Punctuation:
Period (.) – Ends statements, abbreviations, and initials.
Exclamation Point (!) – Shows strong emotion or urgency.
Question Mark (?) – Ends direct questions (not used for indirect questions).
Apostrophe (’) – Shows possession (Tom’s book), contractions (don’t), and omits letters.
Quotation Marks (“ ”) – Encloses direct speech (“Hello,” she said.) and short work titles (“The
Road Not Taken”).
Comma (,) – Separates items in a list, introductory elements, non-essential information, and before
conjunctions joining complete thoughts.
Colon (:) – Introduces lists, explanations, or long quotations.
Semicolon (;) – Joins closely related sentences without conjunctions (I was late; however, I
still finished my work.).
Dash (—) – Adds emphasis or sets off additional information.
Hyphen (-) – Joins compound words (dog-friendly hotel) and numbers (twenty-one).
Parentheses () – Adds extra information (The event (which was fun) lasted all day.).
Brackets [ ] – Used inside quotations for clarifications or editorial comments.
Braces { } – Used mainly in programming or math.
Ellipsis (...) – Shows omitted text or a trailing thought.
Capitalization:
Basic Capitalization Rules
1. First Word in a Sentence or Direct Quotation – Always capitalize.
○ Example: “My friend,” she said, “is coming over.”
2. Names of Persons and the Word "I" – Always capitalize.
○ Example: I met Tony Curry at the park.
3. Particular Places, Institutions, and Languages – Capitalize specific names.
○ Example: I studied at Harvard University and speak Spanish.
○ But: Use lowercase when general (e.g., a university in my city).
4. Days, Months, and Holidays – Capitalize but not seasons.
○ Example: We celebrate Christmas in December, but summer is my favorite season.
5. Commercial Products – Capitalize brand names but not general products.
○ Example: I like Pepsi, but not soda.
6. Titles of Books, Movies, and Songs – Capitalize major words; don’t capitalize articles (a, an,
the), conjunctions (and, but), or prepositions (in, on) unless they start the title.
○ Example: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
7. Companies, Associations, and Organizations – Always capitalize.
○ Example: She works at Google and volunteers at the Red Cross.
Other Important Capitalization Rules
8. Family Relationships – Capitalize when used as a title before a name.
○ Example: Uncle Joe is visiting.
○ But: My uncle is visiting.
9. Titles Before Names – Capitalize, but not when used generically.
○ Example: Professor Smith teaches math.
○ But: I asked my professor about the test.
10. School Subjects – Capitalize specific course names but not general subjects.
● Example: I’m taking Biology 101 and an economics class.
● But: I enjoy studying history.
11. Geographic Locations – Capitalize regions but not compass directions.
● Example: I live in the West Coast, but drive south for work.
12. Historic Periods and Events – Capitalize major historical events.
● Example: World War II changed history.
13. Letter Greetings and Closings – Capitalize only the first word in the closing.
● Example: Dear Sir, … Sincerely yours,
14. Races, Nations, and Nationalities – Capitalize ethnic groups, countries, and nationalities.
● Example: He is African American and speaks Italian.
● But: Both whites and blacks attended the event.
