Types
of punctuation
- full stop
- comma
- semicolon
- colon
- apostrophe
- hyphen
- dash
- brackets
- inverted commas
- exclamation mark
- question mark
- bullet point
See
also
Full
stop (.)
Full
stops are used:
·
to mark the end of a sentence that is a
complete statement:
My
name’s Beth and I was 18 in July.
After
leaving school, she went to work in an insurance company.
·
to mark the end of a group of words that don’t
form a conventional sentence, so as to emphasize a statement:
I
keep reliving that moment. Over and over again.
·
in some abbreviations, for example etc.,
Dec., or p.m.:
The
coffee morning will be held on Thursday 15 Sept. in the Waterfront Restaurant.
There’s
a wide range of sandwiches, pies, cakes, etc. at very reasonable prices.
·
in website and email addresses:
www.oup.com
If
an abbreviation with a full stop comes at the end of a sentence you don’t need
to add another full stop:
Bring
your own pens, pencils, rulers, etc.
Comma
(,)
A
comma marks a slight break between different parts of a sentence. Used
properly, commas make the meaning of sentences clear by grouping and separating
words, phrases, and clauses. Many people are uncertain about the use of commas,
though, and often sprinkle them throughout their writing without knowing the
basic rules.
Here
are the main cases when you need to use a comma:
·
in lists
You
need to put a comma between the different items in a list, as in the following
sentences:
Saturday
morning started with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and
French toast.
The
school has a vegetable garden in which the children grow cabbages, onions,
potatoes, and carrots.
The
final comma in these lists (before the word ‘and’) is known as the ‘serial
comma’. Not all writers or publishers use it, but it is used by Oxford
Dictionaries – some people refer to it as ‘the Oxford comma’. Using it can make
your meaning clearer. Take a look at this sentence:
My
favourite sandwiches are chicken, bacon and ham and cheese.
It
isn’t entirely clear from this sentence whether the writer is listing three or
four of their favourite sandwich fillings: is ‘ham’ one of their favourites and
‘cheese’ another, or is it ‘ham and cheese’ that they like? Adding an Oxford
comma makes the meaning clear:
My
favourite sandwiches are chicken, bacon, and ham and cheese.
When
a writer quotes a speaker’s words exactly as they were spoken, this is known as
direct speech. If the piece of
direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, you need to
use a comma to introduce the direct speech. The comma comes before the first
quotation mark. Note that the final quotation mark follows the full stop at the
end of the direct speech:
Steve
replied, ‘No problem.’
You
also need to use a comma at the end of a piece of direct speech, if the speech
comes before the information about who is speaking. In this case, the comma
goes inside the quotation mark:
‘I
don’t agree,’ I replied.
‘Here
we are,' they said.
There
are two exceptions to this rule. If a piece of direct speech takes the form of
a question or an exclamation, you should end it with a question mark or an
exclamation mark, rather than a comma:
‘Stop
him!’ she shouted.
‘Did
you see that?’ he asked.
Direct
speech is often broken up by the information about who is speaking. In these
cases, you need a comma to end the first piece of speech (inside the quotation
mark) and another comma before the second piece (before the quotation mark):
‘Yes,’
he said, ‘and I always keep my promises.’
‘Thinking
back,’ she added, ‘I didn’t expect to win.’
Commas
are used to separate clauses in a complex sentence (i.e. a sentence
which is made up of a main clause and one or more subordinate
clauses).
The
following examples show the use of commas in two complex sentences:
Having
had lunch,
|
we
went back to work.
|
[subordinate
clause]
|
[main
clause]
|
I
first saw her in Paris,
|
where
I lived in the early nineties.
|
[main
clause]
|
[subordinate
clause]
|
If
the commas were removed, these sentences wouldn’t be as clear but the meaning
would still be the same. There are different types of subordinate
clause,
though, and in some types the use of commas can be very important.
A
subordinate clause beginning with ‘who’, ‘which’, ‘that’, ‘whom’, or ‘where’ is
known as a relative clause. Take a look at
this example:
Passengers
|
who
have young children
|
may
board the aircraft first.
|
|
[relative
clause]
|
|
This
sentence contains what’s known as a ‘restrictive relative clause’. Basically, a
restrictive relative clause contains information that’s essential to the
meaning of the sentence as a whole. If you left it out, the sentence wouldn’t
make much sense. If we removed the relative clause from the example above, then
the whole point of that sentence would be lost and we’d be left with the rather
puzzling statement:
Passengers
may board the aircraft first.
You
should not put commas round a restrictive relative clause.
The
other type of subordinate clause beginning with ‘who’, ‘which’, ‘whom’, etc. is
known as a ‘non-restrictive
relative clause’. A non-restrictive relative clause contains
information that is not essential to the overall meaning of a sentence. Take a
look at the following example:
Mary,
|
who
has two young children,
|
has
a part-time job in the library.
|
|
[relative
clause]
|
|
If
you remove this clause, the meaning of the sentence isn’t affected and it still
makes perfect sense. All that’s happened is that we’ve lost a bit of extra information
about Mary:
Mary
has a part-time job in the library.
You
need to put a comma both before and after a non-restrictive relative clause.
Commas
are used to separate a part of a sentence that is an optional ‘aside’ and not
part of the main statement.
Gunpowder
is not, of course, a chemical compound.
His
latest film, Calypso Dreams, opens next month.
In
these sentences, the role of the commas is similar to their function in
non-restrictive relative clauses: they mark off information that isn’t
essential to the overall meaning. Using commas in this way can really help
to clarify the meaning of a sentence. Take a look at this example:
Cynthia’s
daughter, Sarah, is a midwife.
The
writer’s use of commas tells us that Cynthia has only one daughter. If you
removed Sarah’s name from the sentence, there would still be no doubt as to who
was the midwife:
Cynthia’s
daughter is a midwife.
If
you rewrite the original sentence without commas its meaning changes:
Cynthia’s
daughter Sarah is a midwife.
The
lack of commas tells us that the name ‘Sarah’ is crucial to the understanding
of the sentence. It shows that Cynthia has more than one daughter, and so the
name of the one who is a midwife needs to be specified for the meaning to be
clear.
If
you aren’t sure whether you’ve used a pair of commas correctly, try replacing
them with brackets or removing the information enclosed by the commas
altogether, and then see if the sentence is still understandable, or if it
still conveys the meaning you intended.
Semicolon
(;)
The
main task of the semicolon is to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but
not as final as a full stop. It’s used between two main clauses that balance
each other and are too closely linked to be made into separate sentences, as in
these two examples:
The
road runs through a beautiful wooded valley; the railway line follows it.
An
art director searched North Africa; I went to the Canary Islands.
You
can also use a semicolon as a stronger division in a sentence that already
contains commas:
The
study showed the following: 76% of surveyed firms monitor employee Web-surfing
activities, with 65% blocking access to unauthorized Internet locations; over
one-third of the firms monitor employee computer keystrokes; half reported
storing and reviewing employee emails; 57% monitor employee telephone
behaviour, including the inappropriate use of voicemail.
Colon (:)
There
are three main uses of the colon:
·
between two main clauses in cases where the
second clause explains or follows from the first:
That
is the secret of my extraordinary life: always do the unexpected.
It
wasn’t easy: to begin with, I had to find the right house.
·
to introduce a list:
The
price includes the following: travel to London, flight to Venice, hotel
accommodation, and excursions.
The
job calls for skills in the following areas: proofing, editing, and database
administration.
·
before a quotation, and sometimes before
direct speech:
The
headline read: ‘Taxi Driver Battles Gangsters’.
They
shouted: ‘Our families are starving! We need land!’
Apostrophe
(’)
Are
you uncertain about when to use an apostrophe? Many people have difficulty with
this punctuation mark. The best way to get apostrophes right is to understand
when and why they are used. There are two main cases – click on the links below
to find straightforward guidance:
People
are often unsure about whether they should use its (without an
apostrophe) or it’s (with an apostrophe). For information about
this, you can go straight to the section it's or its?
You
use an apostrophe to show that a thing or person belongs or relates to someone
or something: instead of saying the party of Ben or the weather of
yesterday, you can write Ben’s party and yesterday’s weather.
Here
are the main guidelines for using apostrophes to show possession:
Singular
nouns and most personal names
With
a singular noun or most personal names: add an apostrophe plus s:
We
met at Ben’s party.
The
dog’s tail wagged rapidly.
Yesterday’s
weather was dreadful.
Personal
names that end in –s
With
personal names that end in -s: add an apostrophe plus s when you
would naturally pronounce an extra s if you said the word out loud:
He
joined Charles’s army in 1642.
Dickens's
novels provide a wonderful insight into Victorian England.
Thomas's
brother was injured in the accident.
Note
that there are some exceptions to this rule, especially in names of places or
organizations, for example:
St
Thomas’ Hospital
If
you aren’t sure about how to spell a name, look it up in an official place such
as the organization’s website.
With
personal names that end in -s but are not spoken with an extra s:
just add an apostrophe after the -s:
The
court dismissed Bridges' appeal.
Connors'
finest performance was in 1991.
Plural
nouns that end in –s
With
a plural noun that already ends in -s: add an apostrophe after the s:
The
mansion was converted into a girls’ school.
The
work is due to start in two weeks’ time.
My
duties included cleaning out the horses’ stables.
Plural
nouns that do not end in -s
With
a plural noun that doesn’t end in –s: add an apostrophe plus s:
The
children’s father came round to see me.
He
employs 14 people at his men’s clothing store.
The
only cases in which you do not need an apostrophe to show belonging is
in the group of words called possessive pronouns - these are the words his,
hers, ours, yours, theirs (meaning ‘belonging to
him, her, us, you, or them’) - and with the possessive determiners. These are
the words his, hers, its, our, your, their
(meaning 'belonging to or associated with him, her, it, us, you, or them'). See
also it's or its?
An
apostrophe can be used to show that letters or numbers have been omitted. Here
are some examples of apostrophes that indicate missing letters:
I’m - short for I
am
he’ll - short for he
will
she’d – short for she
had or she would
pick
’n’ mix
- short for pick and mix
it’s
hot
- short for it is hot
didn’t - short for did
not
It
also shows that numbers have been omitted, especially in dates, e.g. the
Berlin Wall came down in the autumn of ’89 (short for 1989).
These
two words can cause a lot of confusion: many people are uncertain about whether
or not to use an apostrophe. These are the rules to remember:
- its (without an apostrophe) means ‘belonging to it’:
The
dog wagged its tail.
Each
case is judged on its own merits.
- it’s (with an apostrophe) means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’:
It’s
been a long day.
It’s
cold outside.
It’s
a comfortable car and it’s got some great gadgets.
Apostrophes
and plural forms<br >
The
general rule is that you should not use an apostrophe to form the
plurals of nouns, abbreviations, or dates made up of numbers: just add -s
(or -es, if the noun in question forms its plural with -es). For
example:
euro
|
euros
|
(e.g.
The cost of the trip is 570 euros.)
|
pizza
|
pizzas
|
(e.g.
Traditional Italian pizzas are thin and crisp.)
|
apple
|
apples
|
(e.g.
She buys big bags of organic apples and carrots.)
|
MP
|
MPs
|
(e.g.
Local MPs are divided on this issue.)
|
1990
|
1990s
|
(e.g.
The situation was different in the 1990s.)
|
It's
very important to remember this grammatical rule.
There
are one or two cases in which it is acceptable to use an apostrophe to form a
plural, purely for the sake of clarity:
- you can use an apostrophe to show the plurals of single letters:
I've
dotted the i's and crossed the t's.
Find
all the p's in appear.
- you can use an apostrophe to show the plurals of single numbers:
Find
all the number 7’s.
These
are the only cases in which it is generally considered acceptable to use an
apostrophe to form plurals: remember that an apostrophe should never be
used to form the plural of ordinary nouns, names, abbreviations, or numerical
dates.
Dash
(–)
A
dash is used:
·
in pairs, to mark off information or ideas
that are not essential to an understanding of the rest of the sentence:
Thousands
of children – like the girl in this photograph – have been left homeless.
My
son – where has he gone? – would like to meet you.
·
to show other kinds of break in a sentence
where a comma, semicolon, or colon would be traditionally used:
One
thing’s for sure – he doesn’t want to face the truth.
Things
have changed a lot in the last year – mainly for the better.
Dashes
are especially common in informal writing, such as personal emails or blogs,
but it’s best to use them sparingly when you are writing formally.
Hyphen
(-)
Hyphens
are used to link words and parts of words. They are not as common today as they
used to be, but there are three main cases where you should use them:
Hyphens
are used in many compound words to show that the component words have a
combined meaning (e.g. a pick-me-up, mother-in-law, good-hearted) or
that there is a relationship between the words that make up the compound: for
example, rock-forming minerals are minerals that form rocks. But you
don’t need to use them in every type of compound word.
Compound
adjectives
Compound
adjectives are made up of a noun + an adjective, a noun + a participle, or an adjective
+ a participle. Many compound
adjectives should be hyphenated. Here are some examples:
noun
+ adjective
|
noun
+ participle
|
adjective +
participle
|
accident-prone
|
computer-aided
|
good-looking
|
sugar-free
|
power-driven
|
quick-thinking
|
carbon-neutral
|
user-generated
|
bad-tempered
|
sport-mad
|
custom-built
|
fair-haired
|
camera-ready
|
muddle-headed
|
open-mouthed
|
With
compound adjectives formed from the adverb well and a participle (e.g. well-known),
or from a phrase (e.g. up-to-date), you should use a hyphen when the
compound comes before the noun:
well-known
brands of coffee
an
up-to-date account
but
not when the compound comes after the noun:
His
music was also well known in England.
Their
figures are up to date.
It’s
important to use hyphens in compound adjectives describing ages and lengths of
time: leaving them out can make the meaning ambiguous. For example, 250-year-old
trees clearly refers to trees that are 250 years old, while 250 year old
trees could equally refer to 250 trees that are all one year old.
Compound
verbs
Use
a hyphen when a compound formed from two nouns is made into a verb, for
example:
noun
|
verb
|
an
ice skate
|
to
ice-skate
|
a
booby trap
|
to
booby-trap
|
a
spot check
|
to
spot-check
|
a
court martial
|
to
court-martial
|
Phrasal
verbs
You
should NOT put a hyphen within phrasal verbs - verbs made up
of a main verb and an adverb or preposition. For example:
Phrasal
verb
|
Example
|
build
up
|
You
should continue to build up your pension.
|
break
in
|
They
broke in by forcing a lock on the door.
|
stop
off
|
We
stopped off in Hawaii on the way home.
|
If
a phrasal verb is made into a noun, though, you SHOULD use a hyphen:
Noun
|
Example
|
build-up
|
There
was a build-up of traffic on the ring road.
|
break-in
|
The
house was unoccupied at the time of the break-in.
|
stop-off
|
We
knew there would be a stop-off in Singapore for refuelling.
|
Compound
nouns
A
compound noun is one consisting of two component nouns. In principle, such
nouns can be written in one of three different ways:
one
word
|
two
words
|
hyphenated
|
aircrew
|
air
crew
|
air-crew
|
playgroup
|
play
group
|
play-group
|
chatroom
|
chat
room
|
chat-room
|
In
the past, these sorts of compounds were usually hyphenated, but the situation
is different today. The tendency is now to write them as either one word or two
separate words. However, the most important thing to note is that you should
choose one style and stick to it within a piece of writing. Don’t refer to a playgroup
in one paragraph and a play-group in another.
Hyphens
can be used to join a prefix to another word,
especially if the prefix ends in a vowel and the other word also begins with
one (e.g. pre-eminent or co-own). This use is less common than it
used to be, though, and one-word forms are becoming more usual (e.g. prearrange
or cooperate).
Use
a hyphen to separate a prefix from a name or date, e.g. post-Aristotelian
or pre-1900.
Use
a hyphen to avoid confusion with another word: for example, to distinguish re-cover
(= provide something with a new cover) from recover (= get well again).
Hyphens
can also be used to divide words that are not usually hyphenated.
They
show where a word is to be divided at the end of a line of writing. Always try
to split the word in a sensible place, so that the first part does not mislead
the reader: for example, hel-met not he-lmet; dis-abled
not disa-bled.
Hyphens
are also used to stand for a common second element in all but the last word of
a list, e.g.:
You
may see a yield that is two-, three-, or fourfold.
Brackets
( ) [ ]
There
are two main types of brackets.
Round
brackets
Round
brackets (also called parentheses) are mainly used to separate off
information that isn’t essential to the meaning of the rest of the sentence. If
you removed the bracketed material the sentence would still make perfectly good
sense. For example:
Mount
Everest (8,848 m) is the highest mountain in the world.
There
are several books on the subject (see page 120).
He
coined the term ‘hypnotism’ (from the Greek word hypnos meaning 'sleep')
and practised it frequently.
They
can also be used to enclose a comment by the person writing:
He’d
clearly had too much to drink (not that I blamed him).
Square
brackets
Square
brackets are mainly used to enclose words added by someone other than the
original writer or speaker, typically in order to clarify the situation:
He
[the police officer] can’t prove they did it.
If
round or square brackets are used at the end of a sentence, the full stop
should be placed outside the closing bracket:
They
eventually decided to settle in the United States (Debbie's home).
Question
mark (?)
A
question mark is used to indicate the end of a question:
Have
you seen the film yet?
He
asked if I had seen the film yet.
A
question mark can also be used in brackets to show that the writer is
unconvinced by a statement:
I’m
about to get started on the new project, which is apparently quite
straightforward (?).
Exclamation
mark (!)
The
main use of the exclamation mark is to end sentences that express:
·
an exclamation:
Ow!
That hurt!
Hello!
How are you?
·
direct speech that represents something
shouted or spoken very loudly:
‘Look
up there!’ she yelled.
·
something that amuses the writer:
Included
on the list of banned items was 'crochet hooks'!
·
An exclamation mark can also be used in
brackets after a statement to show that the writer finds it funny or ironic:
She
says she’s stopped feeling insecure (!) since she met him.
People
tend to use a lot of exclamation marks in informal writing such as emails or
text messages, but you should avoid using them in formal writing.
Bullet points
Bullet
points are used to draw attention to important information within a document so
that a reader can identify the key issues and facts quickly. There are no fixed
rules about how to use them, but here are some guidelines.
- The text introducing the list of bullet points should end with a colon.
- If the text that follows the bullet point is not a proper sentence, it doesn’t need to begin with a capital letter and it shouldn’t end with a full stop, for example:
Tonight's
agenda includes:
- annual review of capital gains issues
- outstanding inheritance tax issues
- If the text following the bullet point IS a complete sentence, it should begin with a capital letter. A full stop at the end is technically required but is not absolutely essential:
The
agenda for tonight is as follows:
- We will conduct an annual review of capital gains issues.
- The senior tax manager will talk about outstanding inheritance tax issues.
- Lists of bullet points will have more impact if each one begins with the same word class (or part of speech) and if they are all of a similar length. Action verbs are a good choice for the first word, i.e. verbs that describe the performing of an action. If you do use verbs, make sure that each one is in the same tense. Here’s an example of the effective use of action verbs in a person’s CV/résumé:
Duties
and responsibilities included:
- teaching national curriculum to Key Stage 1 pupils
- reaching attainment targets and improving learning performance
- developing extracurricular sports programme
- Bullet points tend to have more impact if their text is relatively short. Make sure you use the same typeface and margin width within each section.
Bullet
points are visually attractive and make it easy for a reader to locate
important information. Nevertheless, try to use them sparingly: too many
bullet-pointed sections in the same document will mean that their impact is
lost.
Inverted
commas
Inverted
commas can be single - ‘x’ - or double - ‘’x‘’. They are also known as quotation
marks, speech marks, or quotes.
Main
uses
Inverted
commas are mainly used in the following cases:
·
to mark the beginning and end of direct
speech (i.e. a speaker’s words written down exactly as they were spoken):
‘That,’
he said, ‘is nonsense.’
‘What
time will he arrive?’ she asked.
·
to mark off a word or phrase that’s being
discussed, or that’s being directly quoted from somewhere else:
He
called this phenomenon ‘the memory of water’.
What
does ‘integrated circuit’ mean?
Single
or double?
There’s
no rule about which to use but you should stick to one or the other throughout
a piece of writing. Single inverted commas are generally more common in British
English while American English tends to prefer double ones.
If
you find that you need to enclose quoted material within direct speech or
another quotation, use the style you haven’t used already. So, if you’ve been
using single inverted commas, put any further quoted material within double ones
and vice versa. For example:
She
still sounds amazed when she says: ‘We were turned down because “we represented
too small a minority of the population”. They could still get away with saying
things like that then.’
Punctuation
in direct speech
In
reports and stories, a writer often wants to tell the reader what someone has
said. There are two ways of doing this. The speaker’s words can either be
reported (in a style known as reported speech), or they can be quoted directly
in what’s called direct speech.
Reported
speech
In
reported speech, the actual words are not usually quoted directly. Usually,
they are summarized or paraphrased and there are no special punctuation issues
to take into account:
The
180 respondents said that the main reason for setting up in business was to be
their own boss.
Trade
union representatives expressed their satisfaction at the news that there would
be no job losses.
Direct
speech
In
direct speech, various punctuation conventions are used to separate the quoted words
from the rest of the text: this allows a reader to follow what’s going on. Here
are the basic rules:
‘He’s
very clever, you know.’
In
British English, the usual style is to use single inverted commas but it is not
wrong to use double ones:
“He’s
very clever, you know.”
·
Every time a new speaker says something, you
should start a new paragraph:
‘They
think it’s a more respectable job,’ said Jo.
‘I
don’t agree,’ I replied.
·
There should be a comma, full stop, question
mark, or exclamation mark at the end of a piece of speech. This is placed
inside the closing inverted comma or commas.
‘Can
I come in?’ he asked.
‘Just
a moment!’ she shouted.
‘You’re
right,’ he said.
'I
didn't expect to win.'
·
If direct speech comes after the information
about who is speaking, you should use a comma to introduce the piece of speech,
placed before the first inverted comma:
Steve
replied, ‘No problem.’
·
If the direct speech is broken up by
information about who is speaking, you need a comma (or a question mark or
exclamation mark) to end the first piece of speech and a full stop or another
comma before the second piece (before the inverted comma or commas):
‘You’re
right,’ he said. ‘It feels strange.’
‘Thinking
back,’ she said, ‘I didn’t expect to win.’
‘No!’
he cried. ‘You can’t leave now!’
Punctuation
in lists
Punctuation
has two main roles to play in the presentation of lists of items.
To
separate the items in a list
Punctuation
is used to separate the items in the list. The usual way of doing this is to
place a comma after each item in the list:
The
school has a vegetable garden in which the children grow cabbages, onions,
potatoes, and carrots.
The
last item in a list is often preceded by the words ‘and’ or ‘or’. Some writers
and publishers always put a comma before the word ‘and’ or ‘or’ but it isn’t
wrong to leave it out.
If
each item in the list is quite long, semicolons can be used instead of commas:
This
criticism can be interpreted in various ways: as an attack on Shakespeare’s
presumption in challenging the university-educated dramatist; as an accusation
of plagiarism; and as an attack on Shakespeare’s plagiarism of Greene.
To
introduce a list of items
If
the list of items is quite a long one, you also need to use punctuation to
introduce it. You can use a colon, as in the example above:
This
criticism can be interpreted in various ways: as an attack on Shakespeare’s
presumption [etc.]
If
you are writing informally, you could also use a dash:
For
the more energetic, there are lots of summer outdoor activities - mountain
biking, whale watching, ocean kayaking, windsurfing, and golf.
Punctuation
in abbreviations
People
are often uncertain about whether or not to use full stops in abbreviations.
Here are some guidelines:
1.
In both British and American English, if you are using initial (i.e. first)
letters to represent words, you don’t normally need to put a full stop after
them:
BBC
UK
NATO
2.
In American English, however, it is common to use a full stop as an alternative
style for certain abbreviations, in particular:
USA
or U.S.A.
US
or U.S.
3.
If an abbreviation consists of the first and last letters of a word, you don’t
need to use a full stop at the end:
Mr
Ltd
Dr
4.
If the abbreviation consists only of the first part of a word, then you should
put a full stop at the end:
Wed.
[= Wednesday]
Dec.
[= December]
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