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Punctuation Rules

Punctuation rules can confuse the best of us.

When do we use semicolons? What are the rules for commas? When do we use apostrophes and quotation marks? Use this guide to help you!

Comma Rules

Commas show your reader that there is a pause in the sentence they are reading. It seems as if commas have more punctuation rules than any other form of punctuation. I've narrowed it down to eight rules for you.

1. Commas After Introductory Words and Clauses

Quietly, she ran past the sleeping man. (adverbs)
Wow, my sister came home from college. (interjections)
If I see your sister, I'll call you. (subordinate adverb clauses)

2. Commas With Lists

When you list three or more things, use commas between the words.

I would like grapes, apples, and cookies.
Are we having fish, chicken, or beef for dinner?

3. Commas Between Multiple Modifiers (Adjectives & Adverbs)

My new car ran quietly, quickly, and smoothly.
I love this warm, fuzzy, pink sweater!
It was a bright, sunny day.

See this website for more information on coordinate adjectives.

4. Commas With Numbers

When a number is over 999, use commas to separate the numbers.

I paid $3,500 for my new boat.
The house is $600,000.

5. Commas With Dates and Addresses

November 1, 2015
I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Send the package to 5154 Smith Street, Los Angeles, California 92674.

6. Commas With Quotations

When you are quoting someone's exact speech, you must use quotation marks and a comma.

My sister exclaimed, "You came home!"
"I missed you," I said.

7. Commas Joining Independent Clauses

When you join two independent clauses, use a comma and a coordinating conjunction. When you have two independent clauses joined only by a comma, it's called a comma splice. You should avoid comma splices.

I love cats, but I also love dogs.
Can you come, or should I go?
My sister had a ballet performance, and my brother had an orchestra concert.

8. Commas Setting Off Nonrestrictive (Nonessential) Elements

Nonrestrictive elements add information to the sentence, but they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. We could remove them from the sentence, and the sentence would still make sense. You can read more about this on the appositives page.

My sister, a French teacher, lived in France for two years.
Mike and Bri graduated from UWEC, my alma mater.

Periods

1. Ending Sentences

Use these to end declarative sentences and imperative sentences.

The sun is shining today.
Open the door.

2. Abbreviations (shortened forms of words)

I spoke with Sgt. Johnson about the troops.

Question Marks

The punctuation rules for question marks are very simple. In fact, there is really only one rule!

1. Ending Sentences

These end interrogative sentences. This kind of sentence asks a question. Any time you ask a question, end the sentence with a question mark.

Should I use a question mark on this sentence? (Yes!)

Exclamation Marks

1. Ending Sentences
Use these at the end of exclamatory sentences (sentences that show emotion).

We won the game!

2. Interjections
You can use either an exclamation mark or a comma after an interjection.

Yes! We won the game!

Semicolons

Use these to separate two complete sentences that are closely related.

I went to the play; my cousin was the main actor.

Colons

1. Introducing Lists

There are three ways that I love to relax: reading magazines, practicing yoga, and taking baths.

2. Introducing Single Items

You can use a colon to introduce a single thing when you want to emphasize it.

After shopping for eight hours, I finally found them: the perfect pair of jeans.

3. Between Two Complete Sentences
This is only a legit move if the second sentence states a logical consequence of whatever is stated in the first sentence.

Jim ate brownies constantly: He gained seven pounds.

Apostrophes

The punctuation rules for apostrophes are some of the most commonly misused punctuation rules ever. The rules are pretty simple. There are only three times when you should use apostrophes.

1. To Show Possession

When you want to make something possessive (to show ownership), use an apostrophe.

This is Mark's cat. (The cat belongs to Mark.)
That is the television's remote control. (The remote control belongs to the television.)
Don't ever go into the teachers' lounge. (The lounge belongs to the teachers.)

Pss! Have you ever wondered when to use an apostrophe with personal pronouns? Hers/Her's? Theirs/Their's? Its/It's?

2. To Show Omission

Contractions use apostrophes to stand in the place of missing letters.

I can't stand the smell of bananas! (can't = cannot)
It's already five o'clock! (o'clock = of the clock)
The students shouldn't use cell phones in class. (shouldn't = should not)

3. To Form Strange Plurals

Use apostrophes to make lowercase letters plural.

Dot the i's and cross the t's.

Quotation Marks

If you're up for a laugh, the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks has many funny misuses of quotation marks. Here are two times you should use quotation marks.

1. Quoting Exact Speech

Whenever you quote someone's exact speech, you must use quotation marks.

The police officer said, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to work," I replied.

2. Titles
Use quotation marks to show the titles of magazine articles, chapters, short stories, essays, poems, and songs.

"Columbus" is a great poem.
Our homework tonight is to read Chapter 6, "The Lovely Rose Garden."
Sydney sang "The Star Spangled Banner" at the football game.

Other Helpful Resources

Punctuation Rule Poster (as seen above)

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