Grammar Fun Friday – Punctuation Full Stops… Full stops are one of the most used and important parts of English punctuation. Here are some of the ways to use them appropriately: 1. Used to show the end of a sentence a. I have finished my sentence. b. There are 24 letters in the English alphabet. c. I am ten years old. 2. Used to show acronyms (however, it is common not to use the full stop nowadays) a. B.B.C. – British Broadcasting Corporation b. A.M. and P.M. – ante meridiem (before noon) and post meridiem (after noon) c. R.S.V.P. – répondez s’il vous plait (a request for a reply to an invitation) 3. Used to show shortened or abbreviated words a. St. – Street b. Mr. – Mister c. Etc. – et cetera 4. Ellipses shows that the rest of the sentence is missing a. I don’t know, … Let me think, … Erm, … b. In her long speech the minister said, ‘We will improve education… healthcare… and transportation links’. c. Juan thought and thought … and then thought some more. My name is Kirsty from Scotland and I have been teaching English for 4 years now (2 years online). Click on my face for more information. I post interactive English language activities most days so if you would like to join in then simply follow me. Also on Twitter (KirstyTutors), Google+ and Facebook (Kirsty Tutors).