How to Identify Punctuation Marks
- 1). Look for sentences that start with who, what, when, where, why and how. At the end, the symbol for the question mark will be present. These types of sentences are asking questions, and generally have a "?" at the end. A period (.) completes sentences and statements. It indicates the sentence has ended. An exclamation point (!) shows strong emotion in a sentence and appears at the end just like the period and question mark; e.g., "This band is awesome!" This punctuation character is informal and generally used in personal communication such as emails and instant messages.
- 2). Look for a semicolon (;) in the middle of a sentence. A semicolon comes after a complete sentence and joins it with another sentence that relates to the previous sentence. It can be used to replace "and" or "but." Example: "I'm going to the store; I need to buy groceries."
- 3). Use a colon in the middle of a sentence after a complete thought. A colon is used only in a few cases. After making a complete sentence, use the colon before a list or explanation relating to the previous statement. Here's an example of a colon used for a list: "I need to get a few groceries: milk, eggs, pizza rolls and bread." Another example is using the colon for explanation. "The potential client called: they hired us." The colon is also used in writing time to separate the minutes and hours.
- 4). Use a comma (,) to separate a list or two clauses. Example of a list: "I need to buy a new shirt, socks, deodorant and shampoo." Use a comma before conjunctions that link two thoughts in one sentence; e.g., "I am going to the store, and I will buy milk, eggs and bread." In long sentences, it is best to use commas to separate thoughts so they don't all run together.
