Punctuation

. full stop (BrE) (NAmE period) ■■ before or after ‘he said’, etc. when writing
down conversation:
■■ at the end of a sentence that is not
• ‘Come back soon,’ she said.
a question or an exclamation:
• I knocked at the door. There was no reply. ■■ before a short quotation:
I knocked again. • Disraeli said, ‘Little things affect little
minds.’
■■ sometimes in abbreviations:
• Jan. e.g. a.m. etc. : colon
■■ in internet and email addresses (said ‘dot’) ■■ to introduce a list of items:
• http://www.oup.com • These are our options: we go by train and
leave before the end of the show; or we
, comma take the car and see it all.
■■ to separate words in a list, though they are ■■ in formal writing, before a clause or phrase
often omitted before and: that gives more information about the
• a bouquet of red, pink and white roses main clause. (You can use a semicolon or
• tea, coffee, milk or hot chocolate a full stop, but not a comma, instead of a
■■ to separate phrases or clauses: colon here.)
• If you keep calm, take your time, • The garden had been neglected for a long
concentrate and think ahead, then you’re time: it was overgrown and full of weeds.
likely to pass your test. ■■ to introduce a quotation, which may be
• Worn out after all the excitement of the indented:
party, the children soon fell asleep. • As Kenneth Morgan writes:
■■ before and after a clause or phrase The truth was, perhaps, that Britain
that gives additional, but not essential, in the years from 1914 to 1983 had not

Punctuation
information about the noun it follows: changed all that fundamentally.
• The Pennine Hills, which are very popular Others, however, have challenged this
with walkers, are situated between view …
Lancashire and Yorkshire.
(do not use commas before and after a
; semicolon
clause that defines the noun it follows) ■■ instead of a comma to separate parts of
• The hills that separate Lancashire from a sentence that already contain commas:
Yorkshire are called the Pennines. • She was determined to succeed whatever
the cost; she would achieve her aim,
■■ to separate main clauses, especially long whoever might suffer on the way.
ones, linked by a conjunction such as and,
as, but, for, or: ■■ in formal writing, to separate two main
• We had been looking forward to our clauses, especially those not joined by a
holiday all year, but unfortunately it conjunction:
rained every day. • The sun was already low in the sky;
it would soon be dark.
■■ to separate an introductory word or phrase,
or an adverb or adverbial phrase that ? question mark
applies to the whole sentence, from the rest
of the sentence: ■■ at the end of a direct question:
• Oh, so that’s where it was. • Where’s the car?
• As it happens, however, I never saw her • You’re leaving already?
again. Do not use a question mark at the end of
• By the way, did you hear about Sue’s car? an indirect question:
■■ to separate a tag question from the rest of • He asked if I was leaving.
the sentence: ■■ especially with a date, to express doubt:
• It’s quite expensive, isn’t it? • John Marston (?1575–1634)
• You live in Bristol, right?

© Oxford University Press 1/3

 !  exclamation mark (especially BrE) – dash
(NAmE usually exclamation point) ■■ in informal English, instead of a colon
■■ at the end of a sentence expressing or semicolon, to indicate that what follows
surprise, joy, anger, shock or another is a summary or conclusion of what has
strong emotion: gone before:
• That’s marvellous! • Men were shouting, women were
• ‘Never!’ she cried. screaming, children were crying — it was
chaos.
■■ in informal written English, you can use • You’ve admitted that you lied to me —
more than one exclamation mark, or an how can I trust you again?
exclamation mark and a question mark:
• ‘Your wife’s just given birth to triplets.’ ■■ singly or in pairs to separate a comment
‘Triplets!?’ or an afterthought from the rest of the
sentence:
’ apostrophe • He knew nothing at all about it — or so
he said.
■■ with s to indicate that a thing or person
belongs to somebody: ; dots/ellipsis
• my friend’s brother
■■ to indicate that words have been omitted,
• the waitress’s apron
especially from a quotation or at the end of
• King James’s crown/King James’ crown
a conversation:
• the students’ books
• … challenging the view that Britain …
• the women’s coats
had not changed all that fundamentally.
■■ in short forms, to indicate that letters or
figures have been omitted: / slash/oblique
• I’m (I am) ■■ to separate alternative words or phrases:
• they’d (they had/they would) • have a pudding and/or cheese
• the summer of ’89 (1989) • single/married/widowed/divorced

Punctuation
■■ sometimes, with s to form the plural of a ■■ in internet and email addresses to separate
letter, a figure or an abbreviation: the different elements (often said ‘forward
• roll your r’s slash’)
• during the 1990’s • http://www.oup.com/elt/
- hyphen quotation marks
■■ to form a compound from two or more
“  ‘  ’”
■■ to enclose words and punctuation in direct
other words: speech:
• hard-hearted • ‘Why on earth did you do that?’ he asked.
• fork-lift truck • I’ll fetch it,’ she replied.
• mother-to-be
■■ to draw attention to a word that is unusual
■■ to form a compound from a prefix and a for the context, for example a slang
proper name: expression, or to a word that is being used
• pre-Raphaelite for special effect, such as irony:
• pro-European • He told me in no uncertain terms to ‘get
■■ when writing compound numbers lost’.
between 21 and 99 in words: • Thousands were imprisoned in the name
• seventy-three of ‘national security’.
• thirty-one ■■ around the titles of articles, books, poems,
plays, etc:
■■ sometimes, in British English, to separate
a prefix ending in a vowel from a word • Keats’s ‘Ode to Autumn’
beginning with the same vowel: • I was watching ‘Match of the Day’.
• co-operate ■■ around short quotations or sayings:
• pre-eminent • Do you know the origin of the saying:
■■ after the first section of a word that is ‘A little learning is a dangerous thing’?
divided between one line and the next: ■■ in American English, double quotation
• decide what to do in order to avoid mis- marks are used:
takes of this kind in the future • “Help! I’m drowning!”

© Oxford University Press 2/3

 ( )  brackets (BrE) Quoting conversation
(also parentheses NAmE or formal) ■■ When you write down a conversation, you
■■ to separate extra information or a normally begin a new paragraph for each
comment from the rest of a sentence: new speaker.
• Mount Robson (12 972 feet) is the highest Quotation marks enclose the words
mountain in the Canadian Rockies. spoken:
• He thinks that modern music (i.e. • ‘You’re sure of this?’ I asked.
anything written after 1900) is rubbish. He nodded grimly.
‘I’m certain.’
■■ to enclose cross references:
• This moral ambiguity is a feature of ■■ Verbs used to indicate direct speech, for
Shakespeare’s later works (see Chapter example he said, she complained, are
Eight). separated by commas from the words
spoken, unless a question mark or an
■■ around numbers or letters in text: exclamation mark is used:
• Our objectives are (1) to increase • ‘That’s all I know,’ said Nick.
output, (2) to improve quality and
• Nick said, ‘That’s all I know.’
(3) to maximize profits.
• ‘Why?’ asked Nick.
[ ]  square brackets (especially BrE) When he said or said Nick follows the
(NAmE usually brackets) words spoken, the comma is placed
inside the quotation marks, as in the first
■■ around words inserted to make a quotation example above. If, however, the writer
grammatically correct: puts the words said Nick within the actual
• Britain in [these] years was without … words Nick speaks, the comma is outside
the quotation marks:
italics • ‘That’, said Nick, ‘is all I know.’
■■ to show emphasis: ■■ Double quotation marks are used to
• I’m not going to do it—you are. indicate direct speech being quoted by

Punctuation
• … proposals which we cannot accept somebody else within direct speech:
under any circumstances • ‘But you said you loved me! “I’ll never
■■ to indicate the titles of books, plays, etc: leave you, Sue, as long as I live.” That’s
• Joyce’s Ulysses what you said, isn’t it?’
• the title role in Puccini’s Tosca
• a letter in The Times
■■ for foreign words or phrases:
• the English oak (Quercus robur)
• I had to renew my permesso di soggiorno
(residence permit).

© Oxford University Press 3/3