Punctuation Lessons
Punctuation Lessons on Grammar Monster
Below is a list of our punctuation lessons.Apostrophes
The main lesson on using apostrophes
Lessons about apostrophes with a focus on:
- Apostrophes for possession
- Apostrophe placement rules
- Apostrophe after s
- Apostrophe after z
- Apostrophe before s
- Apostrophes for awkward plurals
- Apostrophes after acronyms and abbreviations
- Apostrophes in contractions
- Apostrophes in expressions like 2 years' pay and a day's notice
- Apostrophes used incorrectly for plurals
- Apostrophe exercises
- Apostrophes in names
- Apostrophe misuse
- Apostrophes in contractions
Brackets and Parentheses
The main lesson on using brackets
Lessons about brackets with a focus on:
- Square brackets
- Round brackets
- Brackets and punctuation placement
- Choice of parenthetical punctuation
Commas
The main lesson on using commas
Lessons about commas with a focus on:
- Commas with Dear, Hello, and Hi
- Commas after a dependent clause
- Commas after words like however and consequently
- Commas after interjections
- Commas before words like and, or, and but
- Commas for parenthesis
- Commas in lists
- The comma run-on error
- The Oxford Comma
- Commas with long subjects
- Commas in numbers
- Commas with quotation marks
- Commas with direct address
- Commas and however
Colons
The main lesson on using colons
Lessons about colons with a focus on:
- Colons before long quotations
- Colons with bullet points
- Colons for introductions
- Colons in references
- Colons to expand on something previously mentioned in a sentence
- Colons before lists
- Colons versus semicolons
- Capital letters after colons
Hyphens
The main lesson on using hyphens
Lessons about hyphens with a focus on:
- Hyphens in prefixes
- Hyphens in compound nouns
- Hyphens in compound adjectives
- Alternatives to hyphens in compound adjectives
- Hyphens between numbers
- Hyphens between words
- Hyphens in ages
Dashes
The main lesson on using dashes
Lessons about dashes with a focus on:
Semicolons
The main lesson on using semicolons
Lessons about semicolons with a focus on:
- Semicolons for a smoother break than a full stop /period
- Semicolons in lists
- Semicolons before words like however and consequently
- Semicolons before words like and, or, and but
Quotation Marks
The main lesson on using quotation marks
Lessons about quotation marks with a focus on:
- Quotation marks within quotation marks
- Quotations marks for the names of ships, plays, etc.
- Quotation marks and punctuation placement
- Quotation marks meaning alleged or so-called
- Quotation marks and ellipsis
- Quotations marks and punctuation before a quote
- Quotation marks with multiple paragraphs
Overviews of Punctuation from the Glossary of Grammatical Terms
The main overview of punctuation
Other overviews from the glossary:
- Overview of apostrophes
- Overview of brackets
- Overview of colons
- Overview of commas
- Overview of dashes
- Overview of ellipsis
- Overview of exclamation marks
- Overview of hyphens
- Overview of the question mark
- Overview of quotation marks
- Overview of full stops / periods
See Also
Grammar glossary Easily confused words Common errors Grammar tests Sayings and proverbs Tattoo fails
Top Tip
Handy Summary of Punctuation Usage
This handy summary of punctuation usage is one of our most popular pages.