Punctuation Rules Everybody Needs

Apostrophes
Use apostrophes:
♦ in contractions
I’m sorry that she’s coming after you’ve left.
♦ in possessive nouns
Sybil’s cousin found Doug’s umbrellas in the Goblins’ car.
♦ when you refer to the plural of letters and words.
There are four s’s, four I's, and two p’s in Mississippi.
You have too many very’s in your essay.

Colons (:)
Use colons:
♦ to introduce a list
You will need the following clothes for the camping trip: boots, gloves, a heavy
jacket, scarf, and a hat.
♦ between the hour and the minutes when you use numbers to express time
4:34 p.m. 12:52 a.m. 13:15
♦ to introduce a long direct quotation
At the press conference, the President declared:
Times are getting better. The economy is starting to improve, more people are
working, crime is down, reading scores are up, the air is getting cleaner, people are
buying more homes, factories are humming, and my pet cat just had six adorable
kittens.

Notice that you don’t use quotation marks with a long direct quotation. Instead, you
indent on both sides from the main text.

Commas
Put a comma:
♦ before a conjunction that joins the independent clauses in a compound sentence
My uncle loves to dance, and my aunt plays the piano.
♦ after a dependent clause that comes at the beginning of a complex sentence
Even though I forgot to study, I still did well on the test.
♦ between a city and a state
Boston, Massachusetts
♦ between the day and year in a date
April 14, 1941
(Don’t put a comma in a date if it’s only the month and the year – August 1941)
 ♦ to separate three or more words or phrases in a series
For my birthday I want a video game, an underwater watch, and a butterfly
net
♦ after the greeting and closing in a friendly letter
Dear Ms. Youngman, Sincerely yours,
♦ after introductory words at the beginnings of sentences
No, you can’t dye your hair green
♦ after mild interjections
Oh, I didn’t know today was the big day
♦ to set off the person you’re speaking to
Lenny, I’ve been expecting you since Friday. I’ve been expecting you, my tardy
friend, since Friday.
♦ to set off appositives
Jen, the craziest kid in our class, scored the most points.
♦ with words that interrupt the basic idea of the sentence
Aunt Roslyn, of course, would not wear the parrot costume. George,
therefore, had to leave the drugstore in a hurry.
♦ to separate two adjectives that modify the same noun
The huge furry dog chased him over the fence and into the pool.

TIP
If you’re not sure whether to put a comma between
two adjectives in a row, ask yourself if you can
substitute “and” for the comma. “The huge (and) furry
dog” gets a comma but not “the spoiled (and) turkey
sandwich.”

♦ in front of short direct quotations in the middle of a sentence

Then he asked, “How did you get here without a balloon?”
♦ at the end of a direct quotation that is a statement (not a question or an
exclamation) when it comes at the beginning of a sentence
“Today must be Tuesday,” she muttered.

Dashes
Use dashes:
♦ before and after comments, questions, exclamations, or other interrupters that you
write into a sentence to give information or add extra emphasis.
Two rooms ‒ the cafeteria and the library ‒ were flooded.
 The mayor – he’s my aunt’s boyfriend – came to the assembly today
♦ to introduce a list of items
The teacher said that these were the five most important steps in doing our homework –
write it down, take it home, do it, bring it back, hand it in.

T You can use dashes instead of other punctuation

I marks like parentheses, commas, or colons to show
P more emphasis, add information, or create special
effects. Don’t overdo any one kind of punctuation
mark. Use variety in writing.

♦ after an interrupted or unfinished statement or thought

I knew it couldn’t possibly be Nita, and yet –

Ellipses
Ellipses are three or four dots in a row. Ellipses replace words that have been left out.
Use three dots to show that words have been left out in the middle of a passage:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation… with Liberty and Justice for all.

Use four dots if the words left out come at the end of the sentence:
To be or not to be ….
William Shakespeare

Exclamation Points
Put an exclamation point:
♦ after strong interjections (word of expression typically used to express emotion)
Oh, no! I lost my mother’s earrings!
♦ after exclamatory sentences
I can’t stand this place anymore!
♦ after strong imperative (expressing a command/order) sentences
Sit down and be quiet, you nut!

Hyphens
Use a hyphen:
♦ to break a word between syllables at the end of a line
The famous Italian sculptor, painter, and archi-
tect, Michelangelo, was born in 1475.
♦ in two-part numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine written as words
twenty-one fifty-three sixty-eight
♦ in fractions written as words
 one-third two-fifths fifteen-sixteenths
♦ in some compound nouns and adjectives
well-known know-it-all drive-in

Parentheses
Use parentheses:
♦ to give the reader extra information
To order the Gut Buster, call our toll-free number (800-GUT-BUST)

For more on short giraffes, read chapter 12 (pages 27-38)

♦ around the abbreviation or acronym of an organization or company after you’ve

written its full name
She worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

♦ to put a statement, question, direction, or exclamation, or some other information

that’s not really part of the sentence into the sentence. (You do this for extra
effect, as in this case)
She got help from Dave (He’s a brain) and still flunked her test.

You can use a question mark or an exclamation point

– but not a period – at the end of an expression in
T parentheses when it’s in the middle of a sentence.
I
Jen’s cousin Cindy (Do you know her?) moved back to
P
Chicago.

Periods
Put a period:
♦ at the end of a declarative sentence
The batteries in my CD player are dead.
♦ at the end of an imperative sentence that makes a request, gives an instruction, or
states a mild order
Always shut off the computer when you’re finished.
♦ after most initials
John F. Kennedy
♦ after most abbreviations Do not use a period with the
P.O. Box 325 postal service abbreviation of a
116 Binghamton Ave. state. Examples: MA, NY, FL
Mt. Renae, CA
Question Marks
Put a question mark:
♦ At the end of a question
Don’t use a question mark after a
Why are you doing that disgusting polite request that sounds like a
thing? question but really isn’t.

Will you please sign your name here.

Quotation Marks
Always put quotation marks before and after
the names of:
♦ articles in magazines and newspapers
I cut out “The Amazing Life of a Hummingbird” from Sunday’s paper.
♦ chapters in books
Read the chapter called “The Boy from the Clouds” for homework.
♦ essays and short stories
My sister’s essay, “How to Improve in School,” won the award!
♦ songs and poems
For the talent show I’m singing “Dragon, Why Are You Dragging?”
♦ to set off words or phrases that are special for any reason
I got “ambidextrous” right on the spelling test.
♦ before and after a direct quotation (someone’s exact words)

Notice that periods, commas, and other punctuation marks that end
or interrupt a quotation go inside the second set of quotation marks.

Mary said, “I haven’t seen such a mess since the last tornado.”
T
I “I haven’t seen such a mess since the last tornado,” said Mary.

P “I haven’t seen such a mess,” said Mary, “since the last tornado.”

♦ SINGLE QUOTATION MARKS- Use only one quotation mark at either end when a
quote is written within another quote:
“Ellen, I still haven’t seen your report on ‘Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary’,”
said Ms. Baldwin.

Semicolons
Use a semicolon:
♦ to join the independent clauses of a compound sentence together when you don’t
use a comma and a conjunction
Chorus meets every Tuesday; band rehearsal is on Wednesday.

♦ in a series of three or more items when commas are used within the items.
Appearing on tonight’s show are Brenda, the wonder frog; Tulip, the talking
toucan; and Henrietta, the hip hippo.