Full Stop Punctuation Mark

A Full Stop Punctuation Mark is an end-of-sentence punctuation grapheme that serves as the primary sentence terminator for declarative sentences and imperative sentences in most Latin-script writing systems.

• AKA: Period, Full Stop, Full Stop Character, Full Stop Grapheme, Period Punctuation Mark, Full Stop Symbol, Dot Punctuation.
• Context:
  • It can typically terminate Declarative Sentences with full stop punctuation mark placement at sentence ending positions.
  • It can typically mark Abbreviations through full stop punctuation mark insertion within abbreviated terms.
  • It can typically indicate Decimal Notation with full stop punctuation mark usage in numerical representations.
  • It can typically signal Sentence Completion through full stop punctuation mark conventions in written discourse.
  • It can typically separate URL Components with full stop punctuation mark delimiters in domain names.
  • It can typically denote File Extensions through full stop punctuation mark prefixes in computer filenames.
  • ...
  • It can often appear in Multiple Contexts within single text units requiring full stop punctuation mark disambiguation.
  • It can often trigger Sentence Boundary Detection in full stop punctuation mark processing algorithms.
  • It can often vary in Spacing Conventions across full stop punctuation mark typographic traditions.
  • It can often combine with Other Punctuation forming full stop punctuation mark sequences like ellipsis.
  • It can often serve as Training Feature in full stop punctuation mark machine learning models.
  • It can often have Cultural Variations in full stop punctuation mark usage patterns.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Simple Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being a Complex Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark contextual ambiguity.
  • It can range from being a Mandatory Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being an Optional Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark grammatical requirement.
  • It can range from being a Traditional Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being a Digital Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark medium context.
  • It can range from being a Unambiguous Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being an Ambiguous Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark interpretation clarity.
  • It can range from being a Single-Function Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being a Multi-Function Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark role diversity.
  • It can range from being a Visually Subtle Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being a Visually Prominent Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark typographic emphasis.
  • It can range from being a Computationally Simple Full Stop Punctuation Mark to being a Computationally Complex Full Stop Punctuation Mark, depending on its full stop punctuation mark processing requirement.
  • ...
  • It can have Unicode Code Point U+002E in full stop punctuation mark digital encoding.
  • It can require Contextual Analysis for full stop punctuation mark function determination.
  • It can participate in Typography Rules affecting full stop punctuation mark visual presentation.
  • It can influence Text-to-Speech Systems through full stop punctuation mark prosodic cues.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Full Stop Punctuation Mark Usage Contexts, such as:
    • Sentence-Ending Full Stop Punctuation Marks, such as:
      • Declarative Sentence Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "The cat sat on the mat."
      • Imperative Sentence Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "Please close the door."
      • Indirect Question Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "She asked where he went."
    • Abbreviation Full Stop Punctuation Marks, such as:
      • Title Abbreviation Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "Dr.", "Mr.", "Ms."
      • Location Abbreviation Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "U.S.A.", "U.K."
      • Latin Abbreviation Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "e.g.", "i.e.", "etc."
    • Numerical Full Stop Punctuation Marks, such as:
      • Decimal Point Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "3.14159"
      • Thousand Separator Full Stop Punctuation Mark in some European number formats
      • Version Number Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "version 2.5.1"
    • Digital Context Full Stop Punctuation Marks, such as:
      • Domain Name Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "www.example.com"
      • File Extension Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "document.pdf"
      • IP Address Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "192.168.1.1"
    • Special Usage Full Stop Punctuation Marks, such as:
      • Ellipsis Component Full Stop Punctuation Mark forming "..."
      • List Item Full Stop Punctuation Mark in numbered lists
      • Outline Level Full Stop Punctuation Mark in "1.2.3"
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Question Mark, which terminates interrogative sentences rather than declarative sentences.
  • Exclamation Mark, which indicates strong emotion or emphasis rather than neutral statement termination.
  • Comma, which separates clauses within sentences rather than terminating them.
  • Decimal Comma, which serves as decimal separator in some European notations rather than using full stop punctuation mark.
  • Middle Dot, which appears at mid-height position rather than baseline position of full stop punctuation mark.
  • Bullet Point, which marks list items rather than serving full stop punctuation mark functions.
• See: Punctuation Grapheme, End-of-Sentence Grapheme, Sentence Boundary Detection Task, Abbreviation, Decimal Notation, Written Sentence, Typography, Unicode, Natural Language Processing.

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References

2025-06-07

• Deep Research https://chatgpt.com/s/dr_68438feef18881919eacc117408d97c1 https://chatgpt.com/s/dr_68438fd75f348191bf91843623398d02
  • Question: How can I create a comprehensive knowledge base entry about the full stop punctuation mark, covering its various uses, computational challenges, and relationships to other punctuation marks?
  • Answer: The full stop punctuation mark (known as a period in North American English) is the punctuation mark denoted by a small dot ".". This mark serves multiple purposes in Latin-script writing systems, most commonly to signal the end of a sentence that is neither a question nor an exclamation.
    • Primary Functions of the Full Stop:
      • Terminating Sentences: The most familiar role of a full stop is to terminate declarative or imperative sentences. It indicates that a sentence has concluded, as opposed to a question (which takes a question mark) or an exclamation (exclamation point).
        • Convention: No additional full stop is used if a sentence already ends in another terminal mark.
        • Example: "Please close the door." (The period denotes the end of this imperative sentence.)
      • Marking Abbreviations: Full stops are widely used in abbreviations to show that letters have been omitted.
        • American English Style: Typically uses a period after most abbreviations (e.g. Mr., Dr., Prof.).
        • British English Style: Often omits the full stop if the abbreviation includes the last letter of the word.
        • Double Duty Rule: If an abbreviation with a period falls at the end of a sentence, only one period is written.
      • Indicating Decimal Notation: In many countries (including English-speaking ones), the full stop serves as the decimal point in numerical notation.
        • Cultural Variations: Most English-speaking regions use the dot as the decimal separator, whereas many other locales use a comma.
        • Example: "3.14" uses a period to indicate the decimal separating 3 from 0.14.
      • Separating Components in Web Addresses: In digital communication, the "dot" is critical as a delimiter in web addresses (URLs), domain names, and email addresses.
        • URL Structure: In "www.example.com", full stops separate the subdomain, second-level domain, and top-level domain.
        • Style Guide: Often advise not adding an extra full stop after a URL or email at the end to avoid confusion.
    • Computational Challenges and NLP Considerations:
      • Sentence Boundary Detection: In natural language processing and computational linguistics, the full stop plays a key role in identifying sentence boundaries – but it also presents challenges.
        • Ambiguity: Not every "." indicates the end of a sentence. A period might be part of an abbreviation, a decimal number, an ellipsis, an email or web address, etc.
        • Disambiguation: NLP systems must apply rules or machine learning to disambiguate full stops – deciding whether a dot marks the end of a sentence or not.
      • Tokenization and Text Processing: In many NLP pipelines, punctuation marks like the period are handled as separate tokens or are removed.
        • Processing Challenge: Tokenization algorithms often include rules to keep certain patterns intact (e.g., not splitting common abbreviations or email addresses at the periods).
        • Machine Learning: Language models treat the full stop as just another token to predict, but one with outsized importance.
    • Variations in Usage and Style:
      • Spacing: In the typewriter era, many people were taught to insert two spaces after a full stop. In modern practice, this has been replaced by a single space.
      • Formal vs Informal Writing: In formal writing, full stops are used in a standard way. In informal contexts like text messages, they may be dropped for brevity or tone.
        • Digital Perception: Ending a short message with a period can be perceived as overly formal or even negative by some readers.
      • Cultural and Language Differences: German and many Central European languages use the period as an ordinal indicator after numbers.
    • Comparison with Similar Punctuation Marks:
      • Question Mark (?): Ends a direct question or interrogative sentence. Signals uncertainty or inquiry.
      • Exclamation Mark (!): Ends an exclamatory sentence or interjection, indicating strong feeling or emphasis.
      • Ellipsis (...): Indicates an omission of words or a trailing off/pause in thought. Often consists of three full stop dots in a row.
      • Colon (:): Introduces an explanation, list, or elaboration after a complete clause.
      • Semicolon (;): Links two independent clauses that are closely related, or separates complex list items.
    • Common Errors and Ambiguities:
      • Double Periods: The rule is only one period is written when a sentence ends with an abbreviation.
      • Ellipsis vs Period: An ellipsis by standard is three dots. Using two or four dots unintentionally can misrepresent meaning.
      • Trailing Dots in URLs: Placing a period right after a URL or email in text can inadvertently make the URL not work.
      • Period vs Comma: Using a comma where a full stop is needed results in a run-on sentence.
  • Citations:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_stop
[2] https://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/fullstop/fullstop
[3] https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/punctuation/full-stops
[4] https://www.grammarly.com/blog/period/
[5] https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punctuation/punctuation/periods.html
[6] https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/period.html
[7] https://gabormelli.com/RKB/Sentence_Boundary_Detection_Task
[8] https://www.britannica.com/topic/punctuation
[9] https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/punctuation/period
[10] https://style.mla.org/periods-and-other-full-stops/
[11] https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Punctuation/faq0002.html
[12] https://www.npr.org/2020/02/27/808738901/study-finds-people-find-ending-texts-with-period-rude
[13] https://aclanthology.org/W19-8652.pdf
[14] https://gabormelli.com/RKB/Punctuation_Grapheme
[15] https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0000.pdf
[16] https://www.nltk.org/api/nltk.tokenize.html

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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