PUNCTUATION

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Punctuation is a set of symbols used in writing to help indicate something about the structure of sentences, or to assist readers in knowing when to change the rhythm or the stress of their speaking. Depending on the style of writing and the language used, punctuation may tend towards one of these purposes more than the other. Common units of punctuation in English and many other languages include the comma, period, apostrophe, quotation mark, question mark, exclamation mark, bracket, dash, hyphen, ellipsis, colon, and semicolon. Each of these units indicates a different thing, and some may have multiple meanings depending on context.
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The period or full stop, question mark, exclamation mark, and ellipsis all serve to terminate a sentence. A period is the default terminal punctuation mark, used to end a sentence without conveying any additional meaning. A question mark indicates that the preceding sentence takes the form of an interrogative, and may also be read to change the tone when reading aloud to reflect this. An exclamation mark indicates that the preceding sentence is somehow excited or extremely important, and if read aloud should be given special stress. An ellipsis indicates that some part of the sentence is being omitted; this may be used to refer to a theoretical clause, in which case it usually implies a trailing off of the voice when read aloud, or it may indicate that a real part of the sentence is omitted, often used when quoting long passages or quotations.
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The comma is used for a wide range of different purposes in punctuation. In general, it is considered necessary stylistically to have all commas in a sentence serve the same function, to avoid confusion on the part of the reader. A comma may be used to separate units of a sentence such as an introduction or parenthetical thought, to separate items in lists such as this one, to lead a sentence into a quotation, and to separate independent clauses joined by a word such as “and” or “yet”. Commas also have a number of less common uses, too numerous to list in detail.
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An apostrophe may be used as punctuation within a word to indicate an omitted letter, as in contractions such as don’t or e’er. It may also be used to show that a noun is possessive, such as in Harry’s name or the Seven Seas’ unrelenting waves.
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Quotation marks are used as punctuation to denote quotations within text, or to offset a word or phrase as being an ironic or non-standard usage. The most common type of quotation marks are double quotes, such as: “There is much to like about that,” she said. Or: I wouldn’t say I “missed” work the other day. Single quotation marks, which are a type of punctuation that look similar to an apostrophe, may be used for quotations within quotations, such as in the case of: “As the Bard said, ‘To be or not to be, that is the question,’” He said sagely.
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Dashes are used for a number of different purposes, often to link specific things together. A figure dash is used to link numbers together, such as in a phone number. An en dash is used to link things that are within a range, such as page numbers. An em dash is traditionally used to separate a thought from the flow of the sentence – like this – in an almost parenthetical manner. In some modern style guides, the en dash is taking over the em dash’s role of a thought separator in formal writing. A quotation dash is a unit of punctuation which looks approximately the same as the em dash, used to cite a quotation’s source in-text.
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Hyphens are punctuation marks which look similar to dashes, but are shorter, and are used to join compound words which haven’t yet become independent words or which are being used adjectivally.
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Brackets are used to offset text in some way from the main body. The main type of bracket punctuation used in writing is the parenthesis, with the others being used either to indicate parenthetical thoughts within a set of parenthesis or for specialized usages depending on style.
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The colon is a unit of punctuation typically used to introduce a subsequent sentence that is in some way logically linked to the preceding sentence. Therefore, one may find colons serving as punctuation to introduce a list, to offset something that is a consequence of the fact stated in the preceding sentence, or to lead into a quotation.
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A semicolon is a unit of punctuation used to link two independent clauses. It is usually used where a period is thought to create too strong a break between the sentences, but a comma is too weak a break. Often, semicolons are also used in place of a comma in lists which use commas for purposes other than offsetting list items, to avoid confusion.

For details with examples, please go to individual items as listed in ARCHIVES

Use of a period [ . ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use a period [ . ] at the end of a sentence that makes a statement. There is no space between the last letter and the period. Use one space between the period and the first letter of the next sentence. This goes against the grain for people using the typography instilled by generations of old-fashioned typewriter users, but modern word-processors nicely accommodate the spacing after a period, and double-spacing after a period can only serve to discombobulate the good intentions of one's software.

If one is using a mono-space font (like Courier) to reproduce the effect of an old-fashioned typewriter, then using a double space after a period would, indeed, be a good idea. This might be useful to remember if one's e-mail client uses Courier, but usually e-mail fonts are determined by the receiver's e-mail program, so Courier is apt to be translated into another font like Times New Roman or Geneva anyway.

See Quotation Marks and Parentheses for special placement considerations with those marks.

Use a period at the end of a command.

• Hand in the poster essays no later than noon on Friday.
• In case of tremors, leave the building immediately.

Use a period at the end of an indirect question.

• The teacher asked why Maria had left out the easy exercises.
• My father used to wonder why Egbert's ears were so big.

Use a period with abbreviations:

Dr. Espinoza arrived from Washington, D.C., at 6 p.m.

Notice that when the period ending the abbreviation comes at the end of a sentence, it will also suffice to end the sentence. On the other hand, when an abbreviation ends a question or exclamation, it is appropriate to add a question mark or exclamation mark after the abbreviation-ending period:

Did you enjoy living in Washington, D.C.?

Occasionally, a statement will end with a question. When that happens, it is appropriate to end the sentence with a question mark.

• We can get to Boston quicker, can't we, if we take the interstate?
• His question was, can we end this statement with a question mark?
• She ended her remarks with a resounding why not?

The Question Mark [ ? ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use a question mark [ ? ] at the end of a direct question. It is considered bad form to use a question mark in combination with other marks, although that is often done in informal prose in an attempt to convey complex tones: He told you what!? That combination (or similar combination) of punctuation marks is sometimes called an interrobang, but the interrobang currently has no role in academic prose.*

A tag question is a device used to turn a statement into a question. It nearly always consists of a pronoun, a helping verb, and sometimes the word not. Although it begins as a statement, the tag question prevails when it comes to the end-mark: use a question mark. Notice that when the statement is positive, the tag question is expressed in the negative; when the statement is negative, the tag question is positive. (There are a few exceptions to this, frequently expressing an element of surprise or sarcasm: "So you've made your first million, have you?" "Oh, that's your plan, is it?") The following are more typical tag questions:

• He should quit smoking, shouldn't he?
• He shouldn't have quit his diet, should he?
• They're not doing very well, are they?
• He finished on time, didn't he?
• She does a beautiful job, doesn't she?
• Harold may come along, mightn't he?
• There were too many people on the dock, weren't there?
  (Be careful of this last one; it's not "weren't they?")

Be careful not to put a question mark at the end of an indirect question.

• The instructor asked the students what they were doing.
• I asked my sister if she had a date.
• I wonder if Cheney will run for vice president again.
• I wonder whether Cheney will run again.

Be careful to distinguish between an indirect question (above), and a question that is embedded within a statement which we do want to end with a question mark.

• We can get to Boston quicker, can't we, if we take the interstate?
• His question was, can we end this statement with a question mark?
• She ended her remarks with a resounding why not?
• I wonder: will Cheney run for office again?

Put a question mark at the end of a sentence that is, in fact, a direct question. (Sometimes writers will simply forget.) Rhetorical questions (asked when an answer is not really expected), by the way, are questions and deserve to end with a question mark:

• How else should we end them, after all?
• What if I said to you, "You've got a real problem here"? (Notice that the question mark here comes after the quotation mark and there is no period at the end of the statement.)

Sometimes a question will actually end with a series of brief questions. When that happens, especially when the brief questions are more or less follow-up questions to the main question, each of the little questions can begin with a lowercase letter and end with a question mark.

• Who is responsible for executing the plan? the coach? the coaching staff? the players?

If a question mark is part of an italicized or underlined title, make sure that the question mark is also italicized:

• My favorite book is Where Did He Go?

(Do not add a period after such a sentence that ends with the title's question mark. The question mark will also suffice to end the sentence.) If the question mark is not part of a sentence-ending title, don't italicize the question mark:

• Did he sing the French national anthem, la Marseillaise?

When a question ends with an abbreviation, end the abbreviation with a period and then add the question mark.

• Didn't he use to live in Washington, D.C.?

When a question constitutes a polite request, it is usually not followed by a question mark. This becomes more true as the request becomes longer and more complex:

• Would everyone in the room who hasn't received an ID card please move to the front of the line.

The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use an exclamation point [ ! ] at the end of an emphatic declaration, interjection, or command.

"No!" he yelled. "Do it now!"

An exclamation mark may be used to close questions that are meant to convey extreme emotion, as in

What on earth are you doing! Stop!

An exclamation mark can be inserted within parentheses to emphasize a word within a sentence.

We have some really(!) low-priced rugs on sale this week.

Note that there is no space between the last letter of the word so emphasized and the parentheses. This device should be used rarely, if ever, in formal text.

An exclamation mark will often accompany mimetically produced sounds, as in

"All night long, the dogs woof! in my neighbor's yard" and

"The bear went Grr!, and I went left."

If an exclamation mark is part of an italicized or underlined title, make sure that the exclamation mark is also italicized or underlined:

My favorite book is Oh, the Places You'll Go!

(Do not add a period after such a sentence that ends with the title's exclamation mark. The exclamation mark will also suffice to end the sentence.) If the exclamation mark is not part of a sentence-ending title, don't italicize the exclamation mark:

I've asked you not to sing la Marseillaise!

In academic prose, an exclamation point is used rarely, if at all, and in newspaper writing the exclamation point is virtually nonexistent.

The Colon [ : ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use a colon [ : ] before a list or an explanation that is preceded by a clause that can stand by itself. Think of the colon as a gate, inviting one to go on:

There is only one thing left to do now: confess while you still have time.

The charter review committee now includes the following people:

the mayor

the chief of police

the fire chief

the chair of the town council

You nearly always have a sense of what is going to follow or be on the other side of the colon. (Compare the function of a semicolon in this regard.) You will find differing advice on the use of a colon to introduce a vertical or display list. See Using Numbers and Creating Lists.

We will often use a colon to separate an independent clause from a quotation (often of a rather formal nature) that the clause introduces:

The acting director often used her favorite quotation from Shakespeare's Tempest: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

With today's sophisticated word-processing programs (which know how much space to put after punctuation marks), we insert only one space (hit the space-bar only once) after a colon.

It might be useful to say, also, when we don't use a colon. Remember that the clause that precedes the mark (where you're considering a colon) ought to be able to stand on its own as an independent clause. Its purpose might be strictly to introduce the clause that follows, so it might feel rather incomplete by itself, but grammatically it will have both a subject and a predicate. In other words, we would not use a colon in situations like the following:

• Her recipe for gunpowder included saltpeter, dry oatmeal, and ground-up charcoal briquets. (no colon after "included")
• His favorite breakfast cereals were Rice Krispies, Cheerios, and Wheaties. (no colon after "were")
• Her usual advice, I remember, was "Keep your head up as you push the ball up the court." (no colon after "was")

One of the most frequently asked questions about colons is whether we should begin an independent clause that comes after a colon with a capital letter. If the independent clause coming after the colon is a formal quote, begin that quoted language with a capital letter.

Whitehead had this to say about writing style: "Style is the ultimate morality of mind."

If the explanatory statement coming after a colon consists of more than one sentence, begin the independent clause immediately after the colon with a capital letter:

There were two reasons for a drop in attendance at NBA games this season: First, there was no superstar to take the place of Michael Jordan. Second, fans were disillusioned about the misbehavior of several prominent players.

If the introductory phrase preceding the colon is very brief and the clause following the colon represents the real business of the sentence, begin the clause after the colon with a capital letter:

Remember: Many of the prominent families of this New England state were slaveholders prior to 1850.

If the function of the introductory clause is simply to introduce, and the function of the second clause (following the colon) is to express a rule, begin that second clause with a capital:

Let us not forget this point: Appositive phrases have an entirely different function than participial phrases and must not be regarded as dangling modifiers.

There is some disagreement among writing reference manuals about when you should capitalize an independent clause following a colon. Most of the manuals advise that when you have more than one sentence in your explanation or when your sentence(s) is a formal quotation, a capital is a good idea. The NYPL Writer's Guide urges consistency within a document; the Chicago Manual of Style says you may begin an independent clause with a lowercase letter unless it's one of those two things (a quotation or more than one sentence). The APA Publication Manual is the most extreme: it advises us to always capitalize an independent clause following a colon. The advice given above is consistent with the Gregg Reference Manual.

We also use a colon after a salutation in a business letter . . .

Dear Senator Dodd:

It has come to our attention that . . . . .

. . . and when we designate the speaker within a play or in court testimony:

BIFF: He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.
HAPPY (almost ready to fight Biff): Don't say that!
BIFF: He never knew who he was.

The Semicolon [ ; ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use a semicolon [ ; ]

• to help sort out a monster list:
  There were citizens from Bangor, Maine; Hartford, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; and Newport, Rhode Island.
  OR
  We had four professors on our committee: Peter Wursthorn, Professor of Mathematics; Ronald Pepin, Professor of English; Cynthia Greenblatt, Professor of Education; and Nada Light, Professor of Nursing.
• to separate closely related independent clauses:
  My grandmother seldom goes to bed this early; she's afraid she'll miss out on something.

The semicolon allows the writer to imply a relationship between nicely balanced ideas without actually stating that relationship. (Instead of saying because my grandmother is afraid she'll miss out on something, we have implied the because. Thus the reader is involved in the development of an idea—a clever, subliminal way of engaging the reader's attention.)

It is rare, but certainly possible, that you will want a semicolon to separate two independent clauses even when those two independent clauses are connected by a coordinating conjunction. This is especially true when the independent clauses are complex or lengthy and when there are commas within those independent clauses. You might consider breaking those two independent clauses into separate sentences when this happens.

• Coach Auriemma realized that his next recruiting class contained two superb guards, a fine post player, and a power forward; but as of the end of the spring recruiting season, he was still pushing to discover better first-year players for the interior positions.

The Hyphen [ - ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Although smart word-processors seem to have taken over the job of hyphenating broken words at the right-hand end of our lines and spellcheckers can review our use of hyphens in other places, these technological marvels are by no means infallible. Microsoft Word, for example, flags as misspelled almost any word with an unhyphenated prefix: antidiscrimination and cogeneration, for example, are marked as misspelled words and re-sign, co-bra, ever-green, and be-loved are marked as correctly hyphenated words by that software.* Generally, it is a good idea not to use justified text in academic papers; that will cut down on a lot of decisions about hyphenating. The APA Publication Manual, in fact, insists that you not break words at line-endings in any case, but that can lead to lines that are too brief and aesthetically unbalanced.

The rules for hyphenating at line endings are so complicated that no one can be expected to keep track of them. If you're ever in a situation where you have to hyphenate at line-breaks, go to a dictionary—unless you can explain why you would break experience between the e and the r, that is, and then you can do whatever you want. Remember that if you adjust one line-break for aesthetic reasons, that may well affect subsequent line-breaks in the text.

Probably the best reference text for these decisions (next to looking up everything in a dictionary, that is) is The Chicago Manual of Style. An excellent online resource on hyphen use is the Editing Workshop by Sonia Jaffe Robbins at New York University. Tom Little voices a dissenting opinion in "The Great Hyphenation Hoax," which seeks to free writers of the innumerable rules and imponderable tables of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Hyphens have other uses

1. creating compound words, particularly modifiers before nouns (the well-known actor, my six-year-old daughter, the out-of-date curriculum
2. writing numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine and fractions (five-eighths, one-fourth)
3. creating compounds on-the-fly for fly-by-night organizations
4. adding certain prefixes to words: When a prefix comes before a capitalized word or the prefix is capitalized, use a hyphen (non-English, A-frame, I-formation). The prefixes self-, all-, and ex- nearly always require a hyphen (ex-husband, all-inclusive, self-control), and when the prefix ends with the same letter that begins the word, you will often use a hyphen (anti-intellectual, de-emphasize), but not always (unnatural, coordinate, cooperate). By all means, use a good dictionary when in doubt! For further information about compound nouns and compound modifiers, see the separate section on Compound Words.

There is no space between a hyphen and the character on either side of it.

Suspended Compounds

With a series of nearly identical compounds, we sometimes delay the final term of the final term until the last instance, allowing the hyphen to act as a kind of place holder, as in

• The third- and fourth-grade teachers met with the parents.
• Both full- and part-time employees will get raises this year.
• We don't see many 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children around here.

Be careful not to overuse this feature of the hyphen; readers have to wait until that final instance to know what you're talking about, and that can be annoying.

The Dash [ — ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use a dash [ — ] (or two hyphens [ -- ] on old-fashioned typewriters) or dashes as a super-comma or set of super-commas to set off parenthetical elements, especially when those elements contain internal forms of punctuation:

All four of them—Bob, Jeffrey, Jason, and Brett—did well in college.

In most word-processors, the dash is created by holding down the option key and hitting the key that has the underline mark above the hyphen. This can vary, though, from program to program. Usually, you get an en dash (see below) with the option + hyphen key, and you get the larger em dash (used more frequently) with option + shift + hyphen keys.

Do not use dashes to set apart material when commas would do the work for you. Usually, there are no spaces between the dash and the letters on either side of a dash, although the dash is frequently shown that way in documents prepared for the World Wide Web and e-mail for typographical and aesthetic reasons (because the WWW authoring and e-mail clients have little control over line-breaks).

In writing dialogue, the dash is used to show breaks in thought and shifts in tone:

"How many times have I asked you not to —" Jasion suddenly stopped talking and looked out the window.
"Not to do what?" I prompted.
"Not to — Oh heck, I forget!"

A dash is sometimes used to set off concluding lists and explanations in a more informal and abrupt manner than the colon. We seldom see the dash used this way in formal, academic prose.

Modern word processors provide for two kinds of dashes: the regular dash or em dash (which is the same width as the letter "M," — ) and the en dash (which is about half the width, the same as the letter "N," – ). We use the em dash for most purposes and keep its smaller brother, the en dash, for marking the space between dates in a chronological range: "Kennedy's presidency (1961–1963) marked an extraordinary era. . . ."; in time: 6:30–8:45 p.m.; and between numbers and letters in an indexing scheme: table 13–C, CT Statute 144–A.

The en dash is also used to join compound modifiers made up of elements that are themselves either open compounds (frequently two-word proper nouns) or already hyphenated compounds: the Puerto Rican–United States collaboration, the New York–New Jersey border, post-Darwinian–pre-Freudian theorems. The Gregg Reference Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style both recommend using the en dash whenever a compound modifier is combined with a participle as in "a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building," "a White House–backed proposal," and "a foreign exchanged–related issue." A string of modifiers in a single compound, though, is joined with hyphens: hilarious, never-to-be-forgotten moments. If you are using an old-fashioned typewriter that cannot create an en dash, you can denote to your typesetter or editor that a hyphen is to be converted to an en dash by using a hyphen and hand-writing the letter "n" above it.

Some reference manuals are urging editors and publishers to get rid of the en dash altogether and to use the em dash exclusively, but en and em are still handy words to know when you're trying to get rid of those extra e's at the end of a Scrabble game. Finally, we use what is called a 3-em dash (or six typewriter hyphens) when we're showing that someone's name or a word has been omitted (perhaps for legal reasons or issues of taste):

The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use parentheses [ ( ) ] to include material that you want to de-emphasize or that wouldn't normally fit into the flow of your text but you want to include nonetheless. If the material within parentheses appears within a sentence, do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that material, even if the material is itself a complete sentence. (A question mark or exclamation mark, however, might be appropriate and necessary.) If the material within your parentheses is written as a separate sentence (not included within another sentence), punctuate it as if it were a separate sentence.

• Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (we remember him at Kennedy's inauguration) remains America's favorite poet.
  
• Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost (do you remember him?) remains America's favorite poet.
  
• Thirty-five years after his death, Robert Frost remains America's favorite poet. (We remember him at Kennedy's inauguration.)

If the material is important enough, use some other means of including it within your text—even if it means writing another sentence. Note that parentheses tend to de-emphasize text whereas dashes tend to make material seem even more important.

The Bracket [ [ ] ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use brackets [ [ ] ] in the following situations:

You can use them to include explanatory words or phrases within quoted language:

Lew Perkins, the Director of Athletic Programs, said that Pumita Espinoza, the new soccer coach [at Notre Dame Academy] is going to be a real winner.

If you are quoting material and you've had to change the capitalization of a word or change a pronoun to make the material fit into your sentence, enclose that changed letter or word(s) within brackets:

Espinoza charged her former employer with "falsification of [her] coaching record."

See the description of the ellipsis for information on using brackets to set off an ellipsis that you have used to indicate omitted language in a quotation.

Also within quotations, you could enclose [sic] within brackets (we italicize but never underline the word sic and we do not italicize the brackets themselves) to show that misspelled words or inappropriately used words are not your own typos or blunders but are part of an accurately rendered quotation:

Reporters found three mispelings [sic] in the report.

(It is bad manners, however, to use this device to show that another writer is a lousy speller or otherwise unlettered. Also, use it only when it is important to maintain the original spelling for some reason. If you can edit (remove) the error without violating some scholarly or ethical principle, do so.) Note, also, that the word sic means "thus" or "that's how it was" and is not an abbreviation; thus, no period.

If you have italicized or underlined words within quoted language that was not italicized or underlined in the original, you can note that change in brackets included within the sentence or paragraph:

It was the atmosphere of the gym that thrilled Jacobs, not the eight championship banners hanging from the beams [italics added].

("Italics mine" or "emphasis added" would be other acceptable phrases.)

You can use brackets to include parenthetical material inside parenthetical material:

Chernwell was poet laureate of Bermuda (a largely honorary position [unpaid]) for ten years.

Be kind to your reader, however, and use this device sparingly.

The Ellipsis [ … ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

An ellipsis [ … ] proves to be a handy device when you're quoting material and you want to omit some words. The ellipsis consists of three evenly spaced dots (periods) with spaces between the ellipsis and surrounding letters or other marks. Let's take the sentence, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the U.S." and leave out "from the Caribbean who were":

The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes … visiting the U.S.

If the omission comes after the end of a sentence, the ellipsis will be placed after the period, making a total of four dots. … See how that works? Notice that there is no space between the period and the last character of the sentence.

The ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in the flow of a sentence and is especially useful in quoted speech:

Juan thought and thought … and then thought some more.
"I'm wondering …" Juan said, bemused.

Note carefully the spacing of the ellipsis marks and the surrounding characters in the examples above. In mid-sentence, a space should appear between the first and last ellipsis marks and the surrounding letters. If a quotation is meant to trail off (as in Juan's bemused thought), leave a space between the last letter and the first ellipsis mark but do not include a period with the ellipsis marks.

If words are left off at the end of a sentence, and that is all that is omitted, indicate the omission with ellipsis marks (preceded and followed by a space) and then indicate the end of the sentence with a period … . If one or more sentences are omitted, end the sentence before the ellipsis with a period and then insert your ellipsis marks with a space on both sides. … As in this example. A coded ellipsis (used in the construction of this page) will appear tighter (with less of a space between the dots) than the use of period-space-period-space-period.

When words at the beginning of a quoted sentence are omitted, it is not necessary to use an ellipsis to indicate that words have been left out when that fragment can fit into the flow of your text. An exception: in a blockquoted fragment, use an ellipsis to indicate an omission:

According to Quirk and Greenbaum, the distinctions are unimportant … for count nouns with specific reference to definite and indefinite pronouns.

However, if the material quoted can be read as a complete sentence, simply capitalize the first word of the material and leave out the ellipsis marks:

This principle is described by Quirk and Greenbaum:
The distinctions for count nouns with specific reference to definite and indefinite pronouns remain unimportant.

When a lengthy quotation begins with a complete sentence and ends with a complete sentence, do not use an ellipsis at either the end or the beginning of the quotation unless it is, for some reason, important to emphasize that some language has been omitted.*

The ellipsis should be regarded as one unit and should not be broken at the end of a line. Toward that end, it is useful to know the code that will create an unbroken and unbreakable ellipsis for you on the word-processing program you are using. On most machines, it's a simple matter of holding down the option key and hitting the semicolon, but this varies from program to program. To avoid problems when you reformat a paper (change margins, font sizes, etc.), the spaces that surround the ellipsis should also be created as "non-breaking spaces."

The MLA Handbook recommends using square brackets on either side of the ellipsis points to distinguish between an ellipsis that you've added and the ellipses that might have been in the original text. Such a bracketed ellipsis in a quotation would look like this:

"Bohr […] used the analogy of parallel stairways […]" (Smith 55).

(Other research manuals — the APA Publication Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style — do not address this use of bracketed ellipses.)

The plural of ellipsis is ellipses (handy to remember when you're playing Scrabble), but the points themselves (the dots that make up the ellipsis) are called ellipsis points or ellipsis marks.

The Apostrophe [ ’ ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

We use an apostrophe [ ’ ] to create possessive forms, contractions, and some plurals (see below). The apostrophe shows where a letter or letters have been left out of a contracted verb:

I am = I'm	you are = you're	she is = she's	it is = it's
do not = don't	she would = she'd	he would have = he would've
let us = let's	who is = who's	she will = she'll	they had = they'd

Whether or not contractions are appropriate in academic prose is a matter of personal taste and debate. See the section on Tone for a discussion of contractions. Also, ask your instructor before using contractions in a paper that will be graded.

In possessives, the placement of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun that shows possession is singular or plural. Generally, if the noun is singular, the apostrophe goes before the s. The witch's broom. If the noun is plural, the apostrophe goes after the s: The witches' brooms. However, if the word is pluralized without an s, the apostrophe comes before the s: He entered the men's room with an armload of children's clothing. If you create a possessive with a phrase like of the witches, you will use no apostrophe: the brooms of the witches.

Remember that it's means it is or it has. Confusing it's with its, the possessive of it, is perhaps the most common error in writing. Remember, too, that there is no appropriate contraction for "there are." Don't confuse "they're," which means "they are" with "there are" (which can sound like "ther're," [or some such set of rumbling r's] in casual speech).

An apostrophe is also used to form some plurals, especially the plural of letters and digits. Raoul got four A's last term and his sister got four 6's in the ice-skating competition. This is particularly useful when the letter being pluralized is in the lower case: "minding one's p's and q's" or "Don't forget to dot your i's." (In a context in which the plural is clear, apostrophes after upper-case letters are not necessary: "He got four As, two Bs, and three Cs.") It is no longer considered necessary or even correct to create the plural of years or decades or abbreviations with an apostrophe:

• He wrote several novels during the 1930s.
• There are fifteen PhDs on our faculty.
• My sister and I have identical IQs.

(If you wrote Ph.D. with periods, you would add an apostrophe before the pluralizing "s": Ph.D.'s) If the abbreviation or acronym ends in "S," it's a good idea to separate this final "S" from the pluralizing "s" with an apostrophe: SOS's

Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Use quotation marks [ “ ” ] to set off material that represents quoted or spoken language. Quotation marks also set off the titles of things that do not normally stand by themselves: short stories, poems, and articles. Usually, a quotation is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma; however, the typography of quoted material can become quite complicated. Here is one simple rule to remember:

In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic. Click HERE for an explanation (sort of).

In the United Kingdom, Canada, and islands under the influence of British education, punctuation around quotation marks is more apt to follow logic. In American style, then, you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design." But in England you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design". The placement of marks other than periods and commas follows the logic that quotation marks should accompany (be right next to) the text being quoted or set apart as a title. Thus, you would write (on either side of the Atlantic):

• What do you think of Robert Frost's "Design"? and
• I love "Design"; however, my favorite poem was written by Emily Dickinson.

Further, punctuation around quoted speech or phrases depends on how it fits into the rest of your text. If a quoted word or phrase fits into the flow of your sentence without a break or pause, then a comma may not be necessary:

• The phrase "lovely, dark and deep" begins to suggest ominous overtones.

Following a form of to say, however, you'll almost always need a comma:

• My father always said, "Be careful what you wish for."

If the quoted speech follows an independent clause yet could be part of the same sentence, use a colon to set off the quoted language:

• My mother's favorite quote was from Shakespeare: "This above all, to thine own self be true."

When an attribution of speech comes in the middle of quoted language, set it apart as you would any parenthetical element:

• "I don't care," she said, "what you think about it."

Be careful, though, to begin a new sentence after the attribution if sense calls for it:

• "I don't care," she said. "What do you think?"

Convention normally insists that a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker:

"I don't care what you think anymore," she said, jauntily tossing back her hair and looking askance at Edward. "What do you mean?" he replied. "What do you mean, 'What do I mean?'" Alberta sniffed. She was becoming impatient and wished that she were elsewhere. "You know darn well what I mean!" Edward huffed. "Have it your way," Alberta added, "if that's how you feel."

In proofreading and editing your writing, remember that quotation marks always travel in pairs! Well, almost always. When quoted dialogue carries from one paragraph to another (and to another and another), the closing quotation mark does not appear until the quoted language finally ends (although there is a beginning quotation mark at the start of each new quoted paragraph to remind the reader that this is quoted language). Also, in parenthetical documentation (see the Guide to Writing Research Papers), the period comes after the parenthetical citation which comes after the quotation mark" (Darling 553).

In reporting "silent speech"—noting that language is "said," but internally and not spoken out loud—writers are on their own. Writers can put quotation marks around it or not:

• Oh, what a beautiful morning, Curly said to himself.
• "Oh, what a beautiful morning!" Curly said to himself.

Some writers will set such unspoken language in italics or indent it in order to set it off from other "regular" language. That's probably not a good idea if there is a lot of it because the indents can be confusing and italics can become tiresome to read after a while. The decision will probably depend on the amount of silent speech within the text. Probably the best way to handle silent speech is to find an author whom you like who does a lot of this—Graham Swift in his novel Last Orders, for instance—and copy that author's style. Consistency, of course, is very important.

The Slash or Virgule [ / ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

A slash or slant or solidus or virgule [ / ] (take your pick of names) is used to indicate a choice between the words it separates.

• Using the pass/fail option backfired on her; she could've gotten an A.

The slash can be translated as or and should not be used where the word or could not be used in its place. To avoid gender problems with pronouns, some writers use he/she, his/her, and him/her. Many authorities despise that construction and urge writers either to pluralize when possible and appropriate (to they, their, them) or to use he or she, etc. instead. Notice there is no space between the slash and the letters on either side of it.

There is, however, a space when the slash is used to indicate a line-break in quoted poetry: "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep / but I have promises to keep." (This way of quoting poetry is limited to four or five lines of verse, within the normal flow of text.)

When using slashes in a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for a World Wide Web address (http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/), be especially sure not to include spaces and not to confuse the slash with its backward cousin, \, used as a path separator in Windows (for example, c:\program files\Adobe).

Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

PUNCTUATION -- Use of a period [ . ] -- The Question Mark [ ? ] -- The Exclamation Mark [ ! ]

The Colon [ : ] -- The Semicolon [ ; ] -- The Hyphen [ - ] --The Dash [ — ] -- The Parentheses [ ( ) ]

The Bracket [ [ ] ] -- The Ellipsis [ … ] -- The Apostrophe [ ’ ] -- Quotation marks [ “ ” ]

The Slash or Virgule [ / ] -- Rules for Comma Usage [ , ]

Comma usage is in some respects a question of personal writing style: some writers use commas liberally, while others prefer to use them sparingly. Most modern North American style guides now recommend using fewer commas rather than more, so when faced with the option of using a comma or not, you may find it wise to refrain.

For instance, the use of a comma before the "and" in a series is usually optional, and many writers choose to eliminate it, provided there is no danger of misreading:

We bought scarves, mittens and sweaters before leaving for Iceland. (comma unnecessary before "and")

We ate apples, plums, and strawberry and kiwi compote. (comma needed before "and" for clarity)

Comma Usage

1. Use a comma before a co-ordinating conjunction that joins independent clauses (unless the independent clauses are very short):
   

   I wrapped the fresh fish in three layers of newspaper, but my van still smelled like trout for the next week. (commas with two independent clauses)

   She invited him to her party and he accepted. (comma unnecessary with short clauses)




2. Use a comma after an introductory adverb clause and, often, after an introductory phrase (unless the phrase is very short):
   

   After the hospital had completed its fund-raising campaign, an anonymous donor contributed an additional $10,000. (after introductory adverb clause)

   From the east wall to the west, her cottage measures twenty feet. (after introductory prepositional phrase)

   In the bottom drawer you will find some pink spandex tights. (no comma with short, closely related phrase)




3. Use a comma to separate items in a series:
   

   Playing in a band can be exciting, but many people do not realize the hardships involved: constant rehearsals, playing until 2 a.m., handling drunken audience members, and transporting heavy equipment to and from gigs. (the comma preceding "and" is optional unless needed to prevent misreading)




4. Use commas to set off non-restrictive elements and other parenthetical elements. A non-restrictive modifier is a phrase or clause that does not restrict or limit the meaning of the word it is modifying. It is, in a sense, interrupting material that adds extra information to a sentence. Even though removing the non-restrictive element would result in some loss of meaning, the sentence would still make sense without it. You should usually set off non-restrictive elements with commas:
   

   The people of Haiti, who for decades have lived with grinding poverty and mind-numbing violence, are unfamiliar with the workings of a true democracy.

   A restrictive modifier is a phrase or clause that limits the meaning of what it modifies and is essential to the basic idea expressed in the sentence. You should not set off restrictive elements with commas:
   

   Those residents of Ottawa who do not hold secure, well-paying jobs must resent the common portrayal of the city as a land of opportunity.

   Note that you can use two other punctuation marks to set off non-restrictive elements or other parenthetical information: parentheses and dashes. Enclosing parenthetical information in parentheses reduces the importance of that information:
   

   Mr. Grundy's driving record (with one small exception) was exemplary.




5. Placing parenthetical information between dashes has the opposite effect: it emphasises the material:
   

   Mr. Grundy's driving record -- with one exception -- was exemplary.

   Nevertheless, you should usually set off parenthetical information with commas.

Superfluous Commas

Equally important in understanding how to use commas effectively is knowing when not to use them. While this decision is sometimes a matter of personal taste, there are certain instances when you should definitely avoid a comma.

• Do not use a comma to separate the subject from its predicate:
  

  [WRONG] Registering for our fitness programs before September 15, will save you thirty percent of the membership cost.

  [RIGHT] Registering for our fitness programs before September 15 will save you thirty percent of the membership cost.




• Do not use a comma to separate a verb from its object or its subject complement, or a preposition from its object:
  

  [WRONG] I hope to mail to you before Christmas, a current snapshot of my dog Benji.

  She travelled around the world with, a small backpack, a bedroll, a pup tent and a camera.

  [RIGHT] I hope to mail to you before Christmas a current snapshot of my dog Benji.

  [RIGHT] She travelled around the world with a small backpack, a bedroll, a pup tent and a camera.




• Do not misuse a comma after a co-ordinating conjunction:
  

  [WRONG] Sleet fell heavily on the tin roof but, the family was used to the noise and paid it no attention.

  [RIGHT] Sleet fell heavily on the tin roof, but the family was used to the noise and paid it no attention.




• Do not use commas to set off words and short phrases (especially introductory ones) that are not parenthetical or that are very slightly so:
  

  [WRONG] After dinner, we will play badminton.

  [RIGHT] After dinner we will play badminton.




• Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements:
  

  [WRONG] The fingers, on his left hand, are bigger than those on his right.

  [RIGHT] The fingers on his left hand are bigger than those on his right.




• Do not use a comma before the first item or after the last item of a series:

  [WRONG] The treasure chest contained, three wigs, some costume jewellery and five thousand dollars in Monopoly money.

  [WRONG] You should practice your punches, kicks and foot sweeps, if you want to improve in the martial arts.

  [RIGHT] The treasure chest contained three wigs, some costume jewellery and five thousand dollars in Monopoly money.

  [RIGHT] You should practice your punches, kicks and foot sweeps if you want to improve in the martial arts.