Terminal punctuation

Terminal punctuation refers to the punctuation marks used to identify the end of a portion of text. Terminal punctuation marks are also referred to as end marks[1] and stops.[2]

. ? !
Terminal punctuation

In languages using the ISO basic Latin alphabet, terminal punctuation marks are defined as the period, the question mark, and the exclamation mark.[3][4] These punctuation marks may bring sentences to a close. In their widest sense, terminal punctuation marks bring any element of written text to a close, including other conventions, such as abbreviations.[5]

Terminal punctuation in English

		Interrogative
		No	Yes
Exclamatory	No	Period or Full stop (.)	Question mark (?)
	Yes	Exclamation mark (!)	Interrobang (‽)

See also

• Sentence spacing

Notes

1. Baugh 2005. p. 45.
2. Research and Education Association 2009. p. 177.
3. University of Chicago Press 1982 Chicago Manual of Style. p. 133.
4. Lutz and Stevenson 2005. p. 199.
5. Loberger and Shoup 2009. p. 158.

References

• Baugh, L. Sue (2005). Essentials of English Grammar: The Quick Guide to Good English (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-145708-8.
• Loberger, Gordon; Shoup, Kate (2009). Webster's New World English Grammar Handbook (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. ISBN 978-0-470-41080-6.
• Lutz, Gary; Stevenson, Diane (2005). The Writing Digest Grammar Desk Reference. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 978-1-58297-335-7.
• Staff of REA (2009). REA's Handbook of English Grammar, Style, and Writing. Research and Education Association. ISBN 978-0-87891-552-1.
• University of Chicago Press (1982). The Chicago Manual of Style: For Authors, Editors, and Copywriters (13th Revised and Expanded ed.). Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10403-4.