Proper Punctuation Cheat Sheet

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!

( , ) Comma

Denote a break within a sentence or direct address of a person or group: Mary, listen to me.

Separate any of the following:

- Two or more adjectives: He is a charming, attentive listener.

- Items in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour.

- The name of a city from the name of a state: I live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

- Two independent clauses: The waiter still hasn’t taken our order, and the play starts in five minutes.

- Direct quotations: Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”

( ; ) Semicolon        

Separate two related but independent clauses: I asked Anne to look at my computer; she has a knack for them.

Separate a series of items that already contain commas:

- For our wedding colors, I chose white, the color of innocence; red, the color of passion; and yellow, the color of lemons.

- I have lived in Detroit, Michigan; Paris, France; and Sydney, Australia.

( : ) Colon

Introduce a list.

For Christmas, I would like the following presents: a hula hoop, a hippopotamus, and my two front teeth.

Introduce a statement that expands upon the clause before the colon.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

( - ) Hyphen

Add a prefix: Trans-Atlantic flights are costly.

Create compound words: Spider-Man is my favorite superhero.

Write numbers as words: I have lived in this house for thirty-three years.

(– or —) Dash

Make a brief interruption within a sentence or a parenthetical phrase: Johnny asked me—with a straight face, I might add—if he could borrow the car for the weekend.

( “ ) Double Quotation

Enclose a direct quotation: “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”

( ‘ ) Single Quotation

Denote possession: I believe that is Allen’s pen.

Denote contraction: I know it’s his because of the distinct monogram.

Denote a quotation within a quotation: He told me just last week, “I do enjoy this monogrammed pen. My wife said, ‘Allen, it isn’t like people go around mistaking your pens for theirs all day.’”

( ( ) ) Parentheses

Indicate clarification: Please bring home some real butter (as opposed to margarine).

Indicate an afterthought or personal commentary: Anyone can edit Wikipedia (not that there’s anything wrong with that).