or Full Stop, as it is known in the UK) is used to end a Declarative Sentence or to abbreviate words such as formal titles. For example:
- We are going to the grocery store.
- This is Dr. Smith.
The Exclamation Point ! (or Exclamation Mark in UK English) is put after any Exclamatory Sentences.
- It’s the final sale of the year!
- “You’ve got to be kidding!” she gasped.
The Question Mark ? goes after any question, naturally — that is to say after Interrogative Sentences.
- Wouldn’t you like to ski at the resort, too?
- “How do you do?”
Commas, Semicolons and Colons:
These three punctuation marks are very often abused, misused and confused.
Commas
The Comma ( , ) is an extremely versatile form of punctuation and has various uses, most of which have to do with breaking up sentences to show the clear meaning.
- In direct address: “What do you think, Joe?”
- Tying two complete sentences together: They went into town, but the rest stayed home.
- Separating out a specific thought: The boy, who still wore his pajamas, was clearly very tired.
- Or in lists: In the bag were apples, bananas, peppers and onions.
There is a small matter concerning commas, which is whether or not to use the Oxford Comma, or Serial Comma, between the last two items of a list.
- Foxes, badgers and bears prowl the forest.
- Foxes, badgers, and bears prowl the forest. (Note the extra comma.)
Either one is acceptable in written English. Some say that using the Oxford Comma is more formal, while leaving it out looks more comfy and modern. It’s all up to personal preference.
Semicolons
The Semicolon ( ; ) is a sort of middle-ground between the comma and the colon, thus the name… but its applications are all its own. It can be used to link two independent clauses in one sentence, ones which could stand apart but complement each other (or the latter is a continuation of the former clause). For example:
- John could not fix the computer; he didn’t even know how to begin such a task.
Semicolons may also be placed at the end of one portion of an extensive list, if extra clarity or structure is needed:
- We need many different ingredients: Flour, butter, sugar, corn starch, cocoa and vanilla for flavoring; two metal bowls, a wooden spoon and a cookie sheet.
Colons
The Colon ( : ) has a variety of uses, such as in ratios (21:1) or times (1:00 AM), but in most cases a colon indicates a following list, definition or example.
- The teacher taught us the meaning of perseverance: The will to keep on going.
Colons can also be used before an entire quoted paragraph, or a specifically meaningful quote.
- My father said to me: “Son, this day you have become a man.”
Hyphens and Dashes
These are very, very often misused. They may look interchangeable, but any picky editor will spot the difference right away…
The Hyphen – is only used in compound words, essentially stringing two or more together to form one word — for instance, stress-inducing or priest-king.
The En Dash – is described as being twice the length of a hyphen, though this may vary depending on the font used. It stands for a span, range or link between two dates, locations, etc. For example, The Chicago–New York railway or 1879–1955.
The Em Dash — is twice as long as the Em Dash (usually), and has multiple common uses. Word processors like Microsoft Word usually have an auto-correct in place for hyphens when used after a word, one which will automatically correct it to an Em Dash if used in the right conditions.
It can break up sentences similarly to semicolons or parentheses (or even commas, in the right instances), usually so as to make the sentence more easily readable or look less “stuffy.”
One can also write the En Dash and Em Dash as — and — for simplicity. But to produce the real character on-screen, there is a way: Hold Alt and key in 0150 or 0151 (for the En Dash and Em Dash respectively). This is an extremely useful trick to know for all manner of unconventional characters that don’t appear on the keyboard, provided you know the right number for each.
Parentheses, Brackets and Braces:
Parentheses ( ) (known as Brackets or Round Brackets in the UK) are used to contain a complete thought which is inserted between existing text to pile more info into the sentence without making it a “run-on sentence”.
Brackets [ ] (called Square Brackets in the UK)are similar, and can even be used interchangeably at times. However, brackets are used for the definition or clarification of a specific term, name, place, etc. They are also used often in computer coding and mathematical expressions, in which case brackets are a sort of second of three tiers of parenthetical marks.
Braces { } are used much more rarely. You will hardly ever see them in normal text, as their uses are mostly mathematical. They can contain two lines or more of text or mathematical expressions, or multiple groups of parentheses and/or brackets.
Apostrophe and Quotation Marks:
An Apostrophe ( ‘ ) marks possession or stands in place of a missing letter in contractions. To show possession, it is placed before the S on the end of the word if singular (Ex. The fox’s den), and after the entire word if it already has an S on the end (Ex. The rabbits’ warren). The latter may sometimes be a plural word or sometimes singular, so don’t let it fool you.
When using it in contractions or to take the place of missing letters, the rule is: The apostrophe is placed where the missing letters would normally go. Some examples: ’80s and ’90s (1980s and 1990s — the apostrophe here is commonly placed before the S, even though that’s not where the abbreviation is), or that’s (that is), aren’t (are not), ma’am (madam), etc.
There are some weird rules when it comes to letters, however. Capital letters don’t need an apostrophe, like As and Zs, but lowercase letters, such as in the phrase “Mind your p’s and q’s,” would take apostrophes.
Quotation Marks ( ” ” ) are placed around any directly quoted words or dialogue. However, when dealing with quotes within quotes, use the single quotation marks ( ‘ ‘ ). If there’s another level of depth, it switches back, etc. etc. (These can be switched around, with single quotes placed first and doubles second, but that is a fairly archaic method.)
- “That’s a lot of trout!” Todd exclaimed.
- “And so he said to me, ‘Quiet down, or you’ll scare them all away.'”
Note that the quotation marks go after the punctuation at the end of the sentence, except in British English, which places the quotation marks before it.
- “How do you do”?
Slash, Asterisk and Ellipsis:
The Slash ( / ) is commonly used to string two words together as possibilities (i.e. either/or), but this is considered somewhat informal. It is suggested that slashes be taken out of final drafts and replaced by the word or or a hyphen.
Regardless, it’s a very useful tool, at least in common uses. Furthermore, slashes are formally used in dates (8/14/20), or dividing verses of poetry in a single line.
An Asterisk ( * ) is the most common of many footnote symbols. You see it often in advertising to show a very promising deal, with the asterisk after said deal while the actual conditions are listed at the bottom after a second asterisk. In books or other writing, the asterisk goes after a word, phrase or sentence and then an asterisk is placed at the bottom of the page, followed by the footnote. Keep in mind that if you use an asterisk for either purpose, make sure you have that footnote at the bottom of that same page.
Alternatively, the asterisk can also stand for missing letters in a word, similarly to an apostrophe but with a different purpose. In this case, it means that the letters, or whole words, are purposefully hidden from the reader. The most common instance of this today is in censoring out swear words.
The Ellipsis (…) is those three dots in a row that you see at the end of a sentence that trails off. It is also used often in quoted text to stand for unneeded material that was left out, such as in research papers or in a book summary. While the ellipsis may appear to be three consecutive periods, and can indeed be written this way, it is technically one character on its own. Many word processors will auto-correct the string of periods to an ellipsis, but you can do it manually (by holding Alt and typing in 0133 on the Number Pad).
More Resources:
Here is a list of a few excellent sites which I would recommend for any further research into the topic of punctuation and punctuation marks, some of which I found helpful when researching and double-checking my facts:
https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation_rules.asp
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/punctuation/what/fourteen-punctuation-marks.html
https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/
Keep that Punctuation Going!
In closing, I will say that punctuation is a very important detail in writing that is not used properly enough today. Take the time to learn and understand its uses, and take the time to use punctuation and use it effectively — it will greatly improve the clarity of your writing, whether you are an online content writer or working on that next big novel.
‘Til next time!