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# Punctuation

In Dictation mode, Spelling mode, and Numbers mode, you can say the names of punctuation marks that Dragon Dictate should type.

There is a broad difference between saying a punctuation mark in Dictation mode and saying it in Spelling or Numbers mode:

> In Spelling or Numbers mode, Dragon Dictate types the symbol and that’s all.

> But in Dictation mode, Dragon Dictate will attempt to insert intelligent automatic spacing. (For example, it will probably put a space before “open quote” and after “close quote”.) You may be able to prevent this by switching No Space on. But for finest control, use Spelling mode.

Also, Spelling mode has a larger repertory of punctuation marks (and of other things you can say to type them, such as the names of letters and numbers).

### Spaces

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Space Bar | `` | All three | Space character
New Line Next Line | `` | All three | Single return character
New Paragraph Next Paragraph | `` | All three | Double return character
Tab Key | `` | All three | Tab character

### Stops

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Period | `.` | All three | US dialect only
Full Stop Dot | `.` | All three | UK dialect only
Period Paragraph | `.` | Dictation, Numbers | Full stop or period followed by double return character
Exclamation Mark | `!` | All three |
Exclamation Point | `!` | All three | US dialect only
Inverted Exclamation Point | `¡` | Dictation, Spelling |
Inverted Exclamation Mark | `¡` | Spelling |
Question Mark | `?` | All three |
Inverted Question Mark | `¿` | Dictation, Spelling |

### Pauses and Joins

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Hyphen | `-` | All three | No space before or after in Dictation mode
Soft Hyphen | `` | Spelling | Unicode 173, optional hyphen (not every application interprets this correctly)
Comma | `,` | All three |
Semicolon | `;` | All three |
Colon Colon Mark (Dictation mode only) | `:` | All three |
Center Dot Middle Dot (Spelling mode only) | `·` | Dictation, Spelling |
Dash | `--` | Dictation, Spelling | Two hyphens
Em-Dash | `---` | Dictation | Three hyphens
En-Dash | `--` | Dictation | Two hyphens
Em-Dash | `—` | Spelling | Unicode 8212, a true em-dash
En-Dash | `–` | Spelling | Unicode 8211, a true en-dash

### Apostrophe and Quotes

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Apostrophe | `'` | Dictation, Spelling | Straight apostrophe (no preceding space)
Apostrophe-Ess | `'s` | Dictation, Spelling | Straight apostrophe
Open Single Quote Begin Single Quote | `‘` | Spelling | Left curly single quote
Close Single Quote End Single Quote | `’` | Spelling | Right curly single quote
Single Quote | `'` | Spelling | Straight single quote
Open Single Quote Begin Single Quote | `'` | Dictation | Straight single quote (preceding space)
Close Single Quote End Single Quote | `'` | Dictation | Straight single quote (no preceding space, like apostrophe)
Open Quote Begin Quote | `“` | Spelling | Left curly double quote
Close Quote End Quote | `”` | Spelling | Right curly double quote
Quote Quotation Marks | `"` | Spelling | Straight double quote
Open Quote Open Quotes Begin Quote Begin Quotes Open Double Quote Open Double Quotes Begin Double Quote Begin Double Quotes | `"` | Dictation | Straight double quote (preceding space)
Close Quote Close Quotes End Quote End Quotes Close Double Quote Close Double Quotes End Double Quote End Double Quotes | `"` | Dictation | Straight double quote (no preceding space)
Open Euro Quote Open Euro Quotes | `«` | Dictation, Spelling |
Close Euro Quote Close Euro Quotes | `»` | Dictation, Spelling |
Begin Angle Quote Begin Angle Quotes Open Angle Quote Open Angle Quotes | `«` | Spelling |
End Angle Quote End Angle Quotes Close Angle Quote Close Angle Quotes | `»` | Spelling |

### Enclosures

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Open Paren Left Paren Open Parenthesis Left Parenthesis | `(` | All three |
Close Paren Right Paren Close Parenthesis Right parenthesis | `)` | All three |
Open Bracket Left Bracket | `(` | Dictation, Spelling | Non-US dialects, like parenthesis
Close Bracket Right Bracket | `)` | Dictation, Spelling | Non-US dialects, like parenthesis
Open Bracket Left Bracket | `[` | Dictation, Spelling | US dialect, like square bracket
Close Bracket Right Bracket | `]` | Dictation, Spelling | US dialect, like square bracket
Open Square Bracket Left Square Bracket | `[` | Dictation, Spelling |
Close Square Bracket Right Square Bracket | `]` | Dictation, Spelling |
Open Brace Left Brace Open Curly Brace Left Curly Brace Open Curly Bracket Left Curly Bracket | `{` | All three |
Close Brace Right Brace Close Curly Brace Right Curly Brace Close Curly Bracket Right Curly Bracket | `}` | All three |
Open Angle Bracket Left Angle Bracket | `<` | Dictation |
Close Angle Bracket Right Angle Bracket | `>` | Dictation |
Open Angle Bracket Left Angle Bracket | `‹` | Spelling | Unicode 8249, left angle quote
Close Angle Bracket Right Angle Bracket | `›` | Spelling | Unicode 8250, right angle quote

### Quotation Marks

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Put Quotes Around The Word Put Quotes Around The Selection Put Quotes Around The Words X Through Y | "text" “selected text“ “text X through text Y” | Dictation |
Put Double Quotes Around The Word Put Double Quotes Around The Selection Put Double Quotes Around The Words X Through Y | “text” “selected text“ “text X through text Y” | Dictation |
Put Quotation Marks Around The Word Put Quotation Marks Around The Selection Put Quotation Marks Around The Words X Through Y | “text” “selected text“ “text X through text Y” | Dictation |
Put Single Quotes Around The Word Put Single Quotes Around The Selection Put Single Quotes Around The Words X Through Y | ‘text’ ’selected text’ ‘text X through text Y’ | Dictation |
Put Straight Quotes Around The Word Put Straight Quotes Around The Selection Put Straight Quotes Around The Words X Through Y | "text" "selected text" "text X through text Y" | Dictation |
Put Single Straight Quotes Around The Word Put Single Straight Quotes Around The Selection Put Single Straight Quotes Around The Words X Through Y | 'text' 'selected text' 'text X through text Y' | Dictation |
Put Parentheses Around The Word Put Parentheses Around The Selection Put Parentheses Around The Words X Through Y | (text) (selected text) (text X through text Y) | Dictation |
Put Curly Brackets Around The Word Put Curly Brackets Around The Selection Put Curly Brackets Around The Words X Through Y | {text} {selected text} {text X through text Y} | Dictation |
Put Braces Around The Word Put Braces Around The Selection Put Braces Around The Words X Through Y | {text} {selected text} {text X through text Y} | Dictation |
Put Square Brackets Around The Word Put Square Brackets Around The Selection Put Square Brackets Around The Words X Through Y | [text] [selected text] [text X through text Y] | Dictation |
Put Brackets Around The Word Put Brackets Around The Selection Put Brackets Around The Words X Through Y | [text] [selected text] [text X through text Y] | Dictation |
Put Angle Brackets Around The Word Put Angle Brackets Around The Selection Put Angle Brackets Around The Words X Through Y | `<`text`>` `<`selected text`>` `<`text X through text Y`>` | Dictation |
Spanish Exclamation Marks Around The Word Spanish Exclamation Marks Around The Selection Spanish Exclamation Marks The Words X Through Y | ¡text! ¡selected text! ¡text X through text Y! | Dictation |
Put Spanish Question Marks Around The Word Put Spanish Question Marks Around The Selection Put Spanish Question Marks Around The Words X Through Y | ¿text? ¿selected text? ¿text X through text Y? | Dictation |

### Money

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Cents Sign Cent (Spelling mode only) | `¢` | All three |
Dollar Sign Dollar (Spelling mode only) | `$` | All three |
Sterling Sign Sterling | `£` | Spelling |
Pound Sterling Sign | `£` | Dictation | US dialect
Pound Sign | `£` | Dictation, Spelling | Non-US dialects
Yen Sign Yen (Spelling mode only) | `¥` | Dictation, Spelling |
Euro Sign Euro (Spelling mode only) | `€` | Dictation, Spelling |
Guilder Sign Guilder (Spelling mode only) | `ƒ` | Dictation, Spelling |

### Arithmetic

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Equals Sign Equal (Spelling mode only) | `=` | Dictation, Spelling |
Plus Sign Plus (Spelling mode only) | `+` | All three |
Minus Sign | `-` | All three |
Plus or Minus Sign Plus or Minus (Spelling mode only) | `±` | Dictation, Spelling |
Plus Minus Sign Plus Minus | `±` | Spelling |
Multiplication Sign | `×` | Dictation |
Multiply Sign Multiply Times sign Times | `×` | Spelling |
Division Sign | `÷` | Dictation, Spelling |
Divide Sign Divide | `÷` | Spelling |
Less Than Sign Less Than (Spelling mode only) | `<` | Dictation, Spelling |
Greater Than Sign Greater Than (Spelling mode only) | `>` | Dictation, Spelling |
Percent Sign Percent (Spelling mode only) | `%` | All three |
Point | `.` | Dictation, Spelling |
Logical Not Sign Logical Not (Spelling mode only) | `¬` | Dictation, Spelling |
Not Sign Not | `¬` | Spelling |
Superscript One | `¹` | Dictation, Spelling |
Superscript Two | `²` | Dictation, Spelling |
Squared Square | `²` | Spelling |
Superscript Three | `³` | Dictation, Spelling |
Cubed Cube | `³` | Spelling |
One-Half Sign | `½` | Dictation, Spelling |
Half Sign Half One Half | `½` | Spelling |
One-Quarter Sign | `¼` | Dictation, Spelling |
Quarter Sign Quarter One Quarter | `¼` | Spelling |
Three Quarters Sign | `¾` | Dictation, Spelling |
Three Quarters | `¾` | Spelling |

### Octothorpe

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Pound Sign Pound (Spelling mode only) | `#` | Dictation, Spelling | US dialect only
Number Sign Number (Spelling mode only) | `#` | Dictation, Spelling | US dialect only
Hash Sign Hash (Spelling mode only) Hash Mark (Spelling mode only) | `#` | Dictation, Spelling | In Dictation mode, works only in non-US dialects
Sharp Sign Sharp (Spelling mode only) | `#` | Dictation, Spelling | In Dictation mode, works only in non-US dialects

### Other Common Symbols

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Ampersand And-Sign Ampersand Sign (Spelling mode only) | `&` | Dictation, Spelling |
Asterisk Star (Spelling mode only) | `*` | All three |
At Sign At (Spelling mode only) | `@` | Dictation, Spelling |
Backslash | `\` | Dictation, Spelling |
Backquote Backtick (Dictation mode only) | ``` | Dictation, Spelling |
Caret Hat (Spelling mode only) | `^` | Dictation, Spelling |
Copyright Sign Copyright (Spelling mode only) | `©` | Dictation, Spelling |
Degree Sign Degree (Spelling mode only) | `°` | Dictation, Spelling |
Ellipsis Dot-Dot-Dot | `...` | Dictation, Numbers | Three dots
Ellipsis | `…` | Spelling | Unicode 8230, true ellipsis mark
Forward Slash Slash | `/` | All three |
Large Center Dot | `•` | Dictation | Unicode 8226, bullet
Logical And | `&&` | Dictation |
Logical Or | `||` | Dictation |
Optional Ess | `(s)` | Dictation |
Paragraph Sign Paragraph (Spelling mode only) | `¶` | Dictation, Spelling |
Registered Sign Registered (Spelling mode only) | `®` | Dictation, Spelling |
Registered Trademark Sign Registered Trademark | `®` | Spelling |
Section Sign Section (Spelling mode only) | `§` | Dictation, Spelling |
Tilde | `~` | Dictation, Spelling |
Trademark Sign Trademark (Spelling mode only) | `™` | Dictation, Spelling |
Underscore | `_` | All three |
Vertical Bar Bar (Spelling mode only) | `|` | Dictation, Spelling |

### Rarities

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Alternate Comma | `‚` | Spelling | Unicode 8218, lowered single quote
Angstrom | `å` | Spelling |
Broken Vertical Bar | `¦` | Spelling |
Dagger | `†` | Spelling |
Single Dagger Sign | `†` | Dictation |
Double Comma | `„` | Dictation, Spelling | Unicode 8222, lowered double quote
Double Dagger | `‡` | Spelling |
Double Dagger Sign | `‡` | Dictation |
Feminine Ordinal | `ª` | Spelling |
Feminine Ordinal Sign | `ª` | Dictation |
Macron Sign Macron (Spelling mode only) | `¯` | Dictation, Spelling |
Masculine Ordinal | `º` | Spelling |
Greek Mu | `µ` | Dictation, Spelling |
Micro | `µ` | Spelling |
Micron Micro Sign | `µ` | Dictation |
Per Thousand Permille | `‰` | Spelling |
Permille Sign | `‰` | Dictation |

### Smilies

What You Say | Result | Mode | Comments
--- | --- | --- | ---
Smiley Face Smiley | `:-)` | Dictation |
Frowny Face Frowny | `:-(` | Dictation |
Winky Face Winky | `;-)` | Dictation |
Laughing Face | `:oD` | Dictation |
Winky Laughing Face | `;oD` | Dictation |