📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 15 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 3 · La frase cuidada
Puntuar una frase larga
Module 12 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 15 of 30: Spanish punctuation does real grammatical work. On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
el punto y coma
the semicolon
ehl POON-toh ee KOH-mah
los dos puntos
the colon
lohs dohs POON-tohs
anunciar lo que sigue
to announce what follows
ah-noon-SYAR loh keh SEE-geh
las comillasplural
the quotation marks
lahs koh-MEE-yahs
la raya
the dash
lah RRAH-yah
la puntuación
punctuation
lah poon-twah-SYOHN
traducido
translated
trah-doo-SEE-doh
tipográfico
typographical
tee-poh-GRAH-fee-koh
solo
alone
SOH-loh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Spanish punctuation does real grammatical work. The punto y coma joins two full sentences that belong together; the dos puntos announces what follows — an explanation, a list, a quotation. The raya (—) sets off an aside; the comillas «» quote.
Y también · And also
Two habits to adopt: no comma ever between a subject and its verb, however long the subject; and the opening ¿ and ¡ go exactly where the question or exclamation starts, which may be mid-sentence: Si llueve, ¿qué hacemos?
Ojo · Watch out
Never a comma between subject and verb, however long the subject. The ¿ goes where the question starts, even mid-sentence: si llueve, ¿qué hacemos? And since 2010 solo needs no accent, only or alone.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with el punto y coma.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 15 in Module 12 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.