Punctuation Marks

                         

                                Punctuation marks

The Period

                    AS ALWAYS FOCUS ON THESE WORDS        

Use a period [ . ] at the end of a sentence that makes a statement. There is no space between the last letter and the period. Use one space between the period and the first letter of the next sentence. This goes against the grain for people using the typography instilled by generations of old-fashioned typewriter users, but modern word-processors nicely accommodate the spacing after a period, and double-spacing after a period can only serve to discombobulate the good intentions of one's software.

   

 See Quotation Marks and Parentheses for special placement considerations with those marks.

Use a period at the end of a command.

Hand in the poster essays no later than noon on Friday.

In case of tremors, leave the building immediately.

Use a period at the end of an indirect question.

The teacher asked why Maria had left out the easy exercises.

My father used to wonder why Egbert's ears were so big.

Use a period with abbreviations:

Dr. Espinoza arrived from Washington, D.C., at 6 p.m.

Notice that when the period ending the abbreviation comes at the end of a sentence, it will also suffice to end the sentence. On the other hand, when an abbreviation ends a question or exclamation, it is appropriate to add a question mark or exclamation mark after the abbreviation-ending period:

Did you enjoy living in Washington, D.C.?

Occasionally, a statement will end with a question. When that happens, it is appropriate to end the sentence with a QUESTION MARK.

·         We can get to Boston quicker, can't we, if we take the interstate?

·         His question was, can we end this statement with a question mark?

·         She ended her remarks with a resounding why not?