Some Basic Punctuation Guidelines

1. Make sure each group of words you have used is really a sentence.
a. Does it express a complete thought? b. Does it begin with a capital letter?
c. Do you have a mark of punctuation at the end of each sentence?
1. Use a period at the end of statements or commands. The door is open. Close the door.
2. Use a question mark after sentences that ask a question. Will you please close the door?
3. Use an exclamation point after sentences that show strong feeling. Oh, what a terrible accident!
2. Make sure you have punctuated written conversation correctly (direct quotations).
a. Did you put quotation marks around the exact words of the person speaking?
“Lets go to my locker,” suggested Andi, “so I can put my binder away before lunch.”
b. Remember to set off the quotation from the rest of the sentence by some mark of punctuation (often a comma)
Mr. Wade pointed at the board and stated, “This is the homework for tonight.”
c. In a divided quotation, start the second part with a capital letter only if it is a new sentence.
“I have a pencil on my desk,” whispered Ms. Turner. “Do you need one?”
d. When the second part of a divided quotation does not begin a new sentence, begin it with a lower case letter.
“Today, we will write a story,” Mr. Cantwell instructed, “with animals as the characters.” ( the
second part is a continuation of the same sentence, so it does not start with a capital letter)
e. Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.
3. Make sure capital letters have been used where necessary
a. To start sentences, proper nouns, the word I, first words in a direct quotation, first words in a greeting and
salutation of a letter, all important words in titles, titles of people and the abbreviations of titles, etc.)
4. Use a period after abbreviations and initials
Capt. Jones Mr. Beard Gilham Rd. R. L. Mays Lane Co. Sept. a.m. p.m.
Some Exceptions: TV, NBC, UNICEF, VCR, CD-ROM
5. Make sure you use commas correctly.
a. Use a comma between city and state or country. La Paz, Bolivia; Eugene, Oregon
b. Use a comma between day and year. July 14, 1789
c. Use a comma after the greeting and closing of a letter. Dear Brian, and Sincerely,
d. Use a comma before a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) that connects two sentences.
Ms. Jones teaches math, and Ms. Turner teaches language arts.
e. Use a comma to separate a direct quotation from the rest of a sentence.
“I am going to class,” said Junior.
f. Use a comma to separate items in a series. My dad bought potatoes, apples, peaches, and bananas.
g. Use a comma after mild interjections like Yes or Well, when the word is used at the beginning of a sentence.
Yes, I have read all the books, said Sam.
h. Use commas to separate an appositive or clause from the rest of the sentence.
Mrs. Vandercar, the principal, was in the office.
i. Use a comma after subordinating clauses, other certain clauses, for natural pauses, and for clear writing.
When they went to class, they turned in their homework.
6. Use a semicolon and a comma to separate words like: too, moreover, however.
You will learn; however, that Ms. Loo has two boys.
7. Use an apostrophe in contractions. The apostrophe takes the place of missing letters.
isn’t (short for is not), doesn’t (short for does not), won’t (short for will not), can’t (short for is can not, don’t
8. Use an apostrophe for certain plurals:
Mind your p’s and q’s, or I wear size 11’s, ‘99 (or 1999)
10. Use an apostrophe for possessives.
the boy’s hat, for goodness’ sake, the book’s cover,
11. The problem possessives-How to make singular words that end with s possessive, is a style issue. You can do it
either way.
Thomas’ binder or Thomas’s binder,
12. Plural possessives
a. If the word ending with s is plural (aardvarks) then you just add an apostrophe at the end to make it
possessive. For example, "The two aardvarks' escape route [s apostrophe] was blocked" to say that a pair of
aardvarks needed to find another way out of danger. Plural words that don't end with s, such as children, do take an
apostrophe s at the end for possession. For example, "The children's classroom [children apostrophe s] had a hidden
doorway."