Punctuation FAQ's

[tammysara]

Here are some NUTTY punctuation questions I found on Eli's Grammar Hotline online:

Q. (from Michelle) What is the difference between :(  and  :) ?
A. These are two examples of emoticons, keyboard devices to express emotion or feelings in e-mail correspondence.

:(   is a frown
:)   is a smile

If you turn your head sideways to the left, you can see the actual frown and smile.

Lowell

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Q. (from Jacqueline) What do you put at the end of a command sentence?

ex. Go to the store

A. Jacqueline, you could use either a period or an exclamation point. Probably the exclamation point is better because in most instances the speaker would probably be making the command in a more-or-less forceful way.

Lowell

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Q. (from Mary) When you use exclamation points, question marks, or periods at the end of a sentence, should you have a space? I.e. which is acceptable 'OK!' or 'OK !'? Thanks!

A. No, do not put a space before the punctuation mark.

You should write, "OK!" -- not "OK !"

Lowell

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<3 ttyl