Punctuation Quick Reference

PUNCTUATION – QUICK REFERENCE

Capital Letters

Start of a new sentence: My dog is a very good pet.
First letter of every word in a proper noun (except “of” or “the”):Indiana Jones; Laurence of Arabia; My dog is called Indiana; Tuesday; Melbourne.
To indicate shouting (informal writing only): “STOP,” he yelled.
To indicate religions or God.
Acronyms: N.A.S.A, C.S.I.R.O
Note: In Australian English, there is no full stop between the letters.

Following a longer introductory phrase: Before we bought Indiana from the RSPCA, she lived with another family.
To join short and related sentences: I came, I saw, I conquered.
After a name used in address: Indiana, sit down.
Before a name when used in addressing someone:Welcome to the show, Indiana.
After a greeting:Hello, how are you?; Welcome, have a seat.
To separate items in a list: Our pets at home are Indiana, Emmylou, Zelda, Cuddly and Winifred.
If the items have a comma in them, separate them with a semi-colon: The Olympics have been held in Beijing, China; Athens, Greece; and Sydney, Australia.
In between multiple or repeated adjectives or adverbs: I drive an unreliable, white car; Emmylou felt very, very cold.
Before the conjunction when you are joining two sentences: Indiana sat by my side, but Emmylou ran off into the creek.
Following a speech verb introducing direct speech: I said to Indiana, “You are a terrific dog.”
In place of a full stopin direct speech when it is followed by a speech verb phrase. “Indiana is a wonderful dog,” I said.
Before “too” when it means also: I have a cattle dog, too.
Before “either” or “however” when they are the end of a sentence: Emmylou did not want to stay in the car, either.
Around an appositive: I write examples about my dog, Indiana; I spoke to my sister, Rad, just last week.
In dates to separate adjoining word or adjoining numerals:I first wrote this example on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

To end a sentence: Indiana is a great dog.
The full stop is replaced by a comma in direct speech when it is followed by a speech verb phrase (like “he said”, “said Mary”). “Indiana is a wonderful dog,” I said.
In British and American English anacronyms have a full stop between letters, but not in Australian English. For example: P.M , A.M

To show possession or ownership: Emmylou ran away with Indiana’s toy.
When ownership is shown by a possessive pronoun, no apostrophe is needed: Indiana guarded her toy.
Plurals of a single number or letter: I was all at 6’s and 7s.
Longer numbers and acronyms do use an apostrophe when plural: Cars became popular in the 1920s.
The teacher hands in students’ work immediately.
Missing letters and contraction: He can’t go out today; it is five o’clock.
REMEMBER! Its and It’s are different! Its shows possessive pronoun while it’s is an abbreviated word of it is.

Example:The dog is wagging its tail. (The word its refers to the dog)

He thinks it’s hard to finish the worksheet in time. (It’s is an abbreviated word

of it is)

Around the word/s said in direct speech: I said, “Indiana is my dog.”
The final punctuation, the full stop in this example, is inside the quotation marks.
One question that frequently arises with quotation marks is where to place other punctuation marks in relation to them. Again, these rules vary from region to region, but North American usage is quite simple:

I know you are fond of the story "Children of the Corn," but is it an appropriate subject for your essay?

"At last," said the old woman, "I can say I am truly happy."

She never liked the poem "Dover Beach"; in fact, it was her least favourite piece of Victorian literature.

He clearly states his opinion in the article "Of Human Bondage": he believes that television has enslaved and diminished an entire generation.

Question marks, exclamation marks, and dashes go inside quotation marks when they are part of the quotation, and outside when they do not.

Where is your copy of "The Raven"?

Square brackets go around a comment added to a quotation. He said, “Indiana [my dog] is a menace.”
Round brackets go around remarking in a sentence. This is extra information that you could take out: We went to a movie (The Incredibles) and had a great time.
he winner is… Indiana!”

Exclamation mark

Semi-Colon

To join two sentences together to show a connection between the ideas (just like a comma and a conjunction do): Indiana is brown and obedient; Emmylou is black and tan.
To separate items in a list where those items contain commas: Last year I went to Sydney, New South Wales; Perth, Western Australia and Hobart, Tasmania.
Before the introductory words “however” and consequently:You should bring some edible items with you to the picnic; for example: cheese, chicken, carrots, apples and chips.

Colon

Providing a definition or answer: The barking could mean only one thing: Emmylou was awake.
To introduce a question: As we heard the sound, we wondered: is that Emmylou?
To introduce direct speech: Mr O'Meara jumped to his feet and declared: "I'm going to stab you through the heart with a pencil!"
To link contrasting sentences:I plant flowers in our garden: Indiana digs them up.
To introduce a list:You must bring the following: shoes, hats and sunscreen.
To show chapter and verse in the Bible:Ecclesiiastes 3:12
Writing time: 8:12A.M.
Ratios: 16:9 screen
To break up a title: Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Labels for information: Day: Monday

Question mark

To indicate that something is a question that requires an answer: Is it raining?
To show doubt: The first house in this town was built in the 1930s(?).

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