Properly Punctuated: Slash, /

Posted February 28, 2015 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Properly Punctuated, Self-Editing, Writing

Revised as of
19 Mar 2023

Most of us know the slash — grammar-wise! — as the forward slash and use it frequently when typing in an Internet address, when we can’t decide if it’s and/or or he/she, as a shorthand for calendar dates, and let’s not forget that per.

Who knew such a simple punctuation mark could perform so many other functions as well?

The Properly Punctuated explores . . .

. . . the proper use of quotation marks, commas, semicolons, colons, ellipsis, etc., including how to properly mark dialog, ahem. As Properly Punctuated is in no way complete, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on punctuation with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.

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Slash, /

Punctuation: /

The forward slash has several purposes:

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Joins Words:
Shorthand

Demonstrate Pronunciation
Indicate Alternative Spellings
Indicate a Calendar Year Range
Mathematics
Poetry Line Breaks
Website Address

A.k.a. forward slash, slant, solidus, virgule

Joins Words

And

Rule: A technical shorthand for and

Caution: Include a blank space on either side of a / if using between compound words. Also see the rule on line breaks.

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Between Single Words	Between Compound Words
an insertion/deletion mutation a Jekyll/Hyde personality	World War I / World War II

Either / Or

Rule: Joins two words or phrases and means either, or, or both (Burckmyer, 157).

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The tourists use buses/taxis to get around.
he/she
s/he
his/her
and/or

Shorthand

Calendar Date

Rule: An informal use with dates, although its usage can be confusing between countries as Canadians and Europeans place the date before the month.

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7/10/92
12/4/1932

Per

Rule: Shorthand for per

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51 km/sec
$275/week

Replaces Period in Abbreviations

Rule: Replaces the period in certain abbreviations.

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a/c
c/o
w/
w/o

Demonstrate Pronunciation

Definition: Dictionaries frequently use slashes on either side of a word to demonstrate how the word is pronounced. The word is usually written phonetically. Other symbols may include brackets, backslashes, parentheses, etc.

Rule: Do not include a space after the first slash, but do include a space after the following slash.

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/slaSH/
/dikSHəˌnerē/
/ˈsemēˌkōlan/

Indicate Alternative Spellings

Rule: Alternative spellings for names or words.

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Hercules/Heracles
Margaret/Meg/Maggie
gray/grey

Indicate a Calendar Year Range

Rule: Replaces or includes the en dash to indicate the last part of one year and the first part of the next.

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1975/6
The guild had a nice turnout for its shows in 2004/5–2008/9.

Mathematics

Rule: Using / with numbers to indicate divided by if it isn’t possible to use a fraction bar, &frac78;

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3/4
173 / 24

Poetry Line Breaks

Rule: Indicates the end of a line of poetry when quoted in regular text. Be sure to include a blank space on each side of the slash, so the reader isn’t confused.

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But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. / Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Website Address

Rule: Used as single or double slashes in URLs, website addresses. A slash may also be used to indicate a computer directory path, depending upon the operating system (Also see backslash).

Line breaks should be placed AFTER a slash; never place a line break between a pair of slashes.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Properly Punctuated posts on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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