ponctuation in english improve your english
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Punctuation Mark
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Use to...
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( . ) Period
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End a sentence: Dinner was delicious.
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( ? ) Question Mark
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End a sentence and denote inquiry: What time is it?
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( ! ) Exclamation Point
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End a sentence and denote excitement or emphasis: Watch out for
that tree!
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( , ) Comma
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Denote a break within a sentence or direct address of a person or
group: Mary, listen to me.
Separate any of the following:
- Two or more adjectives: He is a charming, attentive listener.
- Items in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour.
- The name of a city from the name of a state: I live in Salt
Lake City, Utah.
- Two independent clauses: The waiter still hasn’t taken our
order, and the play starts in five minutes.
- Direct quotations: Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”
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( ; ) Semicolon
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Separate two related but independent clauses: I asked Anne to
look at my computer; she has a knack for them.
Separate a series of items that already contain commas:
- For our wedding colors, I chose white, the color of innocence;
red, the color of passion; and yellow, the color of lemons.
- I have lived in Detroit, Michigan; Paris, France; and Sydney,
Australia.
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( : ) Colon
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Introduce a list.
For Christmas, I would like the following presents: a hula hoop, a
hippopotamus, and my two front teeth.
Introduce a statement that expands upon the clause before the colon.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for
you—ask what you can do for your country.
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( - ) Hyphen
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Add a prefix: Trans-Atlantic flights are costly.
Create compound words: Spider-Man is my favorite superhero.
Write numbers as words: I have lived in this house for
thirty-three years.
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(– or —) Dash
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Make a brief interruption within a sentence or a parenthetical
phrase: Johnny asked me—with a straight face, I might add—if he could
borrow the car for the weekend.
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( “ ) Double Quotation
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Enclose a direct quotation: “If you pick up a starving dog and
make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference
between a dog and a man.”
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( ‘ ) Single Quotation
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Denote possession: I believe that is Allen’s pen.
Denote contraction: I know it’s his because of the distinct
monogram.
Denote a quotation within a quotation: He told me just last week,
“I do enjoy this monogrammed pen. My wife said, ‘Allen, it isn’t like people
go around mistaking your pens for theirs all day.’”
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( ( ) ) Parentheses
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Indicate clarification: Please bring home some real butter (as
opposed to margarine).
Indicate an afterthought or personal commentary: Anyone can edit
Wikipedia (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
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