The Punctuation Guide

After searching the web for a comprehensive guide to American punctuation and not finding one, I decided to create my own.

In the early years of written English, punctuation served to mark pauses and other aspects of speech when text was read aloud. Over the subsequent centuries, punctuation marks were refined, eventually being used to indicate grammatical relationships between parts of a sentence. Today, punctuation serves both purposes, though the grammatical function dominates.

This guide shows the current style of American punctuation. British punctuation is slightly different, as explained here.

In creating this guide, I have consulted dozens of authorities, both online and in print. Where the authorities disagree, I either have explained the various positions or have presented the style I believe to be most useful. Fortunately, in most aspects of punctuation, there is general agreement.

Finally, as everyone knows, rules are made to be broken. Though it is a tired cliché that you must know the rules before you can break them, it is nevertheless true. This guide will show you the rules, but it is up to you to decide what to do with them.