Punctuation Mark (
Name Usage Example
Symbol )
Full Stop (in British It is used at the end of a sentence or at
. I like football.
English) or Period the end of the short form of a word.
It is used to separate parts of a
I want to eat meat, bread and
, Comma sentence showing a slight pause, or to
tomatoes.
separate the single things in a list.
It is used between two parts of a
sentence, usually when each of the John drives a Ferrari; Mary
; Semi-colon
two parts could form grammatical drives a Peugeot.
sentences on their own.
It is used especially to introduce a list
We have two choices: work
: Colon of things or a sentence or phrase
hard or fail.
taken from somewhere else.
It is used at the end of a phrase or
? Question mark Where is the bank?
sentence to show that it is a question.
It is used immediately after an What an exceptional child
! Exclamation mark
exclamation. this is!
It is used in writting to show where
You went to the restaurant.
… Ellipsis mark one or more words have been
And…?
intentionally left out.
It is used to indicate a word or phrase
”“ Quotation marks to show that someone else has written ‘‘ I want to do it,’’ she said.
or said it.
It is used to show when a letter or a
number has been left out, as in I’m (= This is Steven’s car. We‘re
‘ Apostrophe
I am), or that is used before or after s ready
to show possession, as in Sarah’s
and/or ,
It is used in writing to separate letters, 05/10 ( October 5 ) ,
/ Slash
numbers, or words.
2/3 = two-thirds
Round Brackets ( in
It is used to add extra information to Lisa (8 years-old) is a little
() British English ) or
a sentence. girl.
Parentheses
It is used to enclose words added by
someone other than the original “It [electricity] is really just
[] Square Brackets
writer or speaker, typically in order organized lightning.”
to clarify the situation.
