Terminal punctuations

Every phrase in English begins with a capital letter and concludes with a terminal punctuation mark. The period, question mark, and exclamation point are the three most popular terminal punctuation marks:

1. Statement: The experiment failed.
2. Question: The experiment failed?
3. Exclamation: The experiment failed!

As this trio demonstrates, terminal punctuation marks not only signify the end of a phrase but also contribute to its meaning. For example, ' A conversation phrase may also conclude with an em dash (to signify an interruption) or a sequence of ellipsis points (to indicate a trailing thought):

"We cannot allow—" Then the phone went dead.
His voice was weak. "I have only one regret ..."

Pitfall: Sentence fragments. Fragments should be used sparingly and to achieve particular emphasis:

Fragments that result from carelessness should be rewritten:

Moderate growth is often beneficial to the stock market. K The rationale for this is that low inflation and stable interest rates create ideal circumstances for increasing earnings. Moderate growth is typically excellent for the stock market since low inflation and regular interest rates create favourable conditions for enormous profitability.

The gifted copyeditor knows spelling, punctuation, grammar, diction, and use and has an ear for idioms. A skilled copyeditor should know spelling, punctuation, grammar, pronunciation, and use and an ear for phrases.

Pitfall: Misuse of the terminal question mark. A question mark indicates that the sentence is a direct question.

Is the project worth funding? Should this initiative be supported was a matter of discussion. Is this report going to be finished by Friday? Indirect query requests are worded as questions, and one-word interrogatives require a period.

Indirect question: The question is whether the project should be funded.

Request: Would you please complete your report by Friday?

One-word interrogative: Employees should not second-guess company policy by asking why.

Pitfall: For sentences within parentheses, use a terminal punctuation mark. When a parenthetical statement stands on its own, the closing parenthesis contains the terminal punctuation mark. Popular fiction accounted for half of all books purchased last year. (The second most popular category was business and self-help books.) Three mice were dead. (They would not eat)

When a parenthetical statement is wrapped inside another sentence, it does not receive a final punctuation point. Popular fiction accounted for half of all books purchased last year (business and self-help books were the second largest category). Three mice died from refusing to eat, while two others lost one-third of their total weight. A tucked-in parenthetical comment may include two phrases. In that situation, the first phrase has a period in the end, while the second does not:

The terse instructions ("Place tab A into slot B. Secure tab A") were not helpful.

Pitfall: For quotes, use a terminal punctuation mark. The terminal punctuation mark is put within the dosing quotation mark after a quote.

Jones stated that the manufacturing schedule was "entirely unrealistic."

Jones screamed, "I quit!"

Jones asked, "Where is everyone?"

A question mark or exclamation point added as an editorial comment (i.e., an emphasis supplied by the writer) is placed outside the dosing quotation mark.

Jones, of all people, said, 'The manufacturing schedule is entirely unrealistic"!

To find all instances of "Judge" but not "judge," check the case-sensitive option and type "Judge." For example, to find all models of "Judge" but not "judge", check the case-sensitive option and type "Judge".

The first statement raises the question: are we looking for all instances of the term Judge or simply instances of Judge followed by a comma? Should we type the term Judge or Judge followed by a period? This confusion is avoided by placing the punctuation outside the enclosing quotation marks. Citing the convergence principle—"the benefits of having a prevalent style, beneficial in the worldwide field of science"—the CBE advises that publishers of scientific publications and journals follow the British style for punctuation placement with appropriate quote marks.