Terminal punctuation

Marks that identify the end of some text

. ? ! ‽
Terminal punctuation

Terminal punctuation refers to the punctuation marks used to identify the end of a portion of text. Terminal punctuation marks are also referred to as end marks^[1] and stops.^[2]

In languages using the ISO basic Latin alphabet, terminal punctuation marks are defined as the period, the question mark, and the exclamation mark.^[3]^[4] These punctuation marks may bring sentences to a close. In their widest sense, terminal punctuation marks bring any element of written text to a close, including other conventions, such as abbreviations.^[5]

Terminal punctuation in English
		Interrogative
		No	Yes
Exclamatory	No	Period or Full stop (.)	Question mark (?)
Exclamatory	Yes	Exclamation mark (!)	Interrobang (‽)

Notes

^ Baugh 2005. p. 45.
^ Research and Education Association 2009. p. 177.
^ University of Chicago Press 1982 Chicago Manual of Style. p. 133.
^ Lutz and Stevenson 2005. p. 199.
^ Loberger and Shoup 2009. p. 158.

References

Baugh, L. Sue (2005). Essentials of English Grammar: The Quick Guide to Good English (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-145708-8.
Loberger, Gordon; Shoup, Kate (2009). Webster's New World English Grammar Handbook (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. ISBN 978-0-470-41080-6.
Lutz, Gary; Stevenson, Diane (2005). The Writing Digest Grammar Desk Reference. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 978-1-58297-335-7.
Staff of REA (2009). REA's Handbook of English Grammar, Style, and Writing. Research and Education Association. ISBN 978-0-87891-552-1.
University of Chicago Press (1982). The Chicago Manual of Style: For Authors, Editors, and Copywriters (13th Revised and Expanded ed.). Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10403-4.