Full Stop Punctuation Mark

A Full Stop Punctuation Mark is a punctuation mark used to indicate the end of a declarative sentence.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) appear at the bottom of a written line and directly follows the preceding character without a space.
  • It can (typically) convey a definitive pause in spoken English, representing a momentary break.
  • It can (often) be used at the end of word abbreviations, particularly in British English for truncations like "Rev." but not after contractions like "Revd". In American English, it is used in both cases.
  • It can (often) be used after an initial letter used to abbreviate a word, and after each individual letter in acronyms and initialisms (e.g., "U.S.A."), although this usage is declining.
  • It can (often) indicate omitted characters or, in a series, as an ellipsis to indicate omitted words.
  • It can (often) be used as the decimal separator in the English-speaking world, and in computing, it is known as a dot. It is sometimes called a baseline dot to distinguish it from the interpunct (or middle dot).
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Period (Text Character),
  • Dot (Text Character),
  • Point (Text Character),
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Question Mark,
  • Exclamation Point,
  • Ellipsis.
• See: Interpunct, Comma Punctuation, Semicolon Punctuation, Colon Punctuation, Sentence Segmentation Task, Comma, Colon, Semicolon.

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References

2023

• (ChatGPT OpenAI, 2023) ⇒ https://chat.openai.com/
  • A: A full-stop punctuation mark, also known as a period, is a punctuation mark used to indicate the end of a sentence. It is represented by a dot (.) and is placed at the end of a declarative sentence, indicating that the sentence has come to its conclusion.

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/full_stop Retrieved:2023-2-3.
  • The full stop' (Commonwealth English), period (North American English), or full point ', is a punctuation mark. It is used for several purposes, most often to mark the end of a declarative sentence (as distinguished from a question or exclamation). This sentence-ending use, alone, defines the strictest sense of full stop. Although full stop technically applies only when the mark is used to end a sentence, the distinction – drawn since at least 1897 – is not maintained by all modern style guides and dictionaries.

    The mark is also used, singly, to indicate omitted characters or, in a series, as an ellipsis (), to indicate omitted words. It may be placed after an initial letter used to stand for a name or after each individual letter in an initialism or acronym (e.g., "U.S.A."). However, the use of full stops after letters in an initialism or acronym is declining, and many of these without punctuation have become accepted norms (e.g., "UK" and "NATO"). This trend has progressed somewhat more slowly in the United States than in other English language dialects.

    A full stop is frequently used at the end of word abbreviations – in British usage, primarily truncations like Rev., but not after contractions like Revd (in American English it is used in both cases).

    In the English-speaking world, a punctuation mark identical to the full stop is used as the decimal separator and for other purposes, and may be called a point. In computing, it is called a dot. It is sometimes called a baseline dot to distinguish it from the interpunct (or middle dot).

2011

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_stop
  • A full stop (British English and Australian English) is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of sentences. In American English, the term used for this punctuation is period. In the 21st century, it is often also called a dot by young people. In conversation, as opposed to linguistics, the term is often used to mean "the end of the matter" (For example, "we are calling a full stop to discussions on this subject".)

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