Punctuation Pointers -- Periods in Their Proper Place

When it comes to periods as punctuation, there is little we don't already know. Still, a few common errors keep popping up in my editing experiences, and they are worth checking into.

>Complete Sentences:

A complete sentence must be followed by a period. Check for run-ons and comma splices in your writing.

Wrong: I am warm, even the winter sun heats mother's stone bench.
Right: I am warm. Even the winter sun heats mother's stone bench.

Wrong: It's all right, I'm warm now.
Right: It's all right. I'm warm now.

Indirect and Direct Questions

Wrong: Every day he asks me, why I walk the stony path?
Right: Every day he asks me why I walk the stony path.
Right: Every day he asks, "Why do you walk this stony path?"

>Abbreviations

Generally, a period in a name abbreviation is followed by a space; however, in common abbreviations a space is often omitted. (Note the difference between “Ellen P.” and “Ph.D.” in the following examples.)

While studying for her Ph.D., Ms. Ellen P. Rhinelander sat in the library’s alcove, only her feet in the summer sun’s reach.

Ms. Ellen P. Rhinelander sat in the library’s sunless alcoves every day for three dim years while studying for her long overdue Ph.D.

Follow an abbreviation’s period with punctuation such as commas and question marks, but do not use double periods. (Note the comma after the period in Ph.D. in the first example and the lack of two periods in the second.)

>Quotations

In quotations, the period always goes inside the quotation mark.

His preference, he wrote--as if warped through time from Victorian days--was “plums and pudding, plums and pudding.”

>Parentheses

In parentheses, if the parenthetical element is a complete sentence, include the period within the parentheses. If it is a phrase that belongs to the preceding sentence, place the period outside the parentheses.

His preference, he wrote, was “plums and pudding, plums and pudding" (as if he’d been warped through time from Victorian days).

His preference, he wrote, was “plums and pudding, plums and pudding.” (I thought he’d been warped through time from old Victorian days.)

Note: When only the initials of a name are used, often the periods are omitted (for example, LBJ and JFK). Acronyms usually leave out periods as well (for example, AMA, AFL-CIO, UN). But names of countries usually include the periods (for example, U.S., U.K.--though this is beginning to fade too).

If you have a question regarding specific usage, The Chicago Manual of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual offer pages and pages of information, or Contact Me if you have a specific question on periods or other punctuation usage, or if you need a quick answer to an editing problem. There is no charge for queries!