Punctuation and mechanics
Punctuating, and writing numbers, capitals and quotation marks, the French way. The rules differ from English in small, visible ways.
Punctuation
Use French quotation marks, « comme ceci », with a space inside each. In Canadian usage, the colon has a space before it; the semicolon, question mark and exclamation mark usually do not. A comma never separates a subject from its verb.
A comma usually sets off a phrase moved to the head of the sentence (Dans ce contexte, …) and comes before mais, but not before an et joining two short clauses.
Numbers, capitals and dates
Digits group in threes with a space, and the decimal marker is a comma: 1 500 000 $, 3,5 %. The dollar sign follows the number, after a space. The time is written 14 h 30.
Days and months take no capital: le lundi 3 mars. An organization’s name takes a capital on its first word (l’Agence du revenu du Canada), but a department’s generic word does not: le ministère des Finances.
Examples
Instead of Le budget s’élève à $1,500,000.
Write Le budget s’élève à 1 500 000 $.
A space groups the digits, and the symbol follows the number.
Instead of La réunion aura lieu le Lundi 3 Mars à 14:30.
Write La réunion aura lieu le lundi 3 mars à 14 h 30.
No capital on days and months, and the hour is written with h.
Instead of La directrice a écrit: "le dossier est prioritaire".
Write La directrice a écrit : « Le dossier est prioritaire. »
A space before the colon, French quotation marks, and a capital to open the quoted sentence.
Instead of Les employés du secteur, ont reçu la note.
Write Les employés du secteur ont reçu la note.
No comma between the subject and its verb.
Instead of Le taux a augmenté de 3.5%.
Write Le taux a augmenté de 3,5 %.
A decimal comma, and a space before %.