The web's most comprehensive guide to American punctuation.

Comma The comma might be the most troublesome punctuation mark. This is largely due to the many different ways the comma is used. Sometimes, the comma indicates a pause that would occur if the …

The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons⁠—in each case to slightly different effect.

Semicolon The semicolon is sometimes described as stronger than a comma but weaker than a period. In certain uses, this is a reasonably accurate definition. Yet there is more to the semicolon than that. …

About This Guide After searching the web for a comprehensive guide to American punctuation and not finding one, I decided to create my own. In the early years of written English, punctuation served to …

Hyphen and dashes The hyphen ( - ), en dash ( – ), and em dash ( — ) look similar but are of different lengths. They also perform different functions. Only the hyphen receives a dedicated key on most …

Quotation marks Quotation marks are primarily used to indicate material that is being reproduced word for word, as well as some other important uses. Quotation marks and adjacent punctuation Though …

Slash The slash ( / ), also known as the virgule, has several uses, most of which should be avoided in formal writing. Never use a backslash ( \ ) in place of a slash. Poetry The one inarguably acceptable …

Terminal punctuation chart Use of the question mark with other punctuation, including quotation marks, is explained in the section on terminal punctuation.

Top ten punctuation tips 1. Use apostrophes correctly Maybe it’s because of its diminutive size, but the apostrophe tends to be neglected and misused in equal measure. The apostrophe is used to form …