the symbol used in writing at the end of a sentence or at the end of the short form of a word.
Full stop
/ˌfʊl ˈstɒp/
UK
/ˌfʊl ˈstɑːp/
US
He keeps missing the full stop-offs at the ends of his sentences.
the symbol, used in writing to separate parts of a sentence showing a slight pause, or to separate the single things in a list
Comma
/ˈkɒm.ə/
UK
/ˈkɑː.mə/
US
Put a comma after the clause.
An apostrophe is the mark ‘ when it is written to indicate that one or more letters have been left out of a word, as in ‘isn’t’ and ‘we’ll’.
Apostrophe
/əˈpɒs.trə.fi/
UK
/əˈpɑː.strə.fi/
US
“It’s” with an apostrophe means “it is” or “it has”.
either of two symbols put around a word, phrase, or sentence in a piece of writing to show that what is between them should be considered as separate from the main part.
Bracket
/ˈbræk.ɪt/
UK
/ˈbræk.ɪt/
US
She’d put brackets around the clause.
a mark (:) used in writing esp. to introduce a list of things or a sentence or phrase taken from somewhere else
a mark (:) used in writing esp. to introduce a list of things or a sentence or phrase taken from somewhere else
Ellipsis
/iˈlɪp.sɪs/
UK
/iˈlɪp.sɪs/
US
An example of ellipsis is “What percentage was left?” “20.” (= 20 percent)
the symbol ! written immediately after an exclamation
Exclamation mark
/ek.skləˈmeɪ.ʃən ˌmɑːk/
UK
/ek.skləˈmeɪ.ʃən ˌmɑːrk/
US
She uses a lot of exclamation marks in her emails.
the symbol -, used to join two words together or to show that a word has been divided into two parts at the end of one line and the beginning of the next
Hyphen
/ˈhaɪ.fən/
UK
/ˈhaɪ.fən/
US
There are hyphens in “well-to-do”.
the symbols ( ) that are put around a word, phrase, or sentence in a piece of writing
Parentheses
/pəˈren.θə.siːz/
UK
/pəˈren.θə.siːz/
US
The students’ first names are shown in parentheses, like this: Baker (Tina).
the symbol ? used in writing at the end of a phrase or sentence to show that it is a question
Question mark
/ˈkwes.tʃən ˌmɑːk/
UK
/ˈkwes.tʃən ˌmɑːrk/
US
Where is the question mark on this keyboard?
the symbols “ ” or ‘ ’ that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written or said it
Quotation marks
/kwəʊˈteɪ.ʃən ˌmɑːks/
UK
/kwoʊˈteɪ.ʃən ˌmɑːrks/
US
I put the term in quotation marks because it rarely actually moves.
A semicolon is the punctuation mark; which is used in writing to separate different parts of a sentence or list or to indicate a pause.
Semicolon
/ˌsem.iˈkəʊ.lɒn/
UK
/ˈsem.iˌkoʊ.lən/
US
A semicolon here, a stronger verb there, and do you really need that dependent clause?
the symbol / used in writing to separate letters, numbers, or words
Slash
/slæʃ/
UK
/slæʃ/
US
You often write a slash between alternatives, for example, “and/or”.