Advanced Spanish Punctuation

Quick Answer

If you want to feel confident with your academic writing abilities, you’re in the right place! Using correct advanced punctuation will add clarity and precision to your writing, impressing your target audience, thesis advisor, or even your toughest professor.

This article is geared toward the more advanced learner. If you are a beginner, check out this article on basic Spanish punctuation.

Punto y Coma(Semicolon)

Used to link two related but independent clauses.
Used before pero(but), sin embargo(however), no obstante(nevertheless), and aunque(although) when the clauses are really long.

Take a look at these examples:

examples
Aquí solo se puede pagar en efectivo; necesito sacar dinero de un cajero automático. You can only pay in cash here; I need to withdraw money from an ATM.
Me encanta correr; sin embargo, odio correr en una caminadora. I love running; however, I hate running on a treadmill.

Dos Puntos(Colon)

When writing in Spanish, we use the colon in the following situations:

To introduce items in a list.
After a speaking verb, such as dijo(said) and preguntó(asked) to introduce a quote or direct dialogue.
To call attention to or emphasize a phrase or single word at the end of a sentence.
To separate the greeting from the body of a letter, especially a formal one.

Phrases following a colon are generally not capitalized, except when the phrase following the colon is a quote.

examples
El presidente abordará tres temas polémicos: el cambio climático, la globalización y los derechos de la mujer. The president will address three controversial topics: climate change, globalization, and women’s rights.
Mi madre me miró y dijo: «Al mal tiempo, buena cara». My mother looked at me and said: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
Solo me importa una cosa: mi familia. I only care about one thing: my family.
Estimado Dr. Rivera: le escribo para pedir su ayuda. Dear Dr. Rivera, I am writing to ask for your help.

Puntos Suspensivos(Ellipsis)

To create hesitation, doubt, or suspense in your writing, you can add three dots directly after the last word that comes before the text you wish to omit. In addition to adding suspense, the ellipsis has several other functions:

To avoid repeating a long title.
To leave a statement incomplete, for whatever reason.
To leave a list unfinished.
To insinuate profanity.

Let’s take a look at some examples!

examples
Estábamos durmiendo, y de repente escuchamos un ruido fuerte... We were sleeping and all of a sudden we heard a loud noise…
El cuento «Yo sé por qué…» logra captar la voz de una niña solitaria. The story "I Know Why…" captures the voice of a lonely child.
Hoy fue un día terrible... Today was a terrible day…
Los bollos daneses, los macarrones, las palmeras... Delphine pensaba en romper su dieta. Danishes, macaroons, palmiers… Delphine was considering breaking her diet.
Incluso se llevó la tostadora, ¡ese hijo de p…! He even took the toaster. That son of a…!

Las Comas (Commas)

The comma is one of the most important punctuation marks in Spanish, but it is often used incorrectly. The primary purpose of a comma is to show a pause. Let’s take a look at the many ways to use a comma in Spanish!

Coma Vocativa(Vocative Comma)

Take a look at the following example:

examples
Ya es hora de comer niños. It’s time to eat children.

Call the grammar police! Or the real police because the person who wrote this is about to eat children! Unless you are reading a Hansel-and-Gretel-type story, this sentence contains a serious grammatical blunder. Let’s find out why!

A vocative is a term of address, usually in the form of a person’s name or title, used to address the listener directly. As the name suggests, a vocative comma is used to separate the vocative from the rest of the sentence.

Let’s take a look at a few examples using the vocative comma!

examples
Ya es hora de comer, niños. It’s time to eat, children.
Ricardo, contéstame, por favor. Ricardo, answer me, please.

Commas with Conjunctions and Adverbial Expressions

We use a comma before adversative conjunctions that provide a contrast between two statements, such as pero(but), más(but), sino(but), and mientras que(whereas).
We use a comma before así que(so), por lo tanto(therefore), and other consecutive/conditional conjunctions.
Do not use a comma before the conjunctions y(and) or o(or).
A comma is used after a wide variety of adverbs, for example: generalmente(generally), por lo general(generally), afortunadamente(fortunately), and finalmente(finally).
We also use a comma after certain adverbial expressions, such as sin embargo(however), no obstante(nevertheless), por el contrario(on the other hand), en cambio(conversely), and en primer lugar(firstly).

Let’s take a look at some examples!

examples
Te quiero ayudar, pero no tengo tiempo. I want to help you, but I don’t have time.
Estaba muy cansada, así que decidí tomar una siesta. I was really tired, so I decided to take a nap.
Perdí mi pasaporte en el tren. Afortunadamente, un hombre lo encontró y se lo entregó a la policía. I lost my passport on the train. Luckily, a man found it and turned it in to the police.
Mi hijo nunca estudia. Sin embargo, saca muy buenas notas. My son never studies. Nevertheless, he gets really good grades.

Separating Clauses with Commas

In Spanish, we often use a comma between an independent clause and a dependent clause (often an adverb or relative clause).

Formulas

dependent adverb clause + comma + independent clause

independent clause + comma + relative clause

Let’s take a look at some examples!

examples
Aunque estaba lloviendo a cántaros, di un paseo. Although it was raining cats and dogs, I went for a walk.
El pueblo tiene un hermoso monasterio, el cual data del siglo XIV. The village has a beautiful monastery, which dates from the 14th century.

¡Ojo!(Careful!) To separate two independent clauses, we use a semicolon instead of a comma. Take another look at the examples in the Punto y Coma section at the start of this article!

Coma Oxford(Oxford Comma): Yes or No?

In English, a comma is used before the conjunctions and/or in a list of three or more items. This is known as the Oxford comma. If you use this style in English, it may be difficult for you to break the habit when writing in Spanish. The Oxford comma is not used in Spanish.

examples
Necesito comprar manzanas, naranjas y duraznos. I need to buy apples, oranges, and peaches.

Puntos de Exclamación e Interrogación(Exclamation and Question Marks)

¡Ojo!(Careful!) A particular feature of Spanish punctuation is that it uses opening exclamation and question marks to frame the exclamation or question which can be a standalone word or phrase, or part of a longer sentence. In the latter case, the opening exclamation or question mark goes just before the relevant part of the sentence.

Take a look at these examples:

examples
Si vuelvo a verlo por aquí, ¡me las va a pagar! If I see him around here again, he's gonna pay!
Yo pienso regalarles algo, ¿y tú? I’m thinking of getting them a present. What about you?
No sé qué aconsejarte, pero realmente, ¿qué es lo peor que podría pasar? I don’t really know what advice to give you, but really, what’s the worst that could happen?