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Punctuation Marks in French

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Punctuation specifies the meaning of the sentence. It serves to establish the relationships between propositions and ideas. On the other hand, it serves to mark, with the help of signs, the pauses, and the inflections of the voice in the reading.

The main punctuation marks are : le point [.], le point d’interrogation [?], le point d’exclamation [!], le point-virgule [;], les points de suspension […], les deux points [:], la virgule [,], les guillemets [« »], le tiret [—], les parenthèses [( )].

Le point / Full Stop or Period [.]

It marks a big pause in the reading. It indicates the end of a sentence. It is also used after an abbreviation.

Examples:

  • Il est 10 heures du matin. Mark et Léa dorment encore.
  • C’est l’été. Il fait chaud.
  • C.Q.F.D. = ce qu’il fallait démontrer.

Le point d’interrogation / Question mark [?]

It is found at the end of sentences that express a request. It is followed by a capital letter, but not when it is inserted in the sentence.

Example:

  • Quelle heure est-il?

Le point d’exclamation / Exclamation mark [!]

It is used after an interjection or at the end of a sentence that expresses joy, pain, admiration… It is also followed by a capital letter, but not when it is inserted in the sentence.

Examples:

  • Youpi ! crie Jean. Je viens de reussir mon permis.
  • Oui ! Ça y est ! Il a réussi son examen ! 
  • Attention ! écartez-vous !

La virgule / Comma [,]

It marks a small pause in the reading. It is used to separate in a sentence similar elements, i.e. of the same nature or function, which are not joined by one of the coordinating conjunctions mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car.
As it separates enumerations and thus allows to remove certain ambiguities of construction.

Examples:

  • Ma bague en or, comme mes boucles d’oreilles, a été volée.
  • Tout était en solde : les livres, les cassettes, les disques et les revues.

Le point-virgule / Semicolon [;]

It marks a medium pause in the reading. In a sentence, it is used to separate: propositions linked more or less closely by meaning, and similar parts or propositions of a certain length whose elements are already separated by commas.

Examples:

  • Certains enfants jouent calmement avec leurs jouets ; d’autres courent à droite et à
    gauche.
  • Benoit ne m’a pas rappelée après cette soirée ; peut-être a-t-il rencontré quelqu’un
    d’autre.

Les points de suspension / Ellipsis points [...]

They indicate that the sentence is unfinished, mark an interruption caused by emotion, surprise, hesitation… or a deliberate stop in the development of the thought to emphasize certain elements of the sentence.

Examples:

  • Il parît que dans le lait, il y a beaucoup de choses: des vitamines, du calcium…
  • je ne sais pas si je dois le dire… je ne sais pas…

Les deux points / Colon [:]

They announce someone’s words, a list, an explanation or a justification.

Example:

  • Mon père disait: « N’abandonne jamais tes rêves ! »

Les guillemets / Quotation marks [« »]

They are used to frame: a quote, someone’s words, a conversation, an expression or a term that you want to emphasize.

Example:

  • D’une petite voix, Luca demande : « Il y a quelqu’un ici ? »
  • Il a écrit «vrai» là où c’était faux, et il a écrit «faux» là où c’était vrai!

Les parenthèses / Round brackets [()]

They are used to isolate an idea, a thought that could be deleted without altering the meaning of the sentence. They can also be used to insert additional explanations. A narrator can use them to express his personal thoughts.

Example:

  • Participer aux Jeux Olympiques (représente souvent le rêve de tout athlète) demande beaucoup de volonté ainsi que de longues années d’entraînement.

Le tiret / Em dash [—]

It marks the change of speaker in a dialogue and also marks the highlighting of an element of the sentence.

Example:

— Moi, je n’ai pas peur du loup ! dit Samuel

— Mais il n’ya pas de loups dans les villes, dit Assia

Le trait d’union / hyphen [-]

It is a written or typographical sign, in the form of a small horizontal line, used to link the elements of certain compound nouns and between the verb and the postposed pronoun.

Example:

  • Comment allez-vous?
  • Est-ce que tu veux?

Other Punctuation Marks

_: un souligné, un tiret bas, un underscore / Underscore

[ ]: Crochets / Brackets

{ }: Accolades / Curly brackets, braces

< >: crochets fléchés / Angle brackets

&: une esperluette / Ampersand

*: un astérisque / asterisk

#: un dièse / Pound sign, Number sign

/: une barre oblique, un trait oblique, un slash / forward slash

\: une barre oblique inverse / backslash

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