The Animated Book
of SpanishGrammar Reference

Spanish Punctuation

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

Spanish punctuation is mostly like English, with a few differences you'll notice right away: questions and exclamations open with ¿ and ¡, dialogue uses dashes instead of quotation marks, and numbers swap commas and periods.
The main differences between English and Spanish punctuation
EnglishSpanish
QuestionsWhere do you live?¿Dónde vives?
ExclamationsHow nice!¡Qué bonito!
Dialogue“Hi,” she said.—Hola —dijo ella.
Quotations“Goodbye”«Adiós»
Listsred, white, and bluerojo, blanco y azul
Decimals3.53,5
Thousands1,0001.000
On this page

¿ and ¡: opening marks

Questions and exclamations are marked at both ends: an upside-down mark at the start, and a regular one at the end. Both are required, even in casual writing.

  • ¿Dónde vives?

    Where do you live?

  • ¡Qué bonito!

    How nice!

  • ¿Tienes hambre?

    Are you hungry?

The opening mark isn't just decoration. Spanish questions often use the same word order as statements, so ¿ tells you how to read the sentence before you reach the end:

  • Hablas español.

    You speak Spanish.

  • ¿Hablas español?

    Do you speak Spanish?

Around part of a sentence

The marks go around the question or exclamation itself, not the whole sentence. If a sentence starts with something else, the ¿ or ¡ comes in the middle.

  • Si vienes, ¿me avisas?

    If you come, will you let me know?

  • Hablas español, ¿verdad?

    You speak Spanish, right?

  • Oye, ¿tienes un momento?

    Hey, do you have a minute?

  • Y de repente, ¡se fue la luz!

    And suddenly, the power went out!

For something that's both a question and an exclamation, combine them, mirror-image:

  • ¿¡En serio!?

    Seriously?!

  • ¡¿Qué haces aquí?!

    What are you doing here?!

Dialogue: the dash

In books and stories, Spanish marks dialogue with a long dash (—, called a raya) instead of quotation marks. Here's the same exchange written both ways:

English

“Are you coming tonight?” asked Marta.

“I don’t know,” said Luis. “I have to work.”

“Come on, just for a while.”

Spanish

—¿Vienes esta noche? —preguntó Marta.

—No sé —dijo Luis—. Tengo que trabajar.

—Venga, solo un rato.

Quotation marks

To quote someone inside a sentence, Spanish uses quotation marks. In Spain and in formal writing, they're usually the angled kind, « » (comillas angulares). In Latin America and online, English-style “ ” are common too.

  • Me dijo: «Nos vemos mañana».

    He told me, “See you tomorrow.”

  • El cartel decía «Cerrado».

    The sign said “Closed.”

Commas

Commas mostly work like English. The big difference is lists: Spanish never uses a comma before the last y (and) or o (or).

Commas in lists: English and Spanish
EnglishSpanish
bread, milk, and eggspan, leche y huevos
Monday, Tuesday, or Fridaylunes, martes o viernes

  • Compré pan, leche y huevos.

    I bought bread, milk, and eggs.

  • ¿Quieres té, café o agua?

    Do you want tea, coffee, or water?

Like English, Spanish uses a comma to set off the name of the person you're talking to:

  • Hola, María.

    Hi, María.

  • Gracias, chicos.

    Thanks, guys.

Numbers: commas and periods

In most of the Spanish-speaking world, the comma and period trade places in numbers: a comma for decimals, and a period (or a space) for thousands.

How numbers are written in English and Spanish
EnglishSpanish
Decimals3.53,5
Thousands10,00010.000 / 10 000
Prices€9.999,99 €
Percent50%50 %
Ordinals1st, 2nd1.º, 2.ª
Dates12/25/202625/12/2026

Letters and emails

In a letter or email, the greeting ends with a colon, not a comma. The next line starts with a capital letter.

Greetings in letters: English and Spanish
EnglishSpanish
Dear Ana,Querida Ana:
Dear Sir or Madam,Estimados señores:

Common mistakes English speakers make

  1. Leaving off the opening mark

    Incorrect:Dónde vives?
    Correct:¿Dónde vives?

    Every question needs both marks: ¿ at the start and ? at the end.

  2. Starting the question too early

    Incorrect:¿Si vienes, me avisas?
    Correct:Si vienes, ¿me avisas?

    The marks go around the question part only.

  3. Adding a comma before y

    Incorrect:Compré pan, leche, y huevos.
    Correct:Compré pan, leche y huevos.

    Spanish doesn't use a comma before the last item in a list.

  4. Using quotation marks for dialogue

    Sounds unnatural:“Hola”, dijo ella.
    Correct:—Hola —dijo ella.

    In stories, Spanish marks dialogue with dashes.

  5. Using a comma after the greeting

    Sounds unnatural:Querida Ana,
    Correct:Querida Ana:

    Spanish letters and emails put a colon after the greeting.

Questions about Spanish punctuation

Why does Spanish use upside-down question marks?

So you know from the start that a sentence is a question or an exclamation. In Spanish, word order often doesn't change in questions (Hablas español vs ¿Hablas español?), so the opening mark tells you how to read it before you get to the end.

How do you type ¿ and ¡?

On a Mac, press Option + Shift + ? for ¿ and Option + 1 for ¡. On Windows, hold Alt and type 168 for ¿ or 173 for ¡ on the number pad, or add a Spanish keyboard. On a phone, press and hold the ? or ! key.

Do you use quotation marks for dialogue in Spanish?

Not usually. Spanish books mark each line of dialogue with a long dash (—): —Hola —dijo ella. Quotation marks, often the angled kind (« »), are used for quoting what someone said inside a sentence: Me dijo: «Nos vemos mañana».

Does Spanish use a comma or a period for decimals?

Most Spanish-speaking countries use a comma: 3,5 ("three point five"). Mexico, Central America, and a few other countries use a period, as in English: 3.5.

Does Spanish use the Oxford comma?

No. In a list, there's no comma before y or o: rojo, blanco y azul.

Next upCapitalizationLowercase days, months, and nationalities, titles, and accents on capitals.

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