“Hunters please use caution when hunting pedestrians using walk trails.”
Why? What’s wrong with it?
It’s missing punctuation marks!
Leaving them out, or misusing them, can lead to some silly and confusing sentences.
Without any punctuation marks, the sentence above looks like it’s saying that hunters should be careful while they’re hunting pedestrians (people who are walking).
Now look at the same words from above, but with appropriate punctuation:
“Hunters, please use caution when hunting. Pedestrians using walk trails.”
Makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?
Punctuation marks add meaning to sentences, and meaning is pretty important.
In fact, punctuation mistakes lead to some of the most common errors in English.
That’s right: Some of the most common English mistakes can be fixed just by fixing the punctuation.
And if you’re a hunter, please use caution when hunting. Don’t hunt pedestrians.
The Most Common Punctuation Marks
There are not too many punctuation marks in the English language, but they each serve a very important role. Here are some of the most commonly-used punctuation marks:
Period ( . ) — The period’s job is to end a sentence and a thought. It shows readers that it’s time to stop for a moment and take a breath before moving on to the next thought.
Comma ( , ) — The comma’s job is to pause in the middle of a sentence. Commas are used to make lists, split two clauses (separate parts of a sentence) and give the reader a small break before the end of a sentence.
Question mark ( ? ) — The question mark lets readers know that a question was just asked.
Exclamation point ( ! ) — The exclamation point emphasizes (or stresses) the sentence, and shows extreme emotions like anger and excitement.
Colon ( : ) — The colon’s job is to prepare the reader for something that’s coming up. Colons are usually used to introduce a list or emphasize something important.
Semicolon ( ; ) — The semicolon is a longer break than a comma, but a shorter break than a period. Many people, including native English speakers, don’t know how to properly use a semicolon! We’ll share some resources on the usage of the semicolon below, but remember this: If you’re not sure, just don’t use it. You can always rephrase the sentence, or break it apart into two sentences.
Apostrophe ( ‘ ) — The apostrophe helps mark the possessive. In other words, it’s used to show when one thing belongs to something else. It’s also used to form contractions, which are shortenings of common phrases, like “it is” (it’s), and “they are” (they’re).
Quotation marks ( ” ) — These marks show that someone is speaking, or that you’re quoting someone.
Parentheses ( ( ) ) — Parentheses are used to add details or mention things that are not essential (important) to the sentence.
Hyphen ( – ) — The hyphen is used to connect words to form adjective phrases, like in “my 3-year-old cousin.” It also connects commonly-used two-part words, like “well-being.”
Dash ( — ) — The dash has two main forms, the em-dash and the en-dash. The em-dash is a double dash ( — ) that’s used to interrupt sentences to include a list or an aside. For example: “I told her to take a pen—a green one, not a red one—back to her desk.” An en-dash ( – ) is longer than a hyphen, and is used to connect values, like “pages 3–15.”
Don’t worry if the list seems long—you probably already know most of these punctuation marks. And if you don’t, well…
Learn More About Punctuation Marks
There are tons of online resources for learning about punctuation marks. Some of them are straightforward, while others are a bit more… fun. Here are a few of our favorite resources for learning about punctuation:
- The Oatmeal’s guides to semicolons and apostrophes are very fun and sometimes odd ways to learn about these two often confusing punctuation marks.
- There’s an entire website, The Punctuation Guide, dedicated to punctuation marks and their many uses.
- If you’re looking for something a bit more ordinary, you can find a good guide to the basics of punctuation at Skills You Need.
- Want to know more about the different kinds of d