1. Period (.

) /Full stop

 Period – It marks the end of a declarative or an imperative

sentence. It indicates the end of a sentence.
Example
Imperative sentence: Don’t disturb me when I am studying.
Declarative sentence: Marx wants to eat apple pie but he doesn’t
know how to make it

Declarative sentence: John asked where my house was.

(Indirect questions are declarative sentences)

 If a sentence ends with an abbreviation that uses a period,

second period won’t be added.
Example: Some fruits are a good source of vitamin C. For e.g.,
oranges, kiwi, guava, berries, etc.

 Period is used at the end of a sentence without space.

2. Question mark (?) – It marks the end of an interrogative
sentence. It indicates a direct question.
The question often starts with a wh-word (who, what, when,
where and why) but is not necessary.
Example: Interrogative sentence – When Samantha reaches
home, could you give her this letter?

 Question mark is used at the end of a sentence without

space.
 Keep the question mark at the end of the sentence
(interrogative) before the quotation mark.
Example: Monica asked, “When is the party?”
3. Exclamation point/mark (!) – It marks the end of an
exclamatory or imperative sentence to depict strong emotions.
Example: Imperative sentence – Get the book right now!
Exclamatory sentence – I hate these milk chocolates!

 Exclamation points are also used as interjections. Overuse of

exclamation point to be avoided in a single sentence.
Use comma after interjection in such cases.
Example: Wow, you look spectacular!

 Keep the exclamation point at the end of the sentence before

the quotation mark.
Example: “There is a snake behind the window!” shouted Jerry.
4. Comma (,) – It is used to separate sentences. It can also be
used to indicate a pause

 To separate the list of things.

Example: I would like to buy oranges, strawberries, and apples.

 To give a slight pause in the voice.

Example: I can’t explain it now. However, I will clarify your
doubts tomorrow.

 After introduction and clauses –When main clauses are

separated by ‘but’ or ‘and’, use commas.
Example: It was an expensive dining place, but I thought it was
worth it.
-T.V. show anchors earn more money nowadays, but they are
more qualified.

 After introduction and clauses –When a subordinate clause

comes before the main clause, use comma.
Example: If you allow me to ride your bike, I’ll guide you.
-Quietly, he moved the table. (adverb)
-Peter, my coach, will teach new fielding techniques.
(introduction)

 To join two independent clauses, use comma and a

coordinating conjunction
For example –I like camping, but I also like surfing.

 Use commas before direct speech

Example: Parker said, “I will not tolerate such inappropriate
behavior.”

 Use commas to separate tags and yes-no replies

Example: We are visiting the planetarium tomorrow, aren’t we?
-Yes, thank you. I would love to have another piece of cake.
5. Colon (:)

 To introduce lists.
Example – She loves to do three things on the weekend: reading
novels, gardening, and listening to instrumental music.

 To introduce subtitles or to highlight the main topic.

Example: After driving for two hours on the road, we finally
found it: the new KFC outlet.

 Between two complete sentences – Colon is to be used only

if the second sentence explains or justifies the first sentence.
Example: Larry ate junk food regularly: he gained six pounds.
6. Semicolon (;) –To separate two main clauses that are closely
related.
Example: John was exhausted; he hadn’t rested a bit.
7. Apostrophes (’)

 To indicate possession or ownership.

Example: That is Katie’s book.
-Those boys’ bikes had been stolen.

 To show omission –Used in contractions

Example: Don’t come closer to the fence!
8. Quotation marks (“) (”)- Double quotation marks used to
quote someone’s direct speech. Single quotation mark is used
within the quote.
Example: Mom asked, “Where is the coffee mug?”

 Double quotation marks are used to refer to titles of books,

magazines, poems, etc.
Example: I have read “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
several times.
9. Dash (–) Used to enhance readability. It can be used in the
place of comma or colon
Example: He answered his mother rudely – No!
10. Hyphen (-) Used to join two or more words that come before
the noun, modifies it and act as a single idea.
Example: state-of-the-art architecture.
– a family-oriented movie.
11. Brackets ( ) –Used to show additional or non-essential
information
Example – Lara could not utter a word (she was awestruck). Dad
was amused.
Period, question mark, and exclamation point
These three commonly used punctuation marks are used for the
same reason: to end an independent thought.

Period (.)
A period is used to end a declarative sentence. A period indicates
that a sentence is finished.
 Today is Friday.
Unique to them, periods are also often used in abbreviations.

 Prof. Dumbledore once again awarded a ludicrous amount of

points to Gryffindor.
Question mark (?)
The question mark is used to end a question, also known as
an interrogative sentence.
 Do you feel lucky?
Exclamation point (!)
The exclamation point is used at the end
of exclamations and interjections.
 Our house is haunted!
 Wow!
Comma, colon, and semicolon
Commas, colons, and semicolons can all be used to connect
sentences together.

Comma (,)
The comma is often the punctuation mark that gives writers the
most problems. It has many different uses and often requires
good knowledge of grammar to avoid making mistakes when
using it. Some common uses of the comma include:
 Joining clauses: Mario loves Peach, and she loves him.
 Nonrestrictive elements: My favorite team, the Fighting
Mongooses, won the championship this year.
 Lists: The flag was red, white, and blue.
 Coordinate adjectives: The cute, happy puppy licked my
hand.
Try out this quiz on the Oxford comma!
Colon (:)
The colon is typically used to introduce additional information.
 The detective had three suspects: the salesman, the
gardener, and the lawyer.
Like commas, colons can also connect clauses together.

We forgot to ask the most important question: who was

buying lunch?
Colons have a few other uses, too.

 The meeting starts at 8:15 p.m.

 The priest started reading from Mark 3:6.
Semicolon (;)
Like the comma and the colon, the semicolon is used to connect
sentences together. The semicolon typically indicates that the
second sentence is closely related to the one before it.
 I can’t eat peanuts; I am highly allergic to them.
 Lucy loves to eat all kinds of sweets; lollipops are her
favorite.
Hyphen and dashes (en dash and em dash)
All three of these punctuation marks are often referred to as
“dashes.” However, they are all used for entirely different reasons.

Hyphen (-)
The hyphen is used to form compound words.
 I went to lunch with my father-in-law.
 She was playing with a jack-in-the-box.
 He was accused of having pro-British sympathies.
En dash (–)
The en dash is used to express ranges or is sometimes used in
more complex compound words.
 The homework exercises are on pages 20–27.
 The songwriter had worked on many Tony Award–
winning productions.
Em dash (—)
The em dash is used to indicate a pause or interrupted speech.
 The thief was someone nobody expected—me!
 “Those kids will—” was all he managed to say before he was
hit by a water balloon.
Test your knowledge on the different dashes here.
Parentheses, brackets, and braces
These pairs of punctuation marks look similar, but they all have
different uses. In general, the parentheses are much more
commonly used than the others.

Parentheses ()
Typically, parentheses are used to add additional information.
 I thought (for a very long time) if I should actually give an
honest answer.
 Tomorrow is Christmas (my favorite holiday)!
Parentheses have a variety of other uses, too.
 Pollution increased significantly. (See Chart 14B)
 He was at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting.
 Richard I of England (1157–1199) had the heart of a lion.
Square brackets []
Typically, square brackets are used to clarify or add information
to quotations.
 According to an eyewitness, the chimpanzees “climbed on
the roof and juggled [bananas].”
 The judge said that “the defense attorney [Mr. Wright] had
made it clear that the case was far from closed.”
Curly brackets {}
Curly brackets, also known as braces, are rarely used punctuation
marks that are used to group a set.
 I was impressed by the many different colors {red, green,
yellow, blue, purple, black, white} they selected for the
flag’s design.
Angle brackets <>
Angle brackets have no usage in formal writing and are rarely ever
used even in informal writing. These characters have more uses in
other fields, such as math or computing.
Quotation marks and apostrophe
You’ll find these punctuation marks hanging out at the top of a
line of text.

Quotation marks (“”)

The most common use of quotation marks is to contain
quotations.
 She said, “Don’t let the dog out of the house.”
 Bob Ross liked to put “happy little trees” in many of his
paintings.
Apostrophe (‘)
The apostrophe is most often used to form possessives and
contractions.
 The house’s back door is open.
 My cousin’s birthday is next week.
 It isn’t ready yet.
 We should’ve stayed outside.
Slash and ellipses
These are two punctuation marks you may not see too often, but
they are still useful.

Slash (/)
The slash has several different uses. Here are some examples:
 Relationships: The existence of boxer briefs somehow
hasn’t ended the boxers/briefs debate.
 Alternatives: They accept cash and/or credit.
 Fractions: After an hour, 2/3 of the audience had already
left.
Ellipses (…)
In formal writing, ellipses are used to indicate that words were
removed from a quote.
 The mayor said, “The damages will be … paid for by the
city … as soon as possible.”
In informal writing, ellipses are often used to indicate pauses or
speech that trails off.
 He nervously stammered and said, “Look, I … You see … I
wasn’t … Forget it, okay.”
Typographical symbols
Typographical symbols rarely appear in formal writing. You are
much more likely to see them used for a variety of reasons in
informal writing.

Asterisk (*)
In formal writing, especially academic and scientific writing,
the asterisk is used to indicate a footnote.
 Chocolate is the preferred flavor of ice cream.*
*According to survey data from the Ice Cream Data Center.
The asterisk may also be used to direct a reader toward a
clarification or may be used to censor inappropriate words or
phrases.

Ampersand (&)
The ampersand substitutes for the word and. Besides its use in the
official names of things, the ampersand is typically avoided in
formal writing.
 The band gave a speech at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Bullet Point (•)
Bullet points are used to create lists. For example,
For this recipe you will need:

 eggs
 milk
 sugar
 flour
 baking powder
Pound symbol (#)
Informally, the pound symbol is typically used to mean number or
is used in social media hashtags.
 The catchy pop song reached #1 on the charts.
 Ready 4 Halloween 2morrow!!! #spooky #TrickorTreat
Tilde (~)
Besides being used as an accent mark in Spanish and Portuguese
words, the tilde is rarely used. Informally, a person may use it to
mean “about” or “approximately.”
 We visited São Paulo during our vacation.
 I think my dog weighs ~20 pounds.
Backslash (\)
The backslash is primarily used in computer programming and
coding. It might be used online and in texting to draw emoticons,
but it has no other common uses in writing. Be careful not to mix
it up with the similar forward slash (/), which is a punctuation
mark.
At symbol (@)
The at symbol substitutes for the word at in informal writing. In
formal writing, it is used when writing email addresses.
 His email address is duckduck@goose.abc.
Caret symbol (^)
The caret symbol is used in proofreading, but may be used to
indicate an exponent if a writer is unable to use superscript.
 Do you know what 3^4 (3 to the power of 4) is equal to?
Pipe symbol (|)
The pipe symbol is not used in writing. Instead, it has a variety of
functions in the fields of math, physics, or computing.