Happy Punctuation Day! 

Today is National Punctuation Day for 2025, celebrating all forms of punctuation. . .

Happy National Punctuation Day! ! ! 

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Punctuation Earrings.jpg

Punctuation Earrings courtesy of Openverse

A Brief History:
Origination: National Punctuation Day is a day dedicated to celebrating all punctuation. Various forms of punctuation, such as periods, commas, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points, serve essential functions in writing. They delineate sentences and their components, thereby enhancing clarity of meaning. In their absence, the intended meaning could be obscured or subject to misinterpretation.

punctuation chart.jpg

punctuation chart courtesy of Openverse

The Types of Punctuation:

The Many Forms of Punctuation
Symbol
Punctuation Mark Name
Purpose
Appears Where?
!
Exclamation mark 
To convey strong feelings, end of sentence 
Sentence
!
Exclamation mark
Code indicator from within the syntax that means beginning an image, used only one time at the beginning of the image point, the image location is at the point where test would normally be, but the image reference is entered there. 
GitHub
“
Quotation marks 
To indicate a quotation, before and after the quotation 
Sentence 
#
Number sign
Number or “number sign” (Pre-) 
Lists, Sentence
#
Number sign
Weight=Pounds/lbs. (-Post) 
Sentence
#
Number sign
Proofreading=Insert a space (above line where space is to be inserted) 
Manuscript 
#
Command sign
Programming=Command line (Boolean operator) 
At cursor
#
Hash sign
Hashtags 
Internet 
#
Pound key
12th key on touch tone telephone 
Command 
#
Sharp sign 
Indicates a sharp note in reading music 
Music staff 
$
Dollar sign 
To indicate monetary amount in the form of a dollar in certain currencies (Pre-) 
Mathematics, Sentence
$
Dollar sign
Used as a parameter syntax for command lines on many computer programs, including DOS 
Computer language
%
Percentage sign 
To indicate percentage amount of a whole number to the amount of 1/100th (Pre-)
Mathematics, Sentence
%
Percentage sign
HTML codes where a URL bar has a figure where the original character in the URL represents a command representation in HTML and/or also in computer code (DOS, C++, or other) (Pre-) 
HTML code 
&
Ampersand 
Short for “and” saving space, or part of a name or title, a music artist, music title, book or chapter title 
Sentence, Heading, Lists
&
Ampersand
URL encoding for HTML as in “&amp;” meaning “&”
HTML code 
&
Literature 
To list a co-author in a bibliography 
Bibliography 
&
Boolean operator 
To reference “and” in some coding languages 
At cursor
‘
Apostrophe 
Possessive nouns or contractions; Quotation within an original quotation; Plural for a set of letters, numbers or symbols i.e=”p’s” “1’s” or “&’s” 
Sentence
( )
Parenthesis 
Enclosing extra information 
Sentence
( )
Parenthesis
Mathematical operator where the amount enclosed in the parentheses is always calculated before all other operations, especially important when using a spreadsheet program or scientific formulas and calculating a quotient in division 
Mathematics equations 
*
Asterisk 
Footnotes, omissions, clarifications, censorship
Sentence
*
Asterisk 
Wildcards (meaning “all”) to find words other than a reserved command figure or searches with all types of matching types that match another attribute; In computer language also for “all” (as in dir *.* to search a directory for all files and types) 
Computers, Internet, Computer language 
*
Multiplication sign 
In computers, same operation as this “times” that, used instead of an ambiguous “x” 
Computers
*
Asterisk
Marketing: for indicating added terms & conditions 
Advertisement, Flyer or website 
*
Asterisk
Music notes where piano’s pedal is released 
Music staff 
*x* 
Italics 
Code indicator within a syntax that means italics, used in pairs of *Hello* meaning Hello (“*” Shared with a “_”) 
GitHub
**x**
Boldface 
Code indicator within a syntax that means boldface, used in pairs of **Hello** meaning Hello (“**” Shared with a “__”) 
GitHub 
***x***
Boldface Italics
Code indicator within a syntax that means boldface italics, used in pairs of ***Hello*** meaning Hello (“***” Shared with a “___”) 
GitHub
+
Plus sign
Binary operator for totaling a sum 
Mathematics 
+
Positive sign
Emphasize positive number (over “0”) in an equation 
Mathematics 
+
Plus sign
Unary plus operator, in computer doe, JavaScript, URL combined searches and operators, etc.; change attributes on a command line to positive from negative”yes” 
Computers, Internet, Computer language
+
Plus sign
Brand name where two words are “this + that” but an “and” is not appropriate 
Title or Sentence 
,
Comma 
To separate words, phrases, or ideas; coordinated multiple adjectives to make it more superlative; appositives, adjective clauses, or other extra information, or an introduction section of sentence 
Sentence, Title Heading, Lists
,
Comma
A comma separated list.(csl list), a type of spreadsheet list, where the columns show up separated in text by inserting a “tab” symbolism to keep the columns intact 
Computers
,
Comma
Separate items in a list to set off dates, addresses, and titles 
Lists, Computers
–
Hyphen
Compound words, compound adjectives, compound numbers and fractions; avoiding duplicated vowels (pre-empt) or tripled consonants (hill-like); joint entity (management-employee meeting); Divide a word at the end of a line, divide unit and value (20-year); connect a name where two separate names are used 
Sentence
−
Minus sign
Binary operator for subtracting a difference (longer than negative sign) 
Mathematics 
–
Negative sign 
Emphasize negative number (under “0”) in an equation
Mathematics 
–
Hyphen
Removal of options in a control center 
Computers and IoT 
–
Hyphen
“Not” in a search, where the search skips based on the negative attribution entered 
Internet
–
Hyphen
Reading variable placed on a line as a variable or pivot mark 
Manuscripts 
–
Minus sign
Subtracting a date or a past date in a spreadsheet or database column (10) 
Computers 
− 
Dash
Like a hyphen but the two words are still separated, not the same word; used to interrupt a sentence yet keep it in one sentence
Sentence
x
Multiplication sign 
Binary operator for multiplying the product of another number (2×2=4) 
Mathematics
÷ 
Division sign 
Binary operator for dividing the quotient of another number (2÷2=1) 
Mathematics 
/
Division sign
In computers, same operation as this “divided-by” that, used instead of a hard to read and not readily available “÷” 
Mathematics 
/
Slash
Forward slash separates alternatives (and/or); substituting for the word “per” (100 miles/gallon);  
Sentence
/
Slash
Represents fractions and division, separating the numerator and the denominator as in “3/4” meaning three-quarters, or 3 divided by 4 equaling 0.75% 
Mathematics 
/
Slash
Used in web addresses to separate and locate the appropriate resource in the directory structure of an individual web address 
Internet
/
Slash
An authority component is preceded by a double slash in a URL, as in http:// or file:/// but the three slashes represent file://<host>/<resource> and when host is same it shows as 3 slashes in a row 
Internet
/
Slash
Ending the HTML Angle Bracket operation at that point: when invoked it quits further operation of an HTML tag ending at that point 
HTML code 
/
Slash
Like a backslash in a computer operating system with file system paths in UNIX-like operating system 
Computers, Internet
.
Period 
General end of a sentence; ending an indirect question; abbreviations (Inc. being Incorporated), after initials and two-letter abbreviations (St. Louis) 
Sentence
.
Period
Numbered list to indicate a line number in and out of an organized bullet list 
Lists
.
Decimal point
Indicating that numbers to the right of the point are less than one, or numeric fractions, whether in numbers or money 
Mathematics
.
Dot 
In a website domain, a distinguished sector of a website sub-domain, second-level domain, and top-level domain, or a fairly divided website; also a domain extension is a place on the internet that is established worldwide with a Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), as in .com being U.S. commercial site. 
Internet
.
Dot
A universal file extension, whereby the type of file is easily distinguished by all systems for the purpose the file is intended, as in file.jog being an image file. The extension can be an internet or a system file. The system file can be a digital file that was originally not intended for computer use but easily converted, like a .bin “binary” file or a .cda “compact disk” file 
Computers and Internet
:
Colon 
To give emphasis, present dialogue, introduce lists or text, and clarify composition titles 
Sentence, Heading, Lists
:
Colon
The colon character is used to separate the protocol (e.g. http, ftp, etc.) from the server portion of your request 
Computers and Internet
: 
Colon
The colon character is used to determine/change the drive on a computer, as in a: b: being a floppy drive, c: being the main original hard drive, other letters as determined in the setup of the drive structure of a computer system 
Computers
;
Semicolon
To joining independent clauses, a “super-comma” except the combining of two sentences establishing them in one sentence; making lists with multiple commas a break-point where the list starts a new vantage point from within the sentence 
Sentence
;
Semicolon
In JavaScript an indication that the end of statement which lets JavaScript’s know that the instruction is spelled out completely 
Computers, Computer language
;
Semicolon
URL encoding for HTML as in “&amp;” meaning “&” 
HTML code 
<
Less-than 
Binary indicator for making the statement that the first number in an equation is less than of another number 3 < 4 (three is less than four) 
Mathematics
>
Greater-than
Binary indicator for making the statement that the first number in an equation is greater than of another number 4 > 3 (four is greater than three) 
Mathematics
=
equal to 
Binary indicator for making the statement that the first number in an equation is exactly equal to another number 4 = 4 (four is equal to four) 
Mathematics
=
equal sign
The sign that indicates the “result” after the equal sign, of any equation: an addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, complex, scientific, exponentiation or other mathematical equation 
Mathematics
=>
Equal to-or-Greater than 
Statement where the result is either equal to or greater than another number; In binary code that an additional operation can be invoked if the result is true 
Mathematics, Computer language
<=
Less than-or-Equal to
Statement where the result is either less than or equal to another number; In binary code that an additional operation can be invoked if the result is true
Mathematics, Computer language
< >
HTML Angle Brackets 
<???> enclose HTML tags to make HTML function, and the function is included within the bracket pair: the tags come in pairs with the parameters enclosed within the bracket pair of angle brackets; the pair starts with the tag <???>Function</???>
HTML code 
?
Question mark 
The end of a sentence that asks a direct question
Sentence
?
Question mark
The query string separator indicates the point where a URL is no longer locating the online resource and turns into a search, query, or transmitting an Urchin Tracking Module “?utm_source=???…” 
Internet
?
Question mark
Wildcards (meaning “the specified character”) to find a match at any ordered character other than a reserved command figure or searches with all types of matching types that match another attribute; In computer language also for “all” (as in dir ?c*.cd? will search for any file in the system whereby the second character of the filename is a “c” any length, but the extension needs to be a file with an extension with “cd?” the third character anything); these searches used to work in Google, but success is not possible since at least 2022 
Computers, Internet, Computer language
@
At sign 
Abbreviation for “at”; in business getting a product “at” a certain price, as in “bushel of apples @ $35.00 per bushel” 
Sentence
@
At sign
Email addresses, the syntax <user name>@<email domain name>.<com> 
Internet, Computers, Android, IOS, POP. IMAP email
@
At sign
Social media: begins user’s name/custom name used to tag/find users
Internet
@
At sign
Has been used over the years to identify functions in programming, including batch files 
Computers 
[ ] 
Square brackets 
An alternative to standard round bracket style parenthesis, usually used to distinguish from a regular set of parenthesis from within a set of parenthesis when there are overlapping reasons for parenthesis 
Sentence
[ ]
Square brackets
Citation to clarify where the explained item is referenced to or acquired from, usually a number or letter is in the brackets, and the reference on the bottom of a page or in a citation suffix section of a book. 
Reference System 
[ ] 
Square brackets 
The GitHub tag bracket, that starts a GitHub operation [About(https://anyplace.com/about/)] 
GitHub
\
Backslash 
Denoting a set difference, quotient group, or integer division: In math, the backslash can be used to denote a set difference, quotient group, or integer division 
Mathematics
\
Backslash
Separators in a file path name, as in C:\Documents\User\File.txt 
Computers 
\
Backslash
Special purposes in computer language including automatic escaping execution of code based on results. 
Computer language
^
Caret
Proofreading=Insert a word here (below line where word is to be inserted, with the word printed above the line)
Manuscript
^
Caret 
In algebra, the caret symbol is used to represent exponents. It’s placed after the base number and before the exponent value 
Mathematics
^
Caret
Multiple uses 
Mathematics, Computers, Computer language
_
Underscore
Create easily readable names especially online names
Sentence, Computers 
_
Italics
Code indicator within a syntax that means italics, used in pairs of _Hello_ meaning Hello (“_” Shared with a “*”) 
GitHub
__
Boldface
Code indicator within a syntax that means boldface, used in pairs of __Hello__ meaning Hello (“__” Shared with a “**”) 
GitHub
___x___ 
Boldface Italics
Code indicator within a syntax that means boldface italics, used in pairs of ___Hello___ meaning I (“___” Shared with a “***”) 
GitHub
~~x~~
Strikethrough 
Code indicator within a syntax that means text that has been stricken (crossed out) 
GitHub
`
Backtick 
A quotation mark to repeat someone else’s quotation within your own quotation 
Sentence
`
Backtick
Multiple uses
Mathematics, Computer language
{ }
Braces
Used to identify the elements of a set of an equation or formula. 
Mathematics
{ }
Braces
Grouping items, linking two or more lines of writing together within a paragraph 
Sentence
{ }
Braces
Computer programming syntax that include a custom parameter instruction 
Computer language
{ }
Braces
Composer notes and comments that aren’t part of the music 
Music staff
|
Vertical pipe 
Conditional probability as in   P(X|Y); absolute value as in this example |x|; multiple other uses 
Mathematics
|
Vertical pipe
Chemistry, physics, other sciences 
Science 
|
Vertical pipe
Computer operations being piped to another source, as in a screen can be “piped” into another device 
Computers
~
Tilde 
One number is approximately equal to another 
Mathematics
~
Tilde
Multiple uses including using as a filename variation 
Computer language
¡
Upside-down exclamation mark
Used to begin exclamatory sentences or clauses in Spanish 
Latin sentence
¢
Cents sign 
To indicate monetary amount in the form of a cents (coinage) in certain currencies (-Post)
Mathematics, Sentence
£
Pound sign 
To indicate monetary amount in the form of a British pound in certain currencies (Pre-)
Mathematics, Sentence
¤
Scarab 
To indicate monetary amount in the form of a undetermined currency (generic) in certain currencies (Pre- -or- -Post)
Mathematics, Sentence
¥
Yen (yuan) sign 
To indicate monetary amount in the form of a Yen (yuan) in certain currencies (Pre-)
Mathematics, Sentence
¦
Broken pipe 
Alternate pipe for when another vertical pipe is already used to distinguish from the other pipe 
Mathematics, Science, Computers
§
Section sign 
Section symbol, section mark, double-s, ‘silcrow’ 
Books, Lists
⌀ 
Diameter mark 
Indicates a diameter reading 
Mathematics
©
Copyright 
Intellectual property display
Legal restirction
™ 
Trademark 
Intellectual property display
Legal restirction
℠ 
Service mark 
Intellectual property display 
Legal restirction 
®
Registered 
Intellectual property display
Legal restirction
¯
Superscript Overscore 
Not recognized by computer filename systems, but used rarely in text to indicate opposite attributes to an underscore 
Sentence, Lists 
°
Degree sign 
To indicate thermal degree amount (temperature) (Post-)
Mathematics, Sentence
±
Plus/minus symbol 
Used in mathematical equations to represent a quantity that can take on both a positive and negative value, and cannot be zero 
Mathematics
† ‡
Daggers
Footnotes to indicate a reference on a page
Books, Lists 
µ
Mu 
Generally represents the prefix multiplier 0.000001, i.e., 10-6 or one millionth. 
Mathematics
Pilcrow 
Paragraph mark, paragraph sign, paraph, alinea, or blind P 
Books, Lists
℮ 
Estimate sign 
Indicates an estimated reading
Mathematics, Sentence
♀ ♂ ⚥ 
Gender signs 
Indicates a gender 
Sentence, Books, Lists
« » 
Guillemet 
Much less than; much greater than 
Mathematics
№ 
Numero sign 
Number sign
Books, Lists, Sentence
<!– x –>
<!– TEXT –> 
HTML Notes designed to not show up on the webpage 
HTML code 
¿
Upside-down question mark
Used to begin interrogatory sentences or clauses in Spanish
Latin sentence
Wooden Letters and Wooden Punctuation Marks on Gray Surface.jpg

Photo by Ann H courtesy of Pexels

Celebrated: Happy National Punctuation Day is celebrated on September 24th every year!

A Few Facts:
I am sharing a few facts, and more, some trivia, some not trivial. . .

punctuation, symbols, 3d.jpg

Photo by ZIPNON courtesy of Pixabay

The Present:
America has come very greatly appreciative of all the punctuation that there is, and all the different styles and purposes behind the symbols. . .

The Future:
The United States will celebrate the punctuation and grammar, now and into the years to come!

FREEBIES & DEALS For National Punctuation Day:
✱ FREE National Punctuation Day: Fonts
✱ FREE National Punctuation Day: Craft + Printables
✱ CHEAP National Punctuation Day: Ideas, Crafts & Worksheets
✱ FREE National Punctuation Day: AT “Hey It’s Free”

Hashtags:
#HappyNationalPunctuationDay #NationalPunctuationDay #Punctuation #Grammar

Punctuated letters.jpg

Punctuated letters courtesy of Openverse

National Punctuation Day

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