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英语中的主要标点符号有句号（full stop或period）、问号（question mark）、感叹号（exclamation point）、逗号（comma）、分号（semicolon）、冒号（colon）、破折号（dash）、引号（quotation marks）、省略号（ellipsis）、连字符（hyphen）和撇号（apostrophe）。
句号、问号、感叹号用在句子末尾，称为句末标点。分号、冒号、破折号用在句子当中，称为句中标点。连字符和撇号用在单词内部，称为词内标点。
（一）句号（.）
英语中的句号是一个实心点，表示句子末尾的停顿，通常用于陈述句（statement）、语气舒缓的祈使句（mild command）和间接引语问句（indirect question）结尾。
（1）She often stays up late into the night.
（2）Put your book on the shelf.
（3）I asked if they wanted to climb the hill.
一些省略词（abbreviation）后有一个句点，如：
Mr. St. U.K.
Mrs. Dr. a.m.
Ms. U.S.A. p.m.
注意：如果省略词位于句子末尾，句末只需用一个句号。如：Ms．Yuan came to Dr．Garcia's physics class at 9∶30 a.m.
（二）问号（？）
问号用于直接疑问句（direct question）后，句子中如果有一系列的提问，每一个问题后都可以用问号，如：
（1）Where are you going？
（2）How many attempts have been made to climb Mt．Everest？
（3）He asked，“Where are you going？”
（4）After the storm had passed，the mountain climbers debated what to do next．Turn back？Move on？Rest for a while？
（三）感叹号（！）
感叹号用于感叹句，抒发意外、惊奇等强烈的感情。
（1）They all yelled，“Fire，fire！”
（2）“There has been an accident！”cried my mother.
感叹号也可用来表示命令或愿望。
（3）Look out behind you！
（4）Long live People's Republic of China！
（一）逗号（，）
逗号表示句子中短暂的停顿，一般用于以下情形：并列句中，连词but、and、or、for、nor、so或yet前用逗号。
（1）The November morning had just begun，but it looked like dusk.
（2）The sky was blue，and the air was clear.
（3）Soon high winds would start，or thick snow would begin silently．
（4）Shopkeepers closed their stores early，for they wanted to，get home.
（5）Sandy studied as hard as he could，yet he still failed the examination.
（6）I set out much earlier than required，so I was not late.
（7）He won't come to the party，nor will he stay at home.
过渡词（transitional expression）和连接副词（conjunctive adverb）在句子开头时，它们和句子其他部分之间用逗号隔开。
（8）For example，she missed class twice last week.
（9）I explained to her in details.However，she didn't understand a word.
（10）Finally，I'd like to thank you all for coming today.
状语从句（adverbial clause）、独立结构（absolute structure）、介词短语（prepositional phrase）和分词短语（participle phrase）如果放在句子的主语前面，后面要用逗号，如例（11）～（14）。如果状语成分在句子当中，前后都要用逗号，如例26～27。如果主句在前，状语成分在后，则不用逗号，如例（17）～（18）。
（11）Although everyone sees a car as a useful vehicle，few realize that it helps them survive danger.
（12）Eating being enjoyable，we tend to eat more than we need.
（13）Smiling broadly，Mike took out her lost hat.
（14）After a pause，the teacher continued explaining the text.
（15）The students，interested in the experiment，asked the teacher a lot of questions.
（16）The medicine，taken in time，can be very effective.
（17）The teacher continued explaining the text after a pause.
（18）I was reading some newspapers when Father came in.
句子中的并列的成分之间用逗号隔开。（注意：英语中没有顿号）
（19）Sue turned off the lights，shut the door，and hid the key.
（20）Culture is a way of thinking，feeling，and believing.
非限制性从句（non-restrictive clause）、非限制性同位语（non-restrictive appositive）或其他非限制性短语（non-restrictive phrases）和句子的主要部分之间需要用逗号隔开。
（21）Eric enjoys jogging，which is also my favorite pastime.（非限制性从句）
（22）Naoko，who is from Japan，doesn't speak English very well.（非限制性从句）
（23）My parents，both over 65，took a driving course last year.（非限制性短语）
（24）The agricultural scientist，a new type of farmer，controls the farming environment.（非限制性同位语）
插入语前后需要用逗号与句子的其他部分隔开。
（25）The failure，I think，is due to your carelessness.
（26）My car，it seems to me，used to be in better condition.
引用句中的引导词和引用成分需要用逗号隔开，如：
（27）Shakespeare wrote，“Love is not time's fool.”
（28）“Love is not time's fool，”wrote Shakespeare.
（29）“Tell me，”he said，“what was the result of the match？”
（30）Those who can practice many hours a day.
（31）Those，who can，practice many hours a day.
逗号用在日期、地址和数字中。写日期时，如顺序是月日年，日和年之间用逗号隔开；星期几和日期之间也要用逗号隔开，如：
（32）June 24，2005
（33）Feb．28，1971
（34）Sunday，July 2，2006
写地址时，街道名和城市名之间、城市名和省名或州名之间用逗号隔开，如：
（35）Please send the parcel to the following address：No.10 Downing Street，London，England.
写数字时，千以上的数字从右往左每三个数字后加一个逗号，如：
（36）In a vacuum，light travels at a speed of 299，792，458 meters per second.
（二）分号（；）
两个并列句间如果没有and、but、or、nor、for、so、yet等连词，并列句之间应该用分号隔开。
（1）Rainy days make George unhappy；he likes plenty of sunshine.
（2）The army marched 20 miles；every step brought the soldiers closer to safety.
用and、but、or、nor、for、so、yet连接的并列句中，如果本身包含逗号，则并列句之间用分号隔开。
（3）For anything worth having，one must pay the price；and the price is always work，patience，love，and sacrifice.
两个并列句如果用however、moreover、therefore、consequently、accordingly、thus、nevertheless等副连接，并列句之间应该用分号隔开。
（4）The average annual rainfall in Death Valley is about two inches；nevertheless，hundreds of plant and animal species survive there.
（5）Many people like roller coasters；however，not all of them know about its history.
（三）冒号（：）
引号列举的项目、或解释说明的文字。
（1）If you really want to lose weight，you need to give up only three things：breakfast，lunch and dinner.
（2）We will never forget the first time we made dinner at home together：both of us got stomachache and for two days were too sick to go to work.
用于引用的句子前，特别是这个句子较长时。
（3）She often mentions a saying by Confucius：“To say you know when you know，and to say you do not know when you do not，that is knowledge.”
用来隔开小时与分钟，主标题和副标题等，如：
（4）The movie will start at 7∶15 p.m.
（5）Surprisingly， A Brief History of Time ：From the Big Bang to Black Holes became a bestseller immediately after its publication.
（四）破折号（—）
破折号用来表示意思的转折，如：
（1）I went through a lot of terrible ordeals in those chaotic years—but who didn't？
表示举例、解释、插入等，如：
（2）Although the emphasis at school was mainly language—speaking，reading，and writing—the lessons always began with an exercise in politeness.
（3）Two of the strongest animals in the jungle are vegetarians—the elephant and the gorilla.
（4）During my Vacation—a busy vacation actually—I'll visit my uncle in Switzerland and learn skiing.
（五）省略号（……）
英语中用三个连续的句点作省略号。如果省略号用在句子当中，省略号前后需要各空一格；如果省略的部分位于句子末尾，则用四个连续的句号表示，且与前面的单词间不需空格。
（1）Sommer says that “personal space is like a snail shell..．and breathing room.”
（2）Sommer says that “personal space is like a snail shell，a soap bubble……”
（六）圆括号（（））
1．圆括号用来标明插入性的、补充性的或注释性的词语：
A PLO（Palestinian Liberation Organization）delegation is to visit China next month.
Bai Juyi（772—846）was a great poet of the Tang Dynasty.
He is teaching two courses（Linguistics and Theoretical Grammar）this semester.
2．表示细目的数字或字母一般放在圆括号中：
The word revolution means（1）a great，sudden social and political change by force；and（2）circular movement round a fixed point.
Coordinate clauses are linked by（a）a comma and a conjunction，（b）a semicolon or a colon，and（c）a dash.
（七）方括号（［］）
1．方括号里是引用者对引语加以修改或说明的部分：
He wrote：“One great poet of the Song Dynasty ［Su Shi］ said that in Wang Wei's poetry there was painting and in his paintings there was poetry.”
2．如圆括号中还需用括号，则用方括号代替圆括号：
William Strunk Jr．and E.B．White wrote a very useful little book for students learning to write（The Elements of Style［New York：Macmillan，1972］）.
（一）连字符（-）
连字符用来组成复合词，如far-reaching，vice-president等，在不确定单词内有没有连字符时要查字典。
在书写时，带连字符的复合词如果出现在一行的末尾，复合词的一部分需要转到下一行，那么只能在连字符处分开，且连字符在上一行。
（二）撇号（'）
撇号用来表示名词所有格、省略字母，一些情态动词的缩写形式，构成数字、字母的复数形式，如：
（1）Today is my mother's birthday.
（2）“Yes，ma'am，”he answered.
（3）I've got two tickets for the football match.
（4）How many 5's has she got？
句子开头的第一个单词的首字母要大写。
（1）Students should visit a country when they learn its language.
（2）She says，“students should visit a country when they learn its language.”
标题中第一个词和其他实义词（名词、代词、形容词、副词等）首字母要大写。
（3）Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote “The American Scholar”in 1837．
（4）The Merchants of Venice is one of the best known Shakespeare's plays.
人名、专有名词中每个词（冠词the除外）的首字母大写。
（5）Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States of America.
（6）The Empire State Building is a landmark in New York.
（7）Last year，the Democratic Party won the campaign.
直接引语，不论是对话还是书中引文里的直接引语，两端都用双引号（间接引语不用引号）。引语中的引语则用单引号；
“Shall I turn off the radio？”he asked his mother.
“Yes，please，”she answered.
“One may ask why parents permitted their children to work in mines and factories.”The author writes，“the answer is tragic，but simple.There was usually nothing else to do，except to starve.”
Why did parents permit their children to work in mines and factories？In answering this question，the author says that there was usually nothing else to do，“except to starve.”（直接引用句子的部分成分）
“What do you mean by ‘evolutionary mechanism'？”one of the students asked.（引语中的引语）
下面是一个带有间接引语的例子，间接引语不用引号：
The author writes that the reason why parents permitted their children to work in mines and factories was that there was usually nothing else to do，except to starve.
在打印的文稿中，一段较长的引语各行之间不留空行；两侧都缩进，或只在左侧缩进。引号可用可不用。如引文又分几段，每段的开头和最后一段的末端可加引号，其他段末端都不加。
记录两人或更多人的谈话时，每个人说的话，表示说的动词以及有关的描写，不管长短，都应成一段。
“Did you go to the zoo yesterday？”she asked her son，smiling.
“Yes，I did，”he said，“I had a good time there.”
“I'm sure you saw the pandas.”
“Of course．But there was such a crowd around them that I couldn't get close enough to see them clearly，”he said with a sigh.
文章、短篇故事、短诗及歌曲等的题目和书中各章节的题目，应用引号标出。但书刊名称应用斜体字或下划线标明。
The People's Daily carries an important article today：“The Present Situation in the Balkans.”
“Life in the Cave，”one of the chapters of My Adventures ，is very interesting.
有特殊意义的词有时用引号括起来：
Pointing to a small desk in a corner of the room，he said，“My ‘headquarters' is here.”
引号和其他标点符号配合使用时，美国的通行办法如下：
句号和逗号放在引号之内：
“John，”she said，“I've lost my gloves.”
You should read his article on “New Criticism，”which is very interesting.
冒号和分号放在引号之外：
First he talked about “New Criticism”；then he discussed “postmodernism.”
The dictionary gives a brief explanation of “postmodernism”：a style of building，decoration，art，etc.，which uses an unusual mixing of old and new forms.
破折号、问号和感叹号，如只是与引语有关，放在引号之内；如与整个句子有关，则放在引语之外：
She asked，“What does modernism mean？”
What is the meaning of “New Criticism”？
“Help！Help！”she cried.
Stop crying “I want it”！
斜线表示两项皆可采用，如：
This university provides scholarships and/or loans.
这句话的意思是这个大学提供奖学金或者贷款，或两项都提供。
When students meet after the winter vacation，they often ask each other，“How you're your Spring Festival（vacation/life at home）？”
在连续地抄写诗句时，可用斜线分开原来的诗行：
In this well-known poem Shelley wrote：“Be through my lips to unawakened earth/ The trumpet of a prophecy！Oh，wind，/ If Winter comes，can Spring be far behind？”
句中的分数中分子和分母用斜线分开：
A kilometer is 31/50 of a mile.
斜线有时表示“每”的意思：
Rent：50 yuan/sq.m.
意思是房租按每平方米50元计算。
在手写稿和打印稿中，下划线和印刷品中的斜体字功用相同。
书籍、杂志、报纸、剧本、长诗、影片及歌剧的名称要用下划线或斜体字标明：
He reads the People's Daily even day.
Wuthering Heights is one of his favorite novels.
英语中外来词应用下划线或斜体字标明：
There was a big kang in the room.
Did he say “ le cheval ”？That is French meaning “the horse.”
船只、飞机和艺术作品的名称一般用下划线或斜体字标明：
I sailed on the Changjiang River on board the Dongfanghong II .
Did you see Rodin's Thinker at the exhibition？
提及某一词或字母时，应用下划线或斜体字：
The letteru in words like neighbour and favour is dropped in American English.
In the phrase “look forward to”to is a preposition and should be followed by a noun or a gerund.
下划线或斜体字有时表示强调：
What a man does is more important than what he says.
When a writer or speaker exaggerates emotions，he may be said to be sentimental.