Overview of English Grammar: Punctuation and Mechanics

The comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a slight break, pause, or transition.

By understanding the rules of correct comma usage, you can avoid common comma errors.

Colons are used to introduce detailed lists or phrases and to show relationships between numbers, facts, words, and lists. 

Semicolons are used to link related clauses and to separate clauses that contain additional punctuation.

Apostrophes are used to mark contractions, possessives, and some plurals.

Quotation marks are most often used to mark direct speech or words from another author or speaker. 

Hyphens are often used to connect two words into a single term. 

Dashes are often used to mark interruptions within sentences, or to show the relationships between words.

Parentheses can be used to interject remarks or other information into a sentence. 

Ending punctuation identifies the end of a sentence, and most commonly includes periods, question marks, and exclamation marks.

It is important to be familiar with common spelling errors to avoid them in your own writing.

Capital letters are used to make certain words stand out.

An abbreviation is the shortened form of a word or phrase.

Sometimes it is appropriate to write numbers as numerals; other times they should be spelled out.

Writers use italics to emphasise certain words such as titles, scientific words, and foreign words.