Punctuation

Mark
Use to...
( . ) Period End a sentence: Dinner was delicious.
( ? ) Question
Mark
End a sentence and denote inquiry: What time is it?
( ! )
Exclamation
Point
End a sentence and denote excitement or emphasis: Watch out for that tree!
( , ) omma !enote a "reak #ithin a sentence or direct address o$ a person or %roup:
Mary, listen to me.
&eparate any o$ the $ollo#in%:
' (#o or more ad)ecti*es: He is a charming, attentive listener.
' +tems in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour.
' (he name o$ a city $rom the name o$ a state: live in !alt "ake #ity, $tah.
' (#o independent clauses: %he waiter still hasn&t taken our order, and the
'lay starts in five minutes.
' !irect quotations: (uoth the raven, )*evermore.+
( , ) &emicolon &eparate t#o related "ut independent clauses: asked ,nne to look at my
com'uter- she has a knack for them.
&eparate a series o$ items that already contain commas:
. /or our wedding colors, chose white, the color of innocence- red, the color
of 'assion- and yellow, the color of lemons.
. have lived in Detroit, Michigan- Paris, /rance- and !ydney, ,ustralia.
( : ) olon +ntroduce a list.
/or #hristmas, would like the following 'resents0 a hula hoo', a
hi''o'otamus, and my two front teeth.
+ntroduce a statement that expands upon the clause "e$ore the colon.
,nd so, my fellow ,mericans0 ask not what your country can do for you1ask
what you can do for your country.
( ' ) -yphen .dd a pre$ix: %rans.,tlantic flights are costly.
reate compound #ords: !'ider.Man is my favorite su'erhero.
/rite num"ers as #ords: have lived in this house for thirty.three years.
(0 or 1) !ash Make a "rie$ interruption #ithin a sentence or a parenthetical phrase: 2ohnny
asked me1with a straight face, might add1if he could borrow the car for
the weekend.
( 2 ) !ou"le
Quotation
Enclose a direct quotation: )f you 'ick u' a starving dog and make him
'ros'erous, he will not bite you. %his is the 'rinci'al difference between a
dog and a man.+
( 3 ) &in%le
Quotation
!enote possession: believe that is ,llen&s 'en.
!enote contraction: know it&s his because of the distinct monogram.
!enote a quotation #ithin a quotation: He told me 3ust last week, ) do en3oy
this monogrammed 'en. My wife said, 4,llen, it isn&t like 'eo'le go around
mistaking your 'ens for theirs all day.&+
( ( ) )
Parentheses
+ndicate clari$ication: Please bring home some real butter 5as o''osed to
margarine6.
+ndicate an a$terthou%ht or personal commentary: ,nyone can edit Wiki'edia
5not that there&s anything wrong with that6.