The Comma (,) marks the smallest grammatical division of a sentence, and usually requires a momentary pause. The Semicolon (;) is used to separate such portions of a sentence as are less closely connected than those divided by a comma, and requires a somewhat longer pause.

The Colon (:) is used between parts less connected than those which are separated by a semicolon, and admits of a longer pause.

A Period (.) indicates the end of a sentence, and requires a full stop.

The Note of Interrogation (?) is placed at the end of a direct question; as, What is the matter?

The Note of Exclamation, or Admiration (!), is used after expressions of strong emotion.

The marks of Parenthesis () are generally used to enclose a word, phrase, or remark, which might be omitted without injury to the sense or construction.

The Dash (-) is used to denote an unfinished sentence, a sudden turn, an abrupt transition, or that a significant pause is required.

The Apostrophe (') is used to denote the omission of one or more letters; as, ne'er for never, tho' for though. It is also the sign of the possessive case of nouns.

The Hyphen (-) is used to separate syllables, and to join the constituent parts of some compound and derivative words; as cit-i-zen, town-house, pre-eminence. It is also used at the end of a line, when the whole of a word cannot be got into it, and shows that the rest of the word is at the beginning of the following line.

Quotation marks (" ") are used to show that the exact words of another are exhibited.