Common Signs and Symbols in English that You should Know:
What these English Symbols are called:
| Symbol | Meaning |
| . | full stop / period |
| , | comma |
| ? | Question mark |
| ! | exclamation mark |
| : | colon |
| ; | semi-colon |
| – | hyphen (dash) |
| & | ampersand |
| / | virgule (forward slash) |
| \ | reversed virgule (backward slash) |
| … | Ellipsis |
| $ | dollar currency |
| € | euro currency |
| @ | at |
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| # | hash |
| ‘ | apostrophe |
| ~ | tilde |
| * | asterisk |
| ´ | acute accent |
| ` | grave accent |
| “ | quotation mark |
| ( ) | left / right parentheses |
| [] | left / right square bracket |
| {} | left / right brace |
| <> | left / right angle bracket |
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What these English symbols are used for?
| Symbol | Meaning |
| & | and |
| | | Vertical Bar / Pipe |
| ~ | approximately / about / more or less |
| @ | At |
| ° | Degree |
| = | equals/is the same as |
| > | greater / better / more than |
| ∞ | Infinity |
| < | less / smaller than |
| – | Minus |
| # | Number |
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| ¶ | Paragraph |
| % | percent |
| + | plus (in addition to) |
| § | Section |
| \ | therefore |
| 24/7 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| 404 | Not Found / I don’t know |
| 2D | Two dimensional |
| 3D | Three dimensional |
| 4D | Four dimensional |
| 4WD | Four wheel drive |
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English Communication Symbols:
| Symbol | Meaning |
| O:-) | Angelic |
| :-D | Big smile |
| :-/ | Confused |
| :-e | Disappointed |
| :-> | Evil grin |
| :-| | Indifferent |
| :-* | Kiss |
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| :-)) | Laughing |
| :-( | Sad |
| :-@ | Screaming |
| :-o | Shocked or surprised |
| :-O | Shouting |
| :-) | Smiling |
| :-Q | Smoking |
| :-P | Thinking |
| :-& | Tongue tied (You don’t know what to say) |
| :-[ | Vampire |
| 8-) | Wide-eyed and smiling / Wearing glasses and smiling |
| ;-) | Winking |
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WORKSHEET
An aster is a type of what?
(a) Punctuation mark
(b) Plant
(c) Fish
(d) Semi-precious stone
In a corporate presentation, what does the symbol “ROI” commonly represent?
(a) Return on Investment
(b) Rate of Income
(c) Risk of Inflation
(d) Revenue Over Invoice
Which symbol is commonly used to separate items in a list?
(a) Comma (,)
(b) Semicolon (;)
(c) Dash (—)
(d) Plus Sign (+)
What does the ellipsis symbol “…” typically indicate in written text?
(a) The end of a sentence.
(b) Omission of words or a trailing-off in speech.
(c) A mathematical operation.
(d) Strong emphasis.
What does the symbol “&” represent in written English?
(a) The end of a sentence.
(b) A mathematical division.
(c) A shorthand for “and.”
(d) A quotation mark.
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What does the symbol “©” typically indicate?
(a) Copyright
(b) Trademark
(c) Registered trademark
(d) Confidential information
When someone uses the symbol “BRB” in an online conversation, what are they indicating?
(a) Be right behind
(b) Be ready, buddy
(c) Be right back
(d) Bring refreshments, please
In a formal academic paper, which symbol is typically used to indicate a citation or reference to another source?
(a) Quotation Marks (“)
(b) Parentheses ( )
(c) Colons (:)
(d) Ampersand (&)
Which punctuation mark is used to indicate the end of a declarative sentence or statement?
(a) Question Mark (?)
(b) Exclamation Mark (!)
(c) Comma (,)
(d) Period (.)
In a formal business letter, which punctuation mark is often placed after the salutation?
(a) Comma (,)
(b) Period (.)
(c) Semicolon (;)
(d) Colon (:)
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Which symbol is often used to create a bullet point list to highlight key points or items?
(a) Plus Sign (+)
(b) Minus Sign (-)
(c) Asterisk (*)
(d) Tilde (~)
Which punctuation mark is used to introduce a list or explanation after a complete sentence?
(a) Period (.)
(b) Comma (,)
(c) Semicolon (;)
(d) Colon (:)
When should you use parentheses in your writing?
(a) To indicate possession.
(b) To enclose direct speech.
(c) To enclose additional information that is not essential to the main point of a sentence.
(d) To end a sentence.
Which of the following symbols is often used to indicate an approximate value or round number in mathematics?
(a) Exclamation Mark (!)
(b) Tilde (~)
(c) Dollar Sign ($)
(d) Ampersand (&)
In formal legal documents, what does the Latin term “et al.” (et alia) typically signify when used with a person’s name?
(a) The person is deceased.
(b) The person is a key witness.
(c) And others.
(d) The person is the primary author.
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What is the primary function of quotation marks in written English?
(a) To indicate strong emphasis.
(b) To enclose direct speech or dialogue.
(c) To introduce a list.
(d) To connect two independent clauses within a sentence.
In casual texting or messaging, what does the symbol “LOL” typically stand for?
(a) Lots of love
(b) Laugh out loud
(c) Lots of luck
(d) Love on-line
What does the symbol “#” represent when used on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram?
(a) A bullet point in a list.
(b) An exclamation of surprise.
(c) A hashtag to categorize or group related content.
(d) A quotation mark.
Which symbol is typically used to indicate that the email has been sent to multiple recipients?
(a) Forward Slash (/)
(b) At Sign (@)
(c) Ampersand (&)
(d) Vertical Bar (|)
What does the symbol “OMG” represent in casual online communication?
(a) Oh my goodness
(b) On my way
(c) Oh, my gosh
(d) One more game
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Which of the following is a common mistake when using apostrophes?
(a) Using an apostrophe to indicate plurals (e.g., mango’s).
(b) Omitting an apostrophe in contractions (e.g., didnt instead of didn’t).
(c) Using an apostrophe to indicate possession (e.g., dogs bowl instead of dog’s bowl).
(d) Using an apostrophe correctly in all instances.
What is a common mistake involving the use of quotation marks?
(a) Placing commas outside of quotation marks (e.g., “The movie”, is interesting).
(b) Using single quotation marks for direct speech (e.g., He said, “Hello”‘).
(c) Using quotation marks to indicate emphasis (e.g., She’s “smart”).
(d) Using quotation marks correctly in all instances.
a vampire symbol, seriously
what it is used for
what does “rsvp” means? I think nobody knews it