Questions In writing, a question ends with a question mark (“?”). ?In speech, most types of questions raise the voice at the end. Yes/No questions Many questions are formed expecting a simple “Yes” or “No” for an answer. Questions created with a form of “do” One common method is to use a […]
Ending Mark
Non-sentences/Fragments
In formal writing, anything between an initial capital letter and an ending punctuation (period, question mark, or exclamation mark) should be a complete sentence. It should express an understandable thought with a subject (doer) and a verb (action). Some verbs require objects, what the action was done upon (direct object: what was thrown, what was […]
Commas – Interjections
INTERJECTIONS Interjections separate exclamations from the rest of the sentence. ! Interjections are usually single words or short phrases spoken in reaction to something. “Oh!” “Hello.” “Hurrah!” “Oops!” “Ouch!” “Huh?” “Wow!” “Excuse me.” “Sorry.” “OMG!” “No.” “Yes.” “Ugh.” “Whew!” Often, they appear with exclamation marks, but not necessarily. They may be written with […]
Question Marks – Punctuation
Question Marks with Quotation Marks The position of question marks with dialog or spoken speech depends on the question. ?If the whole sentence is a question, the closing quotation mark goes first followed by the question. If only the quoted words are a question/exclamation, the question/exclamation mark goes inside the closing quotation marks. Colons and […]
Question Marks – information
Question Marks (?) Ending mark for a question ? Question marks are used to end a question. They should not be used with a comma or a period (except after an abbreviation). Seeking information or permission A question asks for information or makes a request for permission. Examples: What will we do tomorrow? Where does […]
Parentheses and brackets
Parenthetical (non-essential) information If the sentence is clear without the information, parentheses are appropriate (or commas or em dashes). ( )If what is enclosed is a separate, complete sentence, its ending punctuation falls just before the closing parenthesis. Otherwise, any required punctuation (comma, question mark, period, etc.) follows the closing parenthesis. Parentheses always come in […]
Quotation Marks (“Hello”)
Quotation marks have a variety of uses. Exact words spoken Use quotation marks around the exact words spoken. “A”Examples: “I’m not going tonight,” he announced. “But you’re the MC!” she protested. Dialogue tags Dialogue tags indicate who is speaking. Not every line of dialogue needs a tag. Conversation back and forth between two speakers […]
