1. Periods, commas, and semicolons
Punctuation
Periods, commas, and semicolons
Oh my!
… And quotation marks, parentheses, hyphens, dashes, colons, question marks, slashes, apostrophes, ellipses and asterisks.

2. Part 1
The common stuff

3. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? .
PERIOD/DOT/POINT

4. Periods How can I use a period? At the end of a complete sentence.
In numbers (point)
5.5, 0.25
In addresses or URLs (dot)
Gmail.com
Leannateacher.wordpress.com

5. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? ,
COMMA

6. Commas How can I use a comma? With a conjunction In a list
I like apples, but he likes oranges.
In a list
I play tennis, basketball, and baseball.
After an introductory phrase or clause
During the winter months, it snows a lot.
Hey, what are you doing?
To set aside information
I have carrots, which I like, and peas, which I hate.

7. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? ’
APOSTROPHE

8. Apostrophes How can I use apostrophes? In contractions
Didn’t, won’t, it’s
In possession
Aigerim’s boyfriend , the school’s library

9. Names of punctuation marks
What are these?
“ ”
QUOTATION MARKS

10. Quotation marks How can I use quotation marks? Around quotes
I said, “You’re a liar, and you know it.”
NOTE: Periods, commas, question marks and exclamation points go INSIDE the quotation marks.
Exception: Did you see the sign that said “Warning: Do not enter”?
Around technical terms or foreign words
“Bishbarmak” is a traditional Kazakh dish.

11. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? !
EXCLAMATION POINT

12. Exclamation points How can I use an exclamation point?
After an exclamation
Wow! Look out!

13. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? ?
QUESTION MARK

14. Question marks How can I use a question mark? After a question
Did you see the question up there?

15. Part 2
The weird stuff

16. Names of punctuation marks
What are these?
( )
PARENTHESES

17. Parentheses How can I use parentheses?
To set aside information, like a private comment or explanation
I never drink (except on weekends).
To reference something
The research data (Fig. 1) shows the results of the study.
To give a translation
They’re going on hajj (pilgrimage).

18. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? :
COLON

19. Colons How can I use a colon? In time It’s 12:30. In ratios
The ratio of boys to girls is 2:1.
To introduce an idea or list
Here’s my idea: We buy a boat.
I need the following items: kittens, puppies, cake, and ice cream.

20. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? ;
SEMICOLON

21. Semicolons How can I use a semicolon?
To connect independent clauses without a conjunction
I like apples; he likes oranges.
In longer lists
We discussed the following ideas: buying boats and sailing to Mexico; having parties with dogs, cats, ice cream, and cake; the problems of being university students with part-time jobs; and how to study abroad.

22. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? -
HYPHEN

23. Hyphens How can I use a hyphen? To connect pieces of a single word
Part-time jobs
An 8-year-old girl
To connect a sentence across a line break
She worries about her financially depen-dent brother.

24. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? —
DASH (EM DASH)

25. Dashes (em-dashes) How can I use an em-dash?
There are two kinds of dashes; this is the longest one.
How can I use an em-dash?
Like parentheses, but less disconnected; an abrupt pause
She likes every color—except purple.
I have to get up early—at 5am—and go to the airport.
Comma, dash, parentheses
Least to most disconnected phrase

26. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? /
SLASH

27. Slashes How can I use a slash? To give two options (or all options)
I want cake and/or ice cream for my birthday.
A teacher should share his/her knowledge.
In URLs
vk.com/video

28. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? *
ASTERISK/STAR

29. Asterisks How can I use an asterisk? As a bullet 
To reference a note at the end
Puppies are never ugly.*
*Except when they have physical deformities.
To call attention to something important
*** Warning: Do not eat ***

30. Names of punctuation marks
What is this? …
ELLIPSIS

31. Ellipses How can I use an ellipsis?
To show words were removed from a quote
According to the author, puppies are “always welcome at any birthday party … or other event.”
To show pauses in speaking or “trailing off”
I don’t … think you understand.
What the…