Punctuation Tips: Exclamation Mark Rules

Are you ready for some enthusiastic punctuation!? Because we’re here to talk about exclamation marks!! Some would say we’re a little overexcited about this!!!! But we can’t help it!!!!!

Ahem. Sorry. Got a bit carried away there. We’re not alone though. Exclamation marks have become so common lately that they’re pretty much standard in some situations. But there are still rules for how to use them in your written work, as we will now explain.

What Is an Exclamation Mark?

Traditionally, exclamation marks have been used to express excitement or admiration (they were originally called ‘notes of admiration’, in fact). This is still true, with common uses including:

• Expressing excitement (e.g. ‘I can’t wait to see you!’)
• Indicating surprise (e.g. ‘I can’t believe it!’)
• Punctuating a short interjection (e.g. ‘Wow!’ or ‘Hooray!’)

All of these are common in informal and semi-formal writing, but you shouldn’t need to use exclamation points if you’re writing an essay or a business document. However, they can be used effectively in fiction (e.g. in dialogue) or when writing for a popular audience.

How Many Exclamations?

As a general rule, we think that one exclamation mark is enough. As the opening paragraph in this post shows, using several exclamation points can seem a bit excessive.

Thus, the only time you should use multiple exclamation marks is to give a sense of being out of control. THIS WORKS ESPECIALLY WELL IF YOU COMBINE IT WITH ALL CAPS!!!!

Punctuating Exclamations

Knowing how to use exclamation marks with other forms of punctuation can be tricky. At a basic level, exclamation marks are a form of terminal punctuation. As such, they replace a full stop:

This is right! – Correct

This is wrong!. – Incorrect

Things get more complicated when an exclamation point is used in parentheses. Usually, you still need to use a full stop after the closing bracket, even if this is at the end of the sentence:

I love punctuation (especially exclamation marks!). – Correct

I love punctuation (especially exclamation marks!) – Incorrect

But when a parenthetical sentence is used by itself, no extra full stop is required:

I love punctuation. (I especially love exclamation marks!) – Correct

Exclamation points in dialogue can be tricky, too. In this case, an exclamation point before the closing speech mark replaces the standard comma:

‘I don’t understand punctuation,’ Tim said. – Correct

‘I don’t understand punctuation!’ Tim said. – Correct

‘I don’t understand punctuation!,’ Tim said. – Incorrect

Other than these situations, exclamation marks are fairly simple. As such, if you can remember the rules above, you should be able to avoid errors in your writing.