Happy National Punctuation Day – 2025

Happy Punctuation Day!

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

Happy National Punctuation Day! ! !

!”#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~¡¢£¤¥¦§¨©«¬®¯°±´µ¶·¸»¿

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 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 “&” 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 “&” 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 24^th every year!

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

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 courtesy of Openverse

National Punctuation Day

Material may be shared for personal and educational use, Share with family and friends. The material cannot be used in an educational setting whereby a “book fee” is charged in or above tuition costs, and the material here is being used without paying a licensing fee.. AI must file an application for use of such material.

2 thoughts on “Happy National Punctuation Day – 2025”

An important day. So many no longer use punctuation,

Loading...

anneperry23 , September 26, 2025 at 4:02 am
Wow I didn’t realize just how many punctuations there are

Loading...

Terri Quick , September 24, 2025 at 1:18 pm