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Citation Information
How to Cite
Manser, Martin H. "Period." Writer's Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Apr. 2025. <http://fofweb.infobase.com/wrc/Detail.aspx?iPin=GTGW053>.
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Period


A period (.) is a punctuation mark used principally to indicate the end of any sentence that does not otherwise finish with a question mark or exclamation point:

The water is hot.
These birds are wild.
That is my pen.
The fact that no sentence should have more than one period is relevant when rendering direct speech, specifically sentences that would normally end with a period. In such instances, the period may be replaced by a comma, as below:

"Here is the money," I said, handing over the bag.
Periods are also traditionally placed after or between each letter of abbreviations (U.S.), although the modern tendency is increasingly to omit periods in abbreviations altogether. Periods are sometimes employed in dates (9.11.01) and are customary when reducing personal names to initials (D. H. Lawrence) and in decimal fractions (1.3 centimeters).

The period has enjoyed a new lease on life recently as the dot commonly used in e-mail and Web site addresses (www.factsonfile.com).

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