Punctuation

Punctuation plays a vital role in writing as it fulfills a grammatical role and enriches the meaning.

In This Article

• General

• Guidelines

  • Spacing
  • Titles, Headings, and Subheadings
  • Lists
  • Inside Brackets
  • For Example and That Is
  • Ranges
  • Series

General

• Centuries ago, punctuation served to mark pauses and other aspects of speech when text was read aloud.
• Over the years, punctuation was refined and started to indicate grammatical relationships between the parts of a sentence.
• Today, punctuation serves both for marking speech aspects and for indicating grammatical relations.

Guidelines

Apply punctuation as needed unless suggested otherwise by the guidelines in this article.

In This Section

• Spacing
• Titles, Headings, and Subheadings
• Lists
• Inside Brackets
• For Example and That Is
• Ranges
• Series

Spacing

• Commas (,), semi-colons (;), colons (:), periods (.), exclamation points (!), question marks (?), and ellipses (...):

  • Don't place a space () before the punctuation character.
  • When followed by a word or a new sentence, place a space () after the punctuation character.

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  Add the namespace .	Add the namespace.
  How to customize the Tooltip callout ?	How to customize the Tooltip callout?
  To use it commercially,you need to purchase a license.	To use it commercially, you need to purchase a license.

• Brackets (()):

  • Place a space before an opening bracket ((), unless at the start of a new paragraph.
  • Don't place a space () after an opening bracket (() or before a closing bracket ()).
  • When followed by a word or a new sentence, place a space () after the closing bracket ()).
  • When followed by other punctuation, don't place a space () after the closing bracket ()).

  Not that good	Much better
  Add a <TelerikRootComponent> to the app layout file ( by default, MainLayout.razor ).	Add a <TelerikRootComponent> to the app layout file (by default, MainLayout.razor).
  This resource file will store the English(default) resources for the MaskedEntry control.	This resource file will store the English (default) resources for the MaskedEntry control.
  The Visual Studio Marketplace (for Visual Studio 2022 for Windows and Visual Studio 2019 for Windows) .	The Visual Studio Marketplace (for Visual Studio 2022 for Windows and Visual Studio 2019 for Windows).

• Hyphens (-) and dashes (– and —):

  • Don't surround hyphens and dashes with spaces ().

• General

  • Where required to use a space (), use a single space.
  • When the punctuation is part of a code statement or snippet, apply spacing around the punctuation characters as required by the code syntax.
  • When quoting an error message, keep the original punctuation.

Titles, Headings, and Subheadings

• (For task, reference, or concept articles)—Do not use punctuation other than commas. In most cases, titles, headings, and subheadings are incomplete sentences and do not require additional punctuation.
• (For FAQ articles)—Refer to the Style Guide topic on FAQ articles.
• (For Knowledge Base (KB) articles)—Refer to the Style Guide topic on KB articles.

Lists

• Introduce the list with one or more sentences and end the last sentence with a colon (:).
• If a list item is a complete sentence, end it with a period (.). If at least one list item is a complete sentence, end all list items with a period (.).

• In definition lists, use an em dash (—) between the term and its definition. Do not add intervals before or after the em dash.

  Logically, the em dash (long dash) indicates a greater pause in the content flow, an interruption of the thought, and adds emphasis. It also expands an idea and notifies that an explanation or a clarification follows.

Inside Brackets

• If the brackets (()) enclose a complete, independent sentence, place all required punctuation, including the period, inside the brackets.

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  Close the application. (You might need to terminate the application from the Task Manager).	Close the application. (You might need to terminate the application from the Task Manager.)

• If the brackets enclose a fragment within a complete sentence, place any commas or periods required by the sentence after the closing bracket.

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  You can upload your apps to your private app store in the Telerik Platform (accessible from the App Distribution tab in your account.)	You can upload your apps to your private app store in the Telerik Platform (accessible from the App Distribution tab in your account).
  When you work with environment-specific files (\*.staging.\* and \*.live.\*,) in your code, reference these files without the environment modifier (staging or live.)	When you work with environment-specific files (\*.staging.\* and \*.live.\*), in your code, reference these files without the environment modifier (staging or live).

For Example and That Is

When "for example" or "that is" are used in the middle of a sentence, surround them with commas. If a sentence starts with them or the sentence is within brackets, place a comma after.

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Provide your tenant login URL (for example http://platform.telerik.com/my-tenant).	Provide your tenant login URL (for example, http://platform.telerik.com/my-tenant).
In some cases, you might want to create a new Telerik Platform project. For example when you want to develop a new mobile app.	In some cases, you might want to create a new Telerik Platform project. For example, when you want to develop a new mobile app.
Upload your app to iTunes Connect that is submit your app for publishing in the App Store.	Upload your app to iTunes Connect, that is, submit your app for publishing in the App Store.

Ranges

• Use the short, en dash (–).

• Do not use a hyphen (-) or an em dash (—).

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  Provide a value in the following range: 1-10.	Provide a value in the following range: 1–10.
  Valid values: 3—30.	Valid values: 3–30.

Series

To ensure clarity in longer lists in a series of three or more items, apply a serial (Oxford) comma, that is, a comma placed immediately before the "and" and "or" introducing the last item. The serial comma is counter-intuitive to Bulgarians.

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When they got on the train, Brian found himself sitting near his friend, a friendly woman and a botanic. Means that Brian's friend is a friendly woman and a botanic.	When they got on the train, Brian found himself sitting near his friend, a friendly woman, and a botanic. Means that Brian is sitting near three separate people.