Form |
Symbol |
Function |
period |
. |
used to end a sentence (a sentence
contains a subject, verb and sometimes object and expresses a complete
thought; you can "test" a complete sentence by transforming it into a
"yes/no" question (see example) |
example: " The United Nations began in 1945." (transformed to a 'yes/no' question from a question: Did the United Nations begin in 1945?)
|
comma |
, |
used to clarify or highlight
additional information about a subject; |
example: " The United
Nations, which had just 50 member-states when it began, now has many
more."
|
semi-colon |
; |
used to
separate two complete thoughts that could stand alone as two separate
sentences; the semi-colon is used to show the close connection between the
two thoughts |
example: "All member-states have one vote in the General
Assembly; therefore, each
has an equal say in this forum regardless of its size."
|
colon |
: |
used to
give added information about the subject and follows what could stand
alone as a complete sentence |
example: "In 1995, five more countries became United Nations
members: |
m-dash |
-- |
used to
highlight information but in a more emphatic way than a comma |
example: "There is
nothing wrong with the United Nations -- except its governments." (a quote from Lord
Caradon, Britain's Delegate to the United Nations, 1964-70)
|
n-dash |
- |
used to
separate components of compound words |
example:"By the United Nations' fiftieth
anniversary, the number of member-states
had more than tripled."
|
apostrophe |
' |
used to
show possession; placed before after the last letter and before s in the case of singular nouns; placed after the final s in
plural nouns |
example: A Permanent
Representative's appointment is for five
years. |
question mark |
? |
used to
indicate a question |
example: "Did the United Nations begin in 1945?"
|
quotation marks* |
" " |
used
to indicate a direct quote from a person |
example: The third Secretary-General, U Thant
said, "The Charter of the United Nations is the first, most
daring code of behaviour addressed to the most powerful institutions of
the planet -- armed nations." |
* Note that British and American English can use quotation marks
differently; British Enlgish useage puts the periods and commas inside the
quotation marks, only when such marks are part of the quote itself, while
American English always puts periods and commas inside punctuation
marks. |