Punctuation marks are one or two part graphical marks used in writing, denoting tonal progress, pauses, sentence type (syntactic use), abbreviations, et cetera.
Marks used in Slovene include full stops (.), question marks (?), exclamation marks (!), commas (,), semicolons (;), colons (:), dashes (–), hyphens (-), ellipses (...), different types of inverted commas and quotation marks (⟨“...”⟩, ⟨‘...’⟩, ⟨‚...‘⟩, ⟨„...“⟩, ⟨»...«⟩), brackets ((), [], {}) (which are in syntactical use), as well as apostrophes (',’), solidi (/), equal signs (=), and so forth.
Full stop Syntactical use
A full stop (.) is a left-leaning punctuation mark. This means that it 'touches' the preceding word, but is followed by a space.
It is ordinarily used at the end of a neutral declaratory sentence, be it a real sentence with a predicate or a non-sentence. To je bilo včeraj. (This was yesterday.) Včeraj. (Yesterday.)
When a statement is articulated, the pitch is cadent, thus decreased towards the end of such a sentence.
In an indicative compound sentence with the last part an independent clause that does not end in a full stop, the full stop is omitted. Rekli so mi, naj grem, a kam? (They told me to go, but where?) (and not "Rekli so mi, naj grem, a kam?.")
The final punctuation mark of a quoted sentence (with or without inverted commas) within a declaratory sentence is omitted if the quoted sentence is not preceded by a colon. Ko smo hodili po travi, smo opazili prepoved Ne hodi po travi. (When walking on the grass, we noticed the restriction Do not walk on the grass.) Ko smo hodili po travi, smo opazili prepoved: Ne hodi po travi!
A full stop is replaced by a comma in direct speech before the accompanying sentence. "Oh, mar bi bile ostale doma," je zamrmrala Marjeta. ("Oh, they/we might as well have stayed home," muttered Marjeta (Daisy).)
Non-syntactical use
Some abbreviations are, as in American English, always followed by a full stop. dr. (doktor; Dr, doctor); npr. (na primer; e.g., for example, exempli gratia); tj. (to je; this is); l. (leto; year); t.i. (tako imenovani; so-called); itn., itd. (in tako naprej, in tako dalje; etc., et cetera, and so on).
However, other abbreviations are, as in American English, never followed by a full stop. ZDA (Združene države Amerike; USA, United States of America) km (kilometer; km, kilometre) Fe (železo; Fe, iron)
Ordinal numerals are followed by a full stop.
Numbers may be separated by leaning full stops in the following cases: for time of the day Ob 22.15 ('dvaindvajset petnajst' or 'dvaindvajsetih in petnajst minut') se film konča. (At 22.15 (10.15 pm) the film ends.) 22.15 can also be written as 2215 to separate thousands from the rest 1.000.000 (en milijon; one million, 1,000,000) (but more usual is 1 000 000) to show multiplication 3 · 9 (tri krat devet; three times nine) note that in this case, the dot is raised to the line centre and is non-leaning
Dates are written with dots separating the day, month and year. Note that the numerical English dates below are British English; American English switches the month and the day. It is important to realise that the full stop is left-leaning; the space is intentional (yet only few are aware of that). 1. 10. 2003 (prvi deseti dva tisoč tri, prvi oktober dva tisoč tri; the first of October, two thousand and three, 1/10/2003) 25. 6. 1991 (petindvajseti šesti (junij) tisoč devetsto enaindevetdeset; the twenty-fifth of June, nineteen ninety-one, 25/6/1991) 30. maj (trideseti maj; the 30th of May)
If a non-syntactical full stop is at the end of a sentence, it is not usual to append another full stop to it; however, doing so is not incorrect. Prodajam časopise, avtobusne žetone, zobne ščetke itd. (I sell newspapers, bus tokens, toothbrushes, etc.) Prodajam časopise, avtobusne žetone, zobne ščetke itd..
Ellipsis Syntactical use
An ellipsis (in Slovene, literally 'three dots') (...) is a non-leaning punctuation mark. It expresses omission of words. Nekaj sem govorila ... (I was saying something ...) ... kaj to ni res? (... is this not true?) Heh ... česa vsega ne pove. (Heh ... whatever he/she says.) Ja ... in? (Yes ... so?) Saj bi šel, pa ... (I/He would go, but ...) (an alternative is to write this thus: "Saj bi šel, pa –)
Any other punctuation may or may not be appended; a full stop is usually (but not always) omitted, but other punctuation normally remains: Da … or Da …. (Yes …) O, a tako je bilo …? (Oh, it was so …?)
When emphasising that whatever has been left out is a subsequent omission not performed by the original author, the ellipsis is enclosed in round or square brackets ((), []), or, more often, in solidi (//). The original sentence in full: "Nekaj mi šepeta, nekaj točno določenega, skoraj čutiti bi se dalo, da gre ta šolska ura h koncu." (Something is whispering to me, something exactly defined, it can almost be felt, that this period is nearing completion.) Nekaj mi šepeta /.../ da gre ta šolska ura h koncu. (Something is whispering to me /.../ that this period is nearing completion.)
An ellipsis may indicate an inserted sentence, though a dash is more often used in such cases: Lepo je bilo ... kako tudi ne? ..., saj je dež nežno padal, mi pa smo tesno drug ob drugem ležali ob kaminu. (It was nice ... how wouldn't it be? ... for the rain was gently falling, and we were lying closely to one another near the fireplace.) Lepo je bilo – kako tudi ne? –, saj je dež nežno padal, mi pa smo tesno drug ob drugem ležali ob kaminu.
An ellipsis usually indicates pausing or abrupt interruption. When used as a sentence closing punctuation mark, the pitch is cadent, thus decreased towards the end of such a sentence, or semi-cadent, indicating a half-finished thought, or there is no change in pitch.
Non-syntactical use
A non-syntactical ellipsis is left-leaning, and expresses omission of a word part.
Otorinola... – ne vem naprej. (Otorhinola... – I don't know further.) (probably otorinolaringolog; otorhinolaryngologist) Tristo kosmatih med... (Three hundred hairy be...) ("Tristo kosmatih medvedov" (Three hundred hairy bears) is a traditional – and one of the few present in Slovene – profanity, though rather innocent and extremely seldom used.)
Exclamation mark Syntactical use
An exclamation mark (!) is a left-leaning punctuation mark. It is used as a closing punctuation mark of emphatic sentences and clauses, and as a non-closing punctuation mark finishing inserted sentences. They are typical of imperative mood, but only if emotionally charged.
Gregor, utihni! (Gregor, shut up!) Mojbog! (My god!) Na pomoč! (Help!) Pleši, pleši, dokler ti petke dopuste! (Dance, dance, as long as your shoe heels allow for that!) To se mi je zdela odlična ideja! (That I thought a marvellous idea!) Spoštovani! (Respected! (at the beginning of a letter, though more usual is "Spoštovani,")) Ubil te bom! (I shall kill you!) Če mi še kdaj izustiš kaj takega ...! (If you ever say something like that again ...!) Mnogo let nazaj – joj, da bi le že pozabila na to! – sem živela na kmetiji. (Many years ago – oh, if only I should forget this already! – I lived on a farm.) Reci mu vendar, naj pride domov! (Tell him to come home! – the exclamation mark is likely bound to 'come home', however, and not 'tell') Zrecitiraj Kons V! (Recite Kons V!) (But: "Zrecitiraj: Kons V.") "Gremo!" je vzkliknila Janja. ("Let's go!" exclaimed Janja.)
See the note on the use of the combination with a question mark below under question mark. One may use the combination !! (or even more exclamation marks) to express further exclamatory mood.
Kaj?! (What?!) Izgini!! (Get lost!!)
Non-syntactical use
An exclamation mark may be used for emphasis of a certain point in a text. Morda je to res, a emancipacijo (!) testov smo pričakovali. (Perhaps that is true, but the emancipation (!) of tests has been expected. – used to emphasise a word used, which should probably be evalvacijo (evaluation)) Nuna (!) je strastno govorila o umetnosti ljubljenja. (The nun (!) passionately talked about the art of making love.)
Question mark Syntactical use
A question mark (?) is a left-leaning punctuation mark. It is used in single clause sentences and in compound sentences in which the independent clause expresses enquiries.
Si res želiš, Ana, dobiti enojko? (Do you, Ana, really wish to get a one (the worst grade at school)?) Tukaj? (Here?) Oh, kaj res? (Oh, really? (in a bored tone)) Rok, kam greš? (Rok, whither are you going? (normally, the English would say 'Where', but it is important to distinguish between whither (kam) and where (kje) in Slovene)) Pogovarjali smo se, bilo je zelo zanimivo, potem pa je Luka nenadoma rekel – uganeš kaj? (We had been talking, it had been very interesting, but then Luka suddenly said – guess what?) "Je to res, Urša?" je zavpil professor. ("Is this true, Urša?" shouted the professor.)
When a question without a question word or with ali, or with ?? or ?! is articulated, the pitch is anticadent, thus increased towards the end of such a sentence. Otherwise, the pitch is cadent, thus decreased towards the end of such a sentence.
If the independent clause of a sentence is not interrogative, the sentence ends with a full stop or an exclamation mark. This is similar to reported speech in English. Vprašali so me, če grem peš ali s taksijem. (They asked me if I should walk or go by taxi.) O čem se gre predstava, tega pač ne vem. (What the performance is about, that I just don't know. (with the implied meaning that the original question is stupid, for how am I to know?))
After a colon, the clause keeps its own punctuation mark. Čigav je že izrek: Užij dan. (Whose is, again, the saying, Seize the day?) This sentence can also be written as "Čigav je že izrek Užij dan?" or "Čigav je že izrek 'Užij dan'?".
A question mark need not be a sentence terminating punctuation mark; it may be used in inserted sentences. Govorim o hibridizaciji sp² – to veš, kaj je? – ogljikovega atoma v tej organski molekuli. (I am talking about the sp² hybridisation – do you know what this is? – of the carbon atom in this organic molecule.)
In certain cases, the question mark may be doubled (for emphasis of a repeated question), or it may be combined with an exclamation mark in emphatic and emotional contexts. Kako narediš to? Kako?? (How do you do this? How??) Le kako si lahko dovoliš kaj takega?! (However can you allow yourself something like that?!)
Non-syntactical use
A question mark can be used non-syntactically if it denotes doubt. Dejali so, da se je nafta (?) razlila. (They have said that oil (?) has spilt.) (the speaker is not certain whether it was oil or something else, or perhaps if this is indeed how the word is spelt)
Colon Syntactical use
A colon (:) is a left-leaning punctuation mark. It is used in various ways as described below.
1. to introduce direct speech after an accompanying sentence Zadregetala je od same jeze: "Kaj? Tako drago?" (She shivered with pure anger: "What? So expensive?") Kot v zboru so dejali: Seveda. (As though in a choir they said: Naturally.) Kot v zboru so dejali: "Seveda." Estragon: Pejva. (Estragon: Let's go.) (from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (Čakajoč Godota)) 2. in enumeration, expatiation or explanation So stvari, o katerih ne vem popolnoma nič: fiziologija, oftalmologíja, socialna antropologija. (There are things I know absolutely nothing about: physiology, ophthalmology, social anthropology.) Potrebuje se: moka, mleko, med in sojina omaka. (Needed are: flour, milk, honey and soya sauce.) – this may also be written as "Potrebuje se moka, mleko, med in sojina omaka." Zahvaliti se želim še posebej: (I wish to thank especially:) Jožetu, Pulheriji, Cvetki, Cirilu. Sodelujemo vsi: to vključuje tudi tebe, Metka. (Everyone participates: this includes you, Metka.)