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      Punctuation Marks

      ( . ) Period

      End a sentence: Dinner was delicious.

      ( ? ) Question Mark

      End a sentence and denote inquiry: What time is it?

      ( ! ) Exclamation Point

      End a sentence and denote excitement or emphasis: Watch out for that tree!

      ( , ) Comma

      Denote a break within a sentence or direct address of a person or group: Mary, listen to me.

      Separate any of the following:

      • Two or more adjectives: He is a charming, attentive listener.

      • Items in a list: Please buy eggs, milk, butter and flour.

      • The name of a city from the name of a state: I live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

      • Two independent clauses: The waiter still hasn’t taken our order, and the play starts in five minutes.

      • Direct quotations: Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”

      ( ; ) Semicolon

      Separate two related but independent clauses: I asked Anne to look at my computer; she has a knack for them. Separate a series of items that already contain commas:

      • For our wedding colors, I chose white, the color of innocence; red, the color of passion; and yellow, the color of lemons.

      • I have lived in Detroit, Michigan; Paris, France; and Sydney, Australia.

      ( : ) Colon

      Introduce a list.

      For Christmas, I would like the following presents: a hula hoop, a hippopotamus, and my two front teeth.

      Introduce a statement that expands upon the clause before the colon.

      Introduce a statement that expands upon the clause before the colon.

      And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

      ( - ) Hyphen

      Add a prefix: Trans-Atlantic flights are costly. Create compound words: Spider-Man is my favorite superhero.

      Write numbers as words: I have lived in this house for thirty-three years.

      (– or —) Dash

      Make a brief interruption within a sentence or a parenthetical phrase: Johnny asked me—with a straight face, I might add—if he could borrow the car for the weekend.

      ( “ ) Double Quotation

      Enclose a direct quotation: “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”

      ( ‘ ) Single Quotation