Points

Points

Full
Stop

The full stop, or period, is the standard way to indicate a sentence has ended.

[scroll reveal or nutshell] I ordered a coffee at the café down the road.

The full stop may also be used in abbreviations, but only when it is a Latin word being abbreviated, or ‘n.d.’ meaning ‘no date’.

[scroll reveal or nutshell] edn: edition

e.g.: for example, from the Latin exempli gratia

i.e.: that is, from the Latin id est

Ellipsis

The ellipsis can be used at the end of a sentence to indicate that the speaker has trailed off or lost their train of thought.

[scroll reveal or nutshell]I saw a movie called …

It is also used in quotes to show where some words have been omitted at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence, or a combination of the three.

[scroll reveal or nutshell]I saw a movie … by a popular new director.

Note: in Australian publishing standards ellipses are spaced on either side except when next to another piece of punctuation such as a question mark, exclamation mark or quote mark.

Exclamation
Mark

The exclamation mark indicates the sentence has been said or written emphatically.

[scroll reveal or nutshell]Once Jack arrived we all jumped out and yelled ‘Surprise!’

Question
Mark

The question mark shows that the sentence is a question.

[scroll reveal or nutshell]What time does the meeting start?

Interrobang

The interrobang represents a question that is exclamatory.

What is that?!

Do note that the above is the traditional way of forming an interrobang (along with !?), not this: ‽. The interrobang is a controversial punctuation mark and should be used very sparingly.