Grammar Handbook
Quick Reference: Punctuation
mark function examples
End Marks ends a sentence The games begin today.
period, question Who is your favorite contestant?
mark, exclamation
What a play Jamie made!
point
period follows an initial or abbreviation Prof. Ted Bakerman, D. H. Lawrence, Houghton
Mifflin Co., p.m., a.d., oz., ft., Blvd., St.
Exception: postal abbreviations of states NE (Nebraska), NV (Nevada)
period follows a number or letter in an outline I. Volcanoes
A. Central-vent
1. Shield
Comma separates parts of a compound sentence I have never disliked poetry, but now I really love it.
separates items in a series She is brave, loyal, and kind.
separates adjectives of equal rank that modify the The slow, easy route is best.
same noun
sets off a term of address O Wind, if winter comes . . .
Come to the front, children.
sets off a parenthetical expression Hard workers, as you know, don’t quit.
I’m not a quitter, believe me.
sets off an introductory word, phrase, or Yes, I forgot my key.
dependent clause At the beginning of the day, I feel fresh.
While she was out, I was here.
Having finished my chores, I went out.
sets off a nonessential phrase or clause Ed Pawn, the captain of the chess team, won.
Ed Pawn, who is the captain, won.
The two leading runners, sprinting toward the
finish line, finished in a tie.
sets off parts of dates and addresses Send it by August 18, 2010, to Cherry Jubilee, Inc.,
21 Vernona St., Oakland, Minnesota.
follows the salutation and closing of a letter Dear Jim, Sincerely yours,
separates words to avoid confusion By noon, time had run out.
What the minister does, does matter.
While cooking, Jim burned his hand.
Semicolon separates items that contain commas in a series We invited my sister, Jan; her boyfriend,
Don; my uncle Jack; and Mary Dodd.
separates parts of a compound sentence that are The last shall be first; the first shall be last. I read
not joined by a coordinating conjunction the Bible; however, I have not memorized it.
separates parts of a compound sentence when the After I ran out of money, I called my parents; but
parts contain commas only my sister was home, unfortunately.
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mark function examples
Colon introduces a list Those we wrote were the following:
Dana, John, and Will.
introduces a long quotation Susan B. Anthony said: “Woman must not depend
upon the protection of man. . . .”
follows the salutation of a business letter To Whom It May Concern:
Dear Ms. Costa:
separates certain numbers 1:28 p.m., Genesis 2:5
Dash indicates an abrupt break in thought I was thinking of my mother—who is arriving
tomorrow—just as you walked in.
Parentheses enclose less important material Throughout her life (though some might think
otherwise), she worked hard.
The temperature on this July day (would you
believe it?) is 65 degrees!
Hyphen joins parts of a compound adjective before a noun She lives in a first-floor apartment.
joins part of a compound with all-, ex-, self-, The president-elect is a well respected.
or -elect
joins part of a compound number (to ninety-nine) Today I turn twenty-one.
joins part of a fraction My cup is one-third full.
joins a prefix to a word beginning with a capital Is this a pre-Bronze Age artifact?
letter Caesar had a bad day in mid-March.
indicates that a word is divided at the end of a line Finding the right title has been a chal-
lenge for the committee.
Apostrophe used with s to form the possessive of a noun or an my friend’s book, my friends’ books, anyone’s
indefinite pronoun guess, somebody else’s problem
replaces one or more omitted letters in a don’t (omitted o), he’d (omitted woul), the class
contraction or numbers in a date of ’99 (omitted 19)
used with s to form the plural of a letter I had two A’s on my report card.
Quotation Marks set off a speaker’s exact words Sara said, “I’m finally ready.” “I’m ready,” Sara
said, “finally.” Did Sara say, “I’m ready”? Sara
said, “I’m ready!”
set off the title of a story, an article, a short poem, We read Hansberry’s “On Summer” and Alvarez’s
an essay, a song, or a chapter “Exile.”
My eyes watered when I heard “The Star-Spangled
Banner.”
Ellipses replace material omitted from a quotation “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall
exist within the United States. . . .”
Italics indicate the title of a book, a play, a magazine, a The Mists of Avalon, Julius Caesar, Newsweek,
long poem, an opera, a film, or a TV series, or the Paradise Lost, La Bohème, ET, The West Wing, USS
name of a ship John F. Kennedy
R50 grammar handbook
Grammar Handbook
Quick Reference: Capitalization
category examples
People and Titles
Names and initials of people Alice Walker, E. B. White
Titles used before or in place of names Professor Holmes, Senator Long
Deities and members of religious groups Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Zeus, Baptists, Roman Catholics
Names of ethnic and national groups Hispanics, Jews, African Americans
Geographical Names
Cities, states, countries, continents Charleston, Nevada, France, Asia
Regions, bodies of water, mountains the Midwest, Lake Michigan, Mount Everest
Geographic features, parks Continental Divide, Everglades, Yellowstone
Streets and roads, planets 361 South Twenty-third Street, Miller Avenue, Jupiter, Saturn
Organizations, Events, Etc.
Companies, organizations, teams Monsanto, the Elks, Chicago Bulls
Buildings, bridges, monuments the Alamo, Golden Gate Bridge, Lincoln Memorial
Documents, awards the Constitution, World Cup
Special named events Super Bowl, World Series
Government bodies, historical periods and events the Supreme Court, Congress, the Middle Ages, Boston Tea Party
Days and months, holidays Tuesday, October, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day
Specific cars, boats, trains, planes Cadillac, Titanic, Orient Express
Proper Adjectives
Adjectives formed from proper nouns Doppler effect, Mexican music, Elizabethan age, Midwestern town
First Words and the Pronoun I
First word in a sentence or quotation This is it. He said, “Let’s go.”
First word of sentence in parentheses that is not The spelling rules are covered in another section. (Consult that section for
within another sentence more information.)
First words in the salutation and closing of a letter Dear Madam, Very truly yours,
First word in each line of most poetry Then am I
Personal pronoun I A happy fly
If I live
Or if I die.
First word, last word, and all important words in A Tale of Two Cities, “The World Is Too Much with Us”
a title
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