Section 15.2 Terminal Punctuation
Every sentence in written English ends with one of three marks, and the choice among them reflects the grammatical type of the sentence. You studied sentence types in Chapter 8: declarative sentences make statements, interrogative sentences ask questions, and exclamatory sentences express strong emotion. Terminal punctuation encodes exactly these distinctions.
Period (.).
Ends declarative sentences and mild imperatives:
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The meeting is at noon.
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Please close the door.
Question Mark (?).
Ends direct questions:
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What time is it?
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Have you finished?
Note: Indirect questions take periods, not question marks:
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She asked what time it was.
Exclamation Point (!).
Indicates strong emotion or emphasis:
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Watch out!
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What a surprise!
Use sparingly in formal writing. Multiple exclamation points (!!!) are inappropriate in academic prose.
