Learn about the 14 punctuation marks in American English. I will briefly teach you how to use each punctuation mark with rules and sentence examples. 📚 Order my 16 Basic Punctuation Rules eBook: https://sparkleenglish.podia.com/basi...

This lesson focuses on American English punctuation rules that differ somewhat from British English. If you want to learn about a specific punctuation mark, make sure to check out my individual lessons that offer in-depth explanations.

The 14 Punctuation Marks in English:
• Period (.): Ends a sentence with a full stop, showing completion of a thought.
• Comma (,): Creates a slight break within sentences, listing items, or separating clauses.
• Exclamation Point (!): Expresses high emotion or emphasis, perfect for strong feelings or commands.
• Question Mark (?): Marks the end of a direct question, inviting an answer or indicating curiosity.

• Colon (:): Introduces a list, explanation, or quotation following a complete sentence.
• Semicolon (;): Links closely related complete sentences or separates complex list items.

• Dash (—): Adds emphasis, an abrupt change, or additional information within a sentence.
• Hyphen (-): Joins words or parts of words together, like in compound terms.
• Parentheses (()): Encloses extra information or clarifying details within a sentence.
• Brackets ([]): Used for technical explanations or to clarify quotations.

• Ellipsis (...): Indicates an omission or a trailing off in thought.
• Apostrophe ('): Shows possession or creates contractions, linking words and letters.
• Quotation Marks (""): Encapsulates direct speech, quotations, or titles of short works.
• Slash (/): Indicates alternatives, or divisions, and sometimes dates or line breaks.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Periods
01:35 - Commas
03:05 - Exclamation Points
03:49 - Question Marks
04:36 - Colons
05:48 - Semicolons
06:49 - Em Dash & En Dash
08:58 - Hyphens
09:39 - Parentheses
11:23 - Brackets
12:13 - Ellipses
13:06 - Apostrophes
14:22 - Quotation Marks
15:45 - Slashes

👩🏼‍🏫 LEARN MORE:
• Punctuation Lessons:    • English Writing Essentials  
• Grammar Lessons:    • English Grammar Essentials  

✨ SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook:   / sparkleenglish  
Instagram:   / sparkleenglishesl  
TikTok:   / sparkle.english