How Use Full Stops (Periods): English Tips

Posted On: July 31, 2013

Learning how to use full stops (periods) will not only help you to punctuate written English properly but in how to pause and pace yourself properly in spoken English.

Take a look:
Incorrect:
My name is Jennifer . I am from the USA . My hometown is Rochester , New York.

Correct:
My name is Jennifer. I am from the USA. My hometown is Rochester, New York.

How to Use Full Stops (Period): English Tips

There IS NO space between the last word in a sentence and the full stop. For example:
Wrong: I am Jennifer .
Right: I am Jennifer.
There MUST be a space after the full stop and the first word of the next sentence.
Wrong: I am Jennifer.My office is in Kochi.
Right: I am Jennifer. My office is in Kochi.
The word that starts the next sentence after the full stop must be capitalized. For example:
Wrong: I am Jennifer. my office is in Kochi.
Right: I am Jennifer. My office is in Kochi.

For those who are unfamiliar the term period is the American English word for “full stop.”

Note: The pronoun I is always capitalized wherever it falls in a sentence. For example:
I have to go to the store.
He said that I have to go to the store.

I have also shown a similar problem with the comma above. I will discuss comma usage in an upcoming blog.

Thank you, Preethi for helping me to edit this article.

Author, Jennifer Kumar, helps you improve your spoken and written business English skills so you can communicate with confidence in English. Contact us for more information on our affordable tutoring and fluency coaching.

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