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The Period: The Period (#1)

Dennis Oliver
What's it called?
(The Period, #1)

One very common and important punctuation mark
) looks like a small, dark circle. This mark has
several different names, depending on how it is used:

1.

When ( ) is used with numbers, it's called
(and read as) a point:

1.2 = one point two

2.31 = two point three one

6.4028 = six point four oh two eight

2.

When ( ) is used with e-mail address
or URLs (WWW addresses), it's called
(and read as) a dot:

sperling@eslcafe.com = Sperling at
ESL cafe dot com

www.eslcafe.com = WWW dot
ESL cafe dot com

3.

When ( ) is used to end statements,
it's called (but not usually read as)
period:

He came. ( ) = period

He saw. ( ) = period

He conquered. ( ) = period

_________________________________________

Special Notes

1.

Numbers after a ( ) can also be read
as decimals:

1.2 = one and two tenths

2.31 = two and thirty-one hundredths

6.4028 = six and four thousand twenty-eight
ten thousandths

2. When ( ) is used to end statements,
it's also called (but not usually read as)
full stop. This term is not common
in American English, however.
3.

Note that there is no extra space before
a period:

yes: He came.
no: *He came .
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