Punctuation Overview

What Is Punctuation?

Punctuation marks are small symbols that tell the reader how to read a sentence. They show where sentences begin and end, where to pause, and what kind of meaning a sentence has (a statement, a question, or a strong feeling).

This lesson covers the marks every English sentence needs: end marks and capital letters.

End Marks

Every English sentence ends with one of three marks: a period (.), a question mark (?), or an exclamation mark (!).

Mark	Name	Use
`.`	period (US) / full stop (UK)	ends a normal statement
`?`	question mark	ends a question
`!`	exclamation mark	ends a strong feeling or surprise

I live in London. (statement)

Where do you live? (question)

That is amazing! (strong feeling)

Don’t Mix Them Up

Wrong	Right
Where do you live.	Where do you live?
I live in London?	I live in London.
That is amazing.	That is amazing!

The Period (Full Stop)

Use a period at the end of a normal sentence — a fact, an opinion, or an instruction.

The sun is hot.

I like coffee.

Please close the door.

A period also follows many short forms (abbreviations).

Long form	Short form
Mister	`Mr.`
Doctor	`Dr.`
Street	`St.`
etcetera	`etc.`

In British English, the periods after Mr and Dr are often left out: Mr Smith, Dr Lee.

The Question Mark

Use a question mark at the end of a direct question. Direct questions usually start with a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) or a helping verb (is, do, can, etc.).

What time is it?

Do you speak English?

Can I help you?

Do not use a question mark for an indirect question (a question inside a statement).

Direct question (use `?`)	Indirect question (use `.`)
`Where is the bank?`	`She asked where the bank is.`
`Are you tired?`	`He wants to know if I am tired.`

The Exclamation Mark

Use an exclamation mark for surprise, strong feeling, or an order shouted at someone.

Look out!

What a beautiful day!

I can't believe it!

Don’t use exclamation marks for normal sentences. In writing, one exclamation mark is enough — Wow!!! looks unprofessional.

Capital Letters

Capital letters work together with end marks. Use a capital letter:

Where	Example
First word of a sentence	`Today is Monday.`
The pronoun `I`	`My friend and I went out.`
Names of people	`Maria, Tom, Mr. Garcia`
Names of places	`Paris, Japan, Lake Ontario`
Names of days and months	`Monday, July, December`
Names of languages and nationalities	`English, Spanish, Brazilian`
Titles of books, films, and songs	`The Lord of the Rings`

Days, months, and languages are always capitalized in English. Seasons are not — summer, winter, spring, and autumn are lowercase.

Wrong	Right
my friend is from japan.	My friend is from Japan.
i speak english.	I speak English.
we play tennis on monday.	We play tennis on Monday.
In Summer, it is hot.	In summer, it is hot.

Spacing

In modern English writing, leave one space after a period, question mark, or exclamation mark before the next sentence.

I am tired. I will go home.

Do not put a space before a punctuation mark.

Wrong	Right
`I am tired .`	`I am tired.`
`Are you ok ?`	`Are you ok?`
`Hello !`	`Hello!`

Quick Reference Chart

Mark	When to use
`.` period	normal statement, abbreviation
`?` question mark	direct question
`!` exclamation mark	surprise, strong feeling
`Capital A`	sentence start, name, pronoun `I`, language, day, month

Practice: Exercises

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Which mark ends this sentence? 'I live in Madrid___'

Summary

Every English sentence ends with one of three marks: ., ?, or !.

Use a period for statements, a question mark for direct questions, and an exclamation mark for surprise or strong feeling.

Always capitalize: the first word of a sentence, the pronoun I, names of people and places, days, months, and languages. Do not capitalize seasons (summer, winter).

Leave one space after an end mark, and no space before it.