Ela Molina: Using Punctuation in Spanish

SPANISH PUNCTUATION – SIGNOS DE PUNTUACIÓN[1]

Spanish punctuation is so much like English's that some textbooks and reference books don't even discuss it. But there are a few significant differences. The main differences are:

Comma - Coma. The comma usually is used the same as in English, being used to indicate a break in thought or to set off clauses or words. One difference is that in lists, there is no comma between the last item and the y, whereas in English some writers use a comma before the "and."

·                     Compré una camisa, dos zapatos y tres libros. I bought a shirt, two shoes, and three books.

Question marks - Signos de interrogación. In Spanish, question marks are used at the beginning and the end of a question. If a sentence contains more than a question, the question marks frame the question only.

·                     Si no te gusta la comida, ¿por qué la comes? If you don't like the food, why are you eating it?

Exclamation points – Signos de admiración. Exclamation points are used in the same way that question marks are except to indicate exclamations instead of questions. Exclamation marks are also sometimes used for direct commands.

·Vi la película la noche pasada. ¡Qué susto! I saw the movie last night. What a fright!