Exclamation mark

Appearance and placement

Visually the mark is a vertical stroke with a dot beneath. It is written immediately after the final word or punctuation of an exclamatory sentence without a space: placing a space before it is incorrect. An exclamation mark is normally not followed by a period; when combined with a question it may be paired with a question mark in sequences such as "!?" or "?!" to show surprise plus inquiry, though such combinations are informal.

Common uses

• To end an exclamatory sentence expressing strong emotion or emphasis.
• After an interjection or brief exclamation, for example "Wow!" or "No!" (after an interjection).
• In commands and warnings to add urgency: "Stop!" or "Danger!"
• In advertising, comics and informal writing to convey excitement or loud speech.
• To end a sentence emphatically instead of a neutral period at the end of a sentence.

Technical and symbolic roles

The character has meanings beyond punctuation. In many programming languages the exclamation mark denotes logical negation or a "not" operator; programmers sometimes call it "bang" (not). In mathematics the same glyph is used to denote the factorial function—the product of all positive integers up to a given number—where it appears immediately after a numeral or expression (factorial, see function).

History, variants and etiquette

Historically the mark evolved from medieval manuscript conventions and later typographic practice; its names and usage vary by language and region. Some languages use an inverted mark at the beginning of exclamatory sentences (for example Spanish uses an opening "¡"). Modern keyboards and character sets include the mark as a basic symbol, but its overuse is generally discouraged in academic and most professional contexts. Multiple exclamation marks are common in informal electronic communication to intensify tone, but most editors advise limiting punctuation to preserve clarity and tone.