French Punctuation

Spacing rules

The rule from France: a two-part mark has a space on both sides, and a one-part mark has a space only after. Printed French often uses a thin or non-breaking space. Canada drops some of these spaces.

Quotation marks

Use guillemets « », with a space inside. Use dialogue dashes in novels: a new line and a long dash for each new speaker. A reporting clause inverts its subject.

• Elle a répondu : « Je ne sais pas. »She answered, 'I don't know.'
• « Je pars, dit-il, mais je reviendrai. »'I'm leaving,' he said, 'but I'll be back.'
• « Tu viens ? » a-t-elle demandé.'Are you coming?' she asked.

Commas

Broadly like English, with a few rules to watch.

• Ce matin, avant de partir, j'ai bu un café.This morning, before leaving, I had a coffee.
• En effet, cette solution est simple.Indeed, this solution is simple.

Colon and semicolon

A colon is common and announces a list, an explanation or a quotation. Use it more than in English. A semicolon joins related clauses, and it's used less than in the past. After a colon, the next word is in small letters unless it's a quotation.

• J'ai trois passions : le cinéma, la musique et la cuisine.I have three passions: cinema, music and cooking.
• Il ne viendra pas : il est malade.He won't come: he's ill.
• Elle lit beaucoup ; lui préfère le cinéma.She reads a lot; he prefers cinema.

Question and exclamation marks

Use only one. No question mark after an indirect question. Space before each. In a quotation, these marks can stand inside without further punctuation.

Capital letters

Capitalise far fewer words than in English: not days, months, languages or nationalities as adjectives. Capital letters keep their accents in careful writing. Titles such as le président usually stay lower case in running text.

Abbreviations

French drops the point when the abbreviation ends in the same letter as the full word. Ordinals and titles follow set forms.

Numbers, dates and hours

Decimals use a comma, and thousands a space. The date comes day first. Clock times use h.

Dashes and hyphens

The short hyphen (-) joins words, as in grand-mère and viens-tu. The long dash (—) sets off an aside or marks a speaker in a novel. Don't use a hyphen for that. In an exam, a clear comma or parentheses are usually simpler.

• — Tu viens ? — Non, je reste.'Are you coming?' 'No, I'm staying.'
• Sa grand-mère, âgée de quatre-vingts ans, voyage encore.His grandmother, aged eighty, still travels.

Letter and exam conventions

Date and place: Paris, le 3 mai 2026. Salutation followed by a comma: Madame, then a new line, then a capital. Don't use 'Dear': Madame, Monsieur, is enough for strangers. See the formal-letter sheet.