Punctuation and capital letters
Commas, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, quotation marks and capitals: the rules, and where English differs.
Not sure B2 is your level? Find out in 8–40 questions, no account needed.
English usually uses fewer commas than Russian, and some of them go in different places. This page is a reference: each section gives the rule, a few examples and the mistakes that are easy to make when you think in Russian. Capital letters at A1 level (days, months, names, I) are on the page about spelling rules; the last section here adds the rest.
Mark | Name | Main use |
|---|---|---|
. | full stop | the end of a sentence |
, | comma | lists; after an opening part; extra information |
' | apostrophe | short forms (it's); possession (Anna's) |
: | colon | before a list or an explanation |
; | semicolon | between two closely linked sentences |
' ' | quotation marks | someone's exact words |
Commas: where English uses them
Where | Example |
|---|---|
between the items of a list | We need eggs, milk, bread and butter. |
after an opening clause or phrase | If it rains, we'll stay in. |
around extra information | My brother, who lives in Oslo, is a doctor. |
after a linker that starts a sentence | However, the price went up. |
often before but and so | It was late, so we took a taxi. |
A comma before the and of a list (the "Oxford comma") is optional in British English. The extra information is often a non-defining relative clause, which has its own page.
Commas: where English doesn't use them
English puts no comma before that when it starts a clause after a verb (I think that ...), and none before a question word in a reported question (She asked where ...). A defining relative clause has no commas either. Russian puts a comma in all of these places.
- Incorrect: I think, that he's right.
- Correct: I think that he's right. / I think he's right.
- Incorrect: She asked me, where I lived.
- Correct: She asked me where I lived.
- Incorrect: People, who live near the airport, often complain about the noise.
- Correct: People who live near the airport often complain about the noise.The clause says which people, so it has no commas. With commas, it would mean that all people live near the airport.
A comma alone can't join two full sentences. Use a full stop, a semicolon, or a linking word.
- Incorrect: It was late, we went home.
- Correct: It was late. We went home. / It was late, so we went home. / It was late; we went home.
The apostrophe
The apostrophe has two jobs: it shows missing letters in short forms, and possession.
Use | Example |
|---|---|
short form | it's (it is), don't, we're, I'd |
one owner | Anna's car, the boss's office |
plural owner | my parents' house, the students' books |
irregular plural | the children's toys, men's shoes |
An apostrophe never makes an ordinary plural, and its (belonging to it) has no apostrophe.
- Incorrect: Fresh apple's for sale.
- Correct: Fresh apples for sale.
- Incorrect: The company changed it's name.
- Correct: The company changed its name.Its means "of it". It's always means it is or it has.
Decades have no apostrophe in modern style: the 1990s.
Colons and semicolons
A colon (:) introduces a list, an explanation or an example of what came before. In British English, the word after a colon usually starts with a small letter, unless it is a name.
- You'll need three things: a passport, a ticket and some money.
- I couldn't sleep: the neighbours were having a party.
A semicolon (;) joins two full sentences that are closely connected, where a full stop would feel too strong. It is used mostly in writing.
- The first half was boring; the second was much better.
Quotation marks and direct speech
Quotation marks show someone's exact words. British printed texts often use single marks ('Hello'), and American texts and much handwriting use double marks ("Hello"). Both are correct; keep to one style. The comma or full stop that ends the speech goes inside the marks, and a comma goes before she said or he asked when the speech comes first.
- "I'm tired," she said.
- He asked, "Where's the station?"
- "If you like," said Tom, "we can go tomorrow."
The dash that Russian uses to start a line of dialogue is not used this way in English. Use quotation marks.
Capital letters
Beyond the start of a sentence, names, days, months and I, English uses capital letters for:
Type | Example |
|---|---|
nationalities, languages, religions | Russian food, a French film, Spanish, Islam |
titles of people, before a name | Dr Smith, Professor Lee, Aunt Mary |
main words in titles of books, films | The Lord of the Rings, Gone with the Wind |
places, buildings, organisations | North America, the British Museum, the UN |
holidays and festivals | Christmas, New Year's Day, Ramadan |
- Incorrect: I love russian literature.
- Correct: I love Russian literature.Adjectives of nationality always start with a capital letter.
- Incorrect: We met on a Summer evening in july.
- Correct: We met on a summer evening in July.Months have a capital, seasons don't.
Compass points have a small letter when they are a direction (drive north) and a capital when they are part of a name (North America, South Africa). In British English, Mr, Mrs, Dr usually have no full stop; in American English they do (Mr.).