Noktalama işaretleri - The punctuation marks in Turkish language

1. Nokta - Period -> .
a. It is used at the end of a sentence that makes a statement i.e. Ali geldi. (Ali came.)
b. With abbreviations i.e. Dr. (Doktor - Doctor)
c. After a number to show a list/sequence i.e. 1. 2. 3.
d. With dates i.e. 27.10.2001
e. With times i.e. 18.00
f. To separate thousands i.e. 27.000 (In English, a comma is used to separate thousands: 27,000)
2. Virgül - Comma -> ,
a. It is used to separate the elements in a series i.e. Kahvaltıda ekmek, peynir, zeytin ve bal yedim. (I ate bread, cheese, olives and honey for breakfast.)
b. To separate similar sentences i.e. Yedik, içtik, oynadık, eğlendik. (We ate, we drank, we played, we had fun.)
c. In the direct speech when we don't want to use quotation i.e. Adana’ya yarın gideceğim, dedi. (He/She said: Tomorrow I will go to Adana.)
d. After words expressing agreement or disagreement like hayır, yok, evet, peki, pekâlâ, tamam, olur, hayhay, başüstüne, öyle, haydi, elbette i.e. Evet, çok hastayım. (Yes, I am very ill.)
e. When the meaning is changing in a sentence i.e. Bu, tek gözlü, genç fakat ihtiyar görünen bir adamdır (This is an one eyed, young man, who however looks old)
f. To address people i.e. Sayın Başkan, (Dear Mr. President)
g. To separate decimal digits i.e. 2,7 (In English, a dot is used: 2.7)
3. Noktalı virgül - Semicolon -> ;
a. It is used when we have groups of words, separated by commas i.e. Erkek çocuklara Kemal, Mehmet, Onur, Orhan; kız çocuklara ise Nur, Çiçek, Gönül, Ayşe adları verilir. (The names given to boys are ... whereas the names given to girls are ...)
4. İki nokta - Colon -> :
a. It is used to introduce a list or a catalog i.e. İşte benim sınıf arkadaşlarım: Orhan, Ayşe, Mehmet, Nesrin (Here are my classmates:...)
b. For statements in reported speech i.e. Murat: Saat kaç? (Murat: What time is it?)
5. Kesme işareti - Apostrophe -> ’
a. It is used after names and place names in the possessive, accusative, locative, dative and ablative case i.e. Onur'un, Emine'yi, İstanbul'da, Türkiye'ye, Emre'den
b. After a nationality i.e. Alman'ım (I am German)
c. After explanations with -dir i.e. Trabzon'dur (It's Trabzon)
d. After a year (if we use a case) i.e. 1985’te (In 1985)
e. After a noble title i.e. İbrahim Paşa'ya (To İbrahim Paşa)
f. With abbreviations of ordinal numbers i.e. 8’inci (8th)
g. In slang i.e. N'apcaz şimdi? - Ne yapacağız şimdi? (What are we going to do now?)
h. After letters i.e. a’dan z’ye kadar (From a to z)
i. Attention: It is not used for institutions and services i.e. Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisine
6. Soru işareti - Question mark -> ?
a. It is used at the end of a direct question i.e. Adınız ne? (What's your name?)
b. In parentheses when we doubt about something i.e. 1864 (?) yılında doğan kaptan - The captain who was born in 1864 (?)
7. Ünlem - Exclamation mark -> !
It is used at the end of an emphatic declaration, interjection, or command. It usually expresses fear, surprise or admiration i.e. Hava ne kadar da soğuk! (What a cold weather!)
8. Üç nokta - Ellipsis -> ...
They are used when we want to omit some words in a phrase. They usually express admiraiton, irony or fear i.e. Karşımızda masmavi bir deniz... (Such a deep blue sea in front of us ...)
9. Tırnak işareti - Quotation marks -> “ ”
a. They are used in direct speech i.e. “İstanbul üzerine dünyada bir şehir daha yoktur!” diyorlar. (They say: "There is no other city in the world like Istanbul!")
b. They set off the titles of things that do not normally stand by themselves: short stories, poems, book titles and articles i.e. "Bir Dinozorun Anıları" diye bir kitap yazdı. (She wrote the book under the title "The memories of a dinosaur")
10. Yay ayraç - Parentheses -> ( )
It is used to provide more information or to explain a phrase. It contains material that could be omitted without destroying or altering the meaning of a sentence i.e. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman (1494-1566) Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun onuncu padişahıdır - Sultan Suleiman (1494-1566) is the 10th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
11. Kısa çizgi - Hyphen -> -
a. It is used to divide words into syllables (Check if there's a Turkish word starting from...) i.e.
Tek yataklı, duş-
lu bir oda istiyorum. (I want a single room with shower.)
b. To express from-to i.e.
İzmir - Aydın yol haritası (The road map from Izmir to Aydin)
09.00 - 18.00, saatleri arasında hizmet vermektedir. (Opening hours: 09:00-18:00)
c. Creating phrase compounds i.e. Bütün bebekler -Zeynep hariç- çoktan uykuya dalmışlardı. (All the babies fell asleep, except Zeynep.)
12. Uzun çizgi - Dash -> —
It is used in a dialogue to indicate a character or person speaking who is not the narrator. i.e.
— Onur: Merhaba Şehrazat.
— Şehrazat: Merhaba Onur.
Remark: For the dash press on your keyboard ALT and 0151
13. Eğik çizgi - Slash -> /
a. It is used in dates i.e. 07/07/2003
b. Between place names, when we write an address i.e.
Atatürk Bulvarı No.: 157
06680 Kavaklıdere / Ankara