Punctuation
ሥርዓተ ነጥብ (punctuation)
The marks that show where a sentence stops, pauses or asks a question. Every English mark with its job, the comma rules in detail, and how English marks compare with Ethiopic ones.
Every mark and its job
English uses a small set of marks. Most of them have an Ethiopic partner, but the shapes are different and a few marks (the apostrophe, the hyphen) have no partner at all. In English there is no space before a mark and one space after it: Hello, Selam. Not Hello , Selam .
In Amharic
እንግሊዝኛ ጥቂት ምልክቶችን ይጠቀማል። አብዛኞቹ በግዕዝ ፊደል አቻ አላቸው፤ ቅርጻቸው ግን ይለያል፤ አንዳንዶቹ ደግሞ (አፖስትሮፊና አያያዥ ሰረዝ) ምንም አቻ የላቸውም። በእንግሊዝኛ ከምልክቱ በፊት ክፍተት የለም፤ ከምልክቱ በኋላ አንድ ክፍተት አለ፦ Hello, Selam. እንጂ Hello , Selam . አይደለም።
| Mark | Name | Amharic | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| . | full stop (US: period) | ነጥብ (እንደ ።) | ends a statement | The bus is late. |
| , | comma | ኮማ (እንደ ፣) | a short pause; separates items | eggs, bread, milk |
| ? | question mark | የጥያቄ ምልክት | ends a direct question | Where do you work? |
| ! | exclamation mark (US: point) | የቃለ አጋኖ ምልክት | strong feeling; use rarely | Congratulations! |
| ' | apostrophe | አፖስትሮፊ | possession and short forms | Abebe's car, don't |
| “ ” | quotation marks | ትምህርተ ጥቅስ | someone's exact words; titles | She said, “I'm ready.” |
| : | colon | ኮሎን (እንደ ፦) | introduces a list or an explanation | Bring three things: ID, a pen and water. |
| ; | semicolon | ሴሚኮሎን (እንደ ፤) | joins two close sentences | I work nights; I sleep in the day. |
| - | hyphen | አያያዥ ሰረዝ | joins words into one | part-time, twenty-one |
| — | dash | ረጅም ሰረዝ | a strong break or added thought | The rent — all of it — is due today. |
| ( ) | parentheses (UK: brackets) | ቅንፍ | extra information | Call the office (not the manager). |
| / | slash | ስላሽ (ገደብ ምልክት) | or; dates; web addresses | he/she, 10/26/2026 |
| … | ellipsis | ሦስት ነጥብ | words left out; trailing off | Well… I'm not sure. |
- Every sentence ends with one mark: . or ? or !. Never two (not ?? or !!) in formal writing.
- A question mark goes only on a direct question: Where is it? An indirect question ends with a full stop: I asked where it was.
- A hyphen is short and has no spaces (well-known). A dash is longer and joins whole ideas.
- In American English, a full stop or comma at the end of a quotation goes inside the quotation marks: He said, “Thank you.”
- Is the clinic open on Saturday?
- My landlord said, “The plumber will come on Tuesday.”
- I need three things from the store: rice, onions and oil.
- She works full-time; her husband works part-time.
- The meeting (the one about parking) starts at 6 p.m.
- Wow! You passed your driving test!
The comma rules
The comma is the mark people get wrong most. Use it in six places: between items in a list; after an introductory word or phrase; before and, but, or, so when they join two full sentences; around extra information that could be removed; in dates and addresses; and before a name when you speak to someone. Never put a comma between the subject and its verb. Amharic ፣ is used more freely; in English, if you are not sure, read the sentence aloud: a comma is a small breath, not every pause.
In Amharic
ኮማ ሰዎች በጣም የሚሳሳቱበት ምልክት ነው። በስድስት ቦታ ይጠቀሙበት፦ በዝርዝር ነገሮች መካከል፤ ከመግቢያ ቃል ወይም ሐረግ በኋላ፤ and, but, or, so ሁለት ሙሉ ዓረፍተ ነገሮችን ሲያገናኙ ከነሱ በፊት፤ ሊወጣ በሚችል ተጨማሪ መረጃ ዙሪያ፤ በቀንና በአድራሻ ውስጥ፤ እንዲሁም ሰውን በስም ሲጠሩ። በባለቤትና በግሡ መካከል በፍጹም ኮማ አያስገቡ። በአማርኛ ፣ በነጻነት ይገባል፤ በእንግሊዝኛ ግን ካልተጠራጠሩ ዓረፍተ ነገሩን ጮክ ብለው ያንብቡ፦ ኮማ ትንሽ ትንፋሽ ነው እንጂ እያንዳንዱ ማቆሚያ አይደለም።
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| items in a list | We need bread, milk, eggs and coffee. |
| after an introductory word or phrase | However, the office is closed. / After work, I pick up my son. |
| before and / but / so joining two sentences | I called twice, but nobody answered. |
| around extra information | My neighbour, who is a nurse, helped us. |
| dates and addresses | On March 3, 2026, we moved to Henderson, Nevada. |
| speaking to someone by name | Thank you, Mr. Lee. / Selam, can you help me? |
| NOT between subject and verb | The woman in the blue car is my aunt. (no comma after car) |
- The comma before the last and in a list (bread, milk, and eggs) is called the Oxford comma. Both styles are correct; American offices often use it. Be consistent.
- No comma before and when the second part is not a full sentence: I called and left a message.
- A comma alone cannot join two full sentences (that is a comma splice). Use a full stop, a semicolon, or a comma + and/but/so.
- If the extra information is needed to know who you mean, no commas: The man who called you is here.
- If you are late, please call the front desk.
- My son, Dawit, starts kindergarten in August.
- The store opens at nine, and the line starts at eight.
- Our address is 1200 Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas, NV 89109.
- Yes, I can work on Sunday.
English marks and Ethiopic marks
Ethiopic has its own punctuation, and much of it maps neatly onto English. The danger is carrying the Ethiopic shapes, or habits, into English: writing a sentence with no full stop, using a colon-like ፦ where English needs nothing, or putting a space before a mark. In English writing, use only the English marks.
In Amharic
የግዕዝ ፊደል የራሱ ሥርዓተ ነጥብ አለው፤ አብዛኛውም ከእንግሊዝኛው ጋር ይመሳሰላል። አደጋው የግዕዝ ቅርጾችን ወይም ልማዶችን ወደ እንግሊዝኛ ማምጣት ነው፦ ዓረፍተ ነገርን ያለ ነጥብ መተው፣ እንግሊዝኛ ምንም በማያስፈልገው ቦታ ፦ ማስገባት፣ ወይም ከምልክት በፊት ክፍተት መተው። በእንግሊዝኛ ጽሑፍ የእንግሊዝኛ ምልክቶችን ብቻ ይጠቀሙ።
| Ethiopic | Amharic name | English partner | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ። | አራት ነጥብ | . full stop | ends a sentence in both |
| ፣ | ነጠላ ሰረዝ | , comma | lists and pauses |
| ፤ | ድርብ ሰረዝ | ; semicolon | joins two close sentences |
| ፥ | ሁለት ነጥብ | , or : | older texts; separates or introduces |
| ፦ | ሁለት ነጥብ ከሰረዝ | : colon | introduces a list, speech or explanation |
| ፧ | የጥያቄ ምልክት | ? question mark | rare today; most Amharic writers use ? |
- Amharic often introduces speech with ፦. English uses a comma and quotation marks: She said, “Come in.”
- Ethiopic has no capital letters, so English adds a second signal at the start of a sentence: a capital letter after every full stop.
- Use the Ethiopic marks only inside Amharic text, and the English marks only inside English text.
- I bought injera, berbere and lentils. (English: commas and a full stop)
- Note: the office closes early on Friday.
- My mother asked, “Did you eat?”
- We arrived late; the shop was already closed.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I went to the store and bought milk. | No space before a mark, and a comma alone cannot join two sentences. | |
| The man in the red shirt is my boss. | Never put a comma between the subject and its verb. | |
| I asked him where he lived. | An indirect question is a statement: normal word order and a full stop. | |
| Please bring your ID and a pen. | Use English marks in English. After bring, no colon is needed at all. | |
| Thank you so much! | One exclamation mark at most, and rarely in formal writing. | |
| We need a full-time worker. | Two words acting as one adjective before a noun take a hyphen. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
What is the name of this mark: ; ?
Which sentence is correct?
Which sentence is correct?
What is the American name for the mark that ends a statement (.)?
Which mark introduces a list? “You need three things ___ a passport, a photo and the fee.”
Which uses a hyphen correctly?
Which date is punctuated the American way?
Which English mark matches the Amharic ፣ ? (write its name)
Which sentence is correct?