are not used to separate dates.

• 25 de mayo de 1990

Dates are separated with a hyphen.

• 25-5-1990 (day, month, year)
• 1990/5/25 (year, month, day)
  

are used to separate dates.

May 25, 1990

Exceptions: 25 May 1998 or May 1998

Colons (:) are used after the salutation of a letter.

Querido amigo:

are used after the salutation of a friendly letter or after the closing. See also colon.

• Dear Friend,
• With best regards,

Note: In English punctuation is always used after a salutation or a closing.

Periods are used at the end of a sentence

are used with abbreviations

Sr. , Ej., Sra.

Periods are used at the end of a sentence.

are used with abbreviations

Mr., Dr., Sr.

In numerals, a period is used to separate each third tens place and a comma (decimal) is used to indicate the end of a whole number.

Gana $20.000,00 al año.

A comma is used to separate each third tens place and a period (decimal) is used to indicate the end of a whole number.

He earns $20,000.00 per year.

Exclamation marks are used before and after exclamations.

Anoche vi la película. ¡Qué susto!

If a sentence contains a question and an exclamation, it is necessary to use both marks.

¡Qué lástima!, ¿estás bien?

Exclamation marks are used at the end of exclamations.

I saw the movie last night. What a scare!

If a sentence contains a question and an exclamation, the question mark is used at the end.

What a pity, are you all right?

In Spanish, question marks are used at the beginning and at the end of a question. (Note: From an English perspective, the mark at the beginning of the sentence is “upside down.”)

If a sentence contains more than a question, the question marks frame the question only:

Si no te gusta la comida, ¿por qué te la comes?

Question marks are used at the end of a question.

If you don't like the food, why are you eating it?

Parentheses are used to indicate that a sentence was interrupted to give an explanation.

Te voy a dar un regalo (entonces, ella sacó de su cartera una pequeña caja envuelta), espero que te guste.

to enclose supplemental material, minor digressions, and afterthoughts.

I am going to give you a present (then she took a gift-wrapped little box out of her bag), and I hope that you like it.

The angled quotation marks are the equivalent of the English-style quotation marks. The choice is primarily a matter of regional custom or the capabilities of the typesetting system.

“Todo es posible, sí el alma no es dócil”. Fernando Pessoa.

Sentence punctuation goes outside the quotation marks.

Quiero leer "Romeo y Julieta".

Quotation marks are used to enclose a direct quotation, that is, a person’s exact words.

“Everything is worthwhile, if the soul is not meek.” Fernando Pessoa

Sentence punctuation goes on the inside of the quotation marks.

I want to read "Romeo and Juliet."

Quotation marks are used to indicate “extranjerismos” (words from another language).

Los venezolanos dicen”ciao” para decir adiós.

Quotation marks are used to enclose non-English words or other expressions that are unusual in English.

Venezuelans use “ciao” to say good-bye.

are used to announce a direct citation:

Maria dijo: “¡Qué bellas las rosas!”

There is no equivalent in English.

are used for enumeration and to direct attention to a quotation.

• En el supermercado compré: leche, pan, banana, cereal y huevos.
• Me mudé para acá por dos razones: el clima y el océano.

Su respuesta fué clara y directa:“¡Déjame sola!”

are used after an independent clause to direct attention to a list, an appositive, or a quotation.

• I went shopping for groceries: milk, bread, bananas, cereal, and eggs.
• I moved here for two reasons: the mild climate and the ocean.

Her response was clear and direct: “Leave me alone!”

Colons are used between two sentences, especially if the second is an example of the first one.

De vez en cuando tiene algunas conductas extrañas: hoy vino al trabajo en pijama.

are used between two independent clauses if the second summarizes or explains the first.

It was very cold: the temperature was 40°F.

after a salutation in a formal letter.

Querido Señor Fernández:

after a salutation in a formal letter.

Dear Mr. Fernandes:

NOTE: a comma after a salutation in an informal letter is also used.

are used between the figures for hours and minutes; in addition, the use of a period is also acceptable. An “h” is inserted after the number of minutes

15.30 h or 15:30

are used between the figures for hours and minutes.

3:30 P.M. or 3:30 p.m.

Semicolons are used to separate independent clauses of a compound sentence, especially when a comma has been used.

El inglés es el idioma de mi mamá, es un idioma precioso; me gustaría aprenderlo.

Semicolons are used to separate independent clauses of a compound sentence if the coordinating conjunction is omitted.

Spanish, my mother’s language, is a beautiful one; I want to learn it.

before adverbial connectors of independent clauses.

Se que te gusta nadar; pero, creo que no deberías hacerlo.

Semicolons are used before conjunctive adverbs (furthermore, therefore, besides ) between independent clauses

I know that you like to swim; however, I don’t think you should.

Semicolons are used before transitional phrases (es decir, en conclusión, and por ejemplo) linking independent clauses.

Lee esta carta tal como está escrita; es decir, palabra por palabra.

Semicolons are used before transitional phrases (in conclusion, for example, and for instance) linking independent clauses

Read this letter as it is written; that is, word for word.

to separate a list of phrases.

La chaqueta es azul; los pantalones, grises; la camisa, blanca; y el abrigo, negro.

There is no equivalent in English.

that the phrase or thought was interrupted to introduce another one.

¡Lástima que no fuiste a El Salvador...El Salvador es una ciudad hermosa.

that material has been deleted from a direct quotation.

“Given that you did not go to Salvador…Salvador is a very beautiful city.

Dashes indicate a change in the direct dialogue between two or more persons.

—¿Cómo estás?
—Muy bien, ¿y tú?
—Muy bien.

There is no equivalent in English. (See quotation marks)

Note: It is customary to separate each speaker’s remarks into a separate paragraph.

“How are you? “
“I'm fine. And you?”
“I'm fine, too.”

The apostrophe is substituted bythe following preposition:

Los lentes de la mujer (the glasses of the woman)

Las portadas de las biografías (The covers of the biographies)

to indicate the possessive.

• The woman’s glasses
• The biographies’ covers were superb.

Apostrophes are used in a non-polite, colloquial manner when a letter is omitted.

pa’rriba
pa’lante

with contractions

• Let us = Let’s
• I am= I’m

to form the plural of letters or symbols

Your G’s and H’s look different.