Learning objective
Type common punctuation marks accurately with the correct fingers and correct spacing.
Punctuation keys and their fingers
Most punctuation sits on the right-hand side of the keyboard, so the right ring and little fingers do much of this work. On a standard QWERTY keyboard:
- Comma , is pressed with the right middle finger, one row below K.
- Full stop . is pressed with the right ring finger, below L.
- Semicolon ; is the right little finger's home key. Add Shift for a colon :.
- Apostrophe ' is next to the semicolon, also with the right little finger.
- Question mark ? is Shift + /, with the right little finger and left Shift.
- Exclamation mark ! is Shift + 1, with the left little finger and right Shift.
- Hyphen - is on the number row, with the right little finger.
- Brackets ( and ) are Shift + 9 and Shift + 0, with the right ring and little fingers.
The opposite-Shift rule from Lesson 7 still applies. For shifted punctuation typed with the right hand, such as ? or :, hold the left Shift.
Layouts differ for some symbols
Punctuation is where keyboard layouts differ most. On a UK keyboard, " is Shift + 2 and @ is next to the semicolon key; on a US keyboard they are the other way round. French, German and other layouts move many symbols as well. If a key does not produce the character you expect, check which layout your computer is using, and learn the positions that match your own keyboard.
Spacing rules
- No space before a comma, full stop, question mark, exclamation mark, colon or semicolon.
- One space after them, before the next word. A single space after a full stop is the modern convention.
- No space inside brackets or quotation marks: (like this) and "like this".
- No spaces around a hyphen in a compound word, such as well-known.
- An apostrophe goes inside the word, with no spaces: it's, don't, Sam's.
Practice exercises
Exercise: Commas and full stops
Line 1 of 4Keep the punctuation attached to the word before it, then press space.
Practice line: red, green, blue.
Exercise: Apostrophes, questions and exclamations
Line 1 of 4Use the opposite Shift for ? and !, and keep apostrophes inside the word.
Practice line: It's late, isn't it?
Exercise: Colons, hyphens and brackets
Line 1 of 4Mixed punctuation. Slow down slightly on the shifted symbols.
Practice line: Bring three things: a pen, a map and water.
Common mistakes
Typing a space before punctuation, as in "Hello ,".
Type the mark straight after the word, then the space. The drill lines above build this habit.
Confusing comma and full stop.
Comma is the middle finger, full stop the ring finger. Practise "k, l." reaches slowly.
Getting / instead of ?.
Hold the left Shift down firmly before pressing the key, and release afterwards.
Getting " instead of @, or the other way round.
Your computer may be set to a different layout from your keyboard. Check your keyboard settings.
You have now covered letters, numbers, capitals and punctuation. To put them all together, take the English typing test on Medium or Advanced, which include the most varied punctuation, and use the heatmap to find any marks you still miss.
Check yourself
A quick quiz on the key points of this lesson. Score 3 out of 3 to earn a "Quiz passed" mark, saved only on this device.
Answer every question to check your answers.