Core English punctuation rules, such as periods, commas, and question marks, explained in plain language for adult ESL learners.
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- What punctuation mark ends a normal statement?
- A period (.)
- She went to the store
- Add a period at the end: 'She went to the store.'
- What punctuation mark ends a question?
- A question mark (?)
- Where is the bus stop
- Add a question mark: 'Where is the bus stop?'
- What punctuation mark shows strong feeling or excitement?
- An exclamation point (!)
- Watch out for the car
- Add an exclamation point to show urgency: 'Watch out for the car!'
- What is a comma used for in a list?
- To separate three or more items in a series, such as 'apples, oranges, and bananas'
- I bought milk eggs and bread
- Add commas to separate the list: 'I bought milk, eggs, and bread.'
- What comma rule applies to two independent clauses joined by 'and' or 'but'?
- Put a comma before the conjunction, such as 'I was tired, but I kept working.'
- What is an introductory comma used for?
- To separate an introductory word or phrase from the main sentence, such as 'After lunch, we went for a walk.'
- What does an apostrophe show in the word 'don't'?
- It shows that letters have been left out; 'don't' is short for 'do not'
- What does an apostrophe plus 's' usually show?
- Possession, such as 'Maria's book' meaning the book belongs to Maria
- its vs it's
- 'its' shows possession (the dog wagged its tail); 'it's' is short for 'it is' or 'it has'
- How do you show possession for a plural noun ending in 's'?
- Add only an apostrophe after the 's', such as 'the students' books'
- What punctuation marks are used to show someone's exact spoken words?
- Quotation marks (" ")
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