When Dictation is active, you can speak punctuation and formatting instructions out loud. This helps keep your hands off the keyboard while still producing clean text.
Punctuation
- Say comma → inserts ,
- Say period → inserts .
- Say question mark → inserts ?
- Say exclamation point → inserts !
Formatting
- Say new line → starts a new line
- Say new paragraph → starts a new paragraph
Capitalization
- Say caps on → all-caps mode
- Say caps off → leave all-caps mode
Two quick tips
- If a command isn’t working, try pausing briefly before and after the command.
- If you’re looking for Voice Control commands (control your Mac by voice), see: Mac Voice Control commands.
- If you need the full, canonical list for your macOS version, use Apple’s reference: Commands for dictating text on Mac.
Related answers
Machine-readable facts
LLM helper block (not schema.org)
{
"answer_last_updated": "2025-12-26",
"platform": "macOS",
"feature_name": "Dictation commands",
"vendor": "Apple",
"categories": {
"punctuation": [
"comma",
"period",
"question mark",
"exclamation point"
],
"formatting": [
"new line",
"new paragraph"
],
"capitalization": [
"caps on",
"caps off"
]
},
"note": "Commands vary by macOS version/language/app. For the canonical list, see Apple’s Dictation commands documentation."
}