Free Punctuation Checker

Check commas, apostrophes, colons, quotation marks and spacing in seconds. Paste your text, click “Check punctuation” and fix each mistake in one click. No sign-up required.

• Commas

  Use a comma before and, but or so when it joins two full sentences, and after an introductory word like however. A comma never has a space before it.

  Incorrect: It was late , so we went home.→Correct: It was late, so we went home.

  Incorrect: I was tired, I went to bed.→Correct: I was tired, so I went to bed.

• Apostrophes

  It’s means “it is”; its shows possession. For a plural noun ending in s, the apostrophe goes after the s.

  Incorrect: Its a long way.→Correct: It’s a long way.

  Incorrect: The dog wagged it’s tail.→Correct: The dog wagged its tail.

• Semicolons and colons

  A semicolon joins two closely related sentences. A colon introduces a list, an example or an explanation. Neither one takes a space before it in English.

  Incorrect: We need three things; bread, milk and eggs.→Correct: We need three things: bread, milk and eggs.

  Incorrect: It rained all day, we stayed in.→Correct: It rained all day; we stayed in.

• Quotation marks

  Quotation marks come in pairs. American English puts commas and full stops inside the closing mark; British English often puts them outside unless they belong to the quote.

  Incorrect: She said, “I’ll be there.→Correct: She said, “I’ll be there.”

• Hyphens and dashes

  Hyphenate a compound adjective before a noun, but not after it. Use an en dash (–) for ranges and an em dash (—) for a break in a sentence.

  Incorrect: a well known author→Correct: a well-known author

  Incorrect: pages 10-12→Correct: pages 10–12

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2. 2

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3. 3

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