1. Full Stop/Period (.)

A full stop is placed at the end of each sentence to indicate the end of the sentence, which can be a statement, request or command. A full stop is not used at the end of a phrase or subordinate clause. Doing so does not create complete sentences. EXAMPLE: When I saw her yesterday, she was wearing a flowery hat. NOT: When I saw her yesterday. She was wearing a flowery hat. ("When I saw her yesterday" is an adverb clause, which is not a complete sentence – a full stop should not be used to end it. The period is used after most abbreviations: EXAMPLE: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Rev. Wed., Oct. Most short versions of specific expressions end in a period. EXAMPLE: A.M./a.m., P.M./p.m., p.a., e.g. The trend today is towards writing abbreviations without a period. EXAMPLE: IOU, FBI, US, UK. Only one full stop is used if a sentence ends with an abbreviation. EXAMPLE: Her biggest ambition is to successfully complete her M.A. The period is used to show the shortened form of a word. EXAMPLE: Opp., mo. (Written abbreviations of 'opposite', 'month') A full stop is always placed inside quotation marks, whether or not it is part of the quotation. EXAMPLE: John said, "That runaway horse is not mine." NOT: John said, "That runaway horse is not mine".