Punctuation Mark ( . ) Period ( ? ) Question Mark ( !

) Exclamation Point ( , ) omma

Use to... End a sentence: Dinner was delicious. End a sentence and denote inquiry: What time is it? End a sentence and denote excitement or emphasis: Watch out for that tree! !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.+ !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.

( 3 ) &in%le Quotation