Full Stop (.) :Called a period in the US, the full stop marks the end of a sentence. It suggests a long pause in the writing. Comma (,): A comma has two purposes; it can break up a sentence with a short pause between phrases and clauses, or be used to separate items in a list. Semi Colon (;):A semi colon can be used in two ways. It separates items in a list, where each item is made up from several words. More complicatedly, it works to show a pause in a sentence which is greater than a comma, but less than a full stop. This will be where there are two clauses of equal importance next to each other.