Punctuation Marks

These are marks or signs used within the text to clarify its meaning. They play an essential role
in enabling readers to understand the text. It is important for you become familiar with the rules
of punctuation and the character spaces used after and before these marks.

Spaces After And Before Punctuation Marks

Punctuation Mark Mark Number of Spaces Spaces Before
After

Full Stop
. 2 0
Dot (After initials and
titles)
. 1 0

Comma
, 1 0

Semi-colon
; 1 0

Colon
: 2 0

Question Mark
? 2 0

Exclamation Mark
! 2 0
Apostrophe (within a
word)
' 0 0

Parentheses (left)
( 0 1
0
Parentheses (right)
) 1

Quotation Mark (left)

“ 0 1

Quotation Mark (right)

” 1 0

Dash
– 1 1

Hyphen
- 0 0

Ellipsis
… 1 1
More On Ellipses
These are three dots used in in text (usually quotations) to indicate an omission either at the start,
within or at the end.

At the beginning of the quoted text, the dots are typed immediately after the open quotation mark
with one space between the last dot and the next word.

Inside the quoted text, leave one space before and after the three dots.

At the end of the quoted text, leave one space before the first dot, and any final punctuation mark
is typed immediately after the last dot. The closing quotation mark follows the last dot or the
final punctuation mark.

Examples
“… the purchasing is done … known as the ….”
“… is a document … to the buyer …,” said the teacher.
He told us “… were seen playing … in the savannah …” but did not state the exact time.