At a glance
- New line: say “new line”. New paragraph: say “new paragraph”. Both appear after you finish dictating.
- Punctuation: say the mark’s name: “comma”, “period”, “question mark”, “semicolon”.
- Always available: Apple says the commands below work any time you’re dictating text. No setup.
- No editing commands: standard Dictation can’t “delete that” or “select”. That needs Voice Control, which turns standard Dictation off.
- Applies to: macOS Tahoe 26.
How to say punctuation and new lines in Mac Dictation
Start Dictation (press the Microphone key, use your Dictation shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation), then say the command as part of your sentence. “Thanks for the update comma see you Monday period new paragraph” types “Thanks for the update, see you Monday.” and starts a new paragraph. Dictation isn’t on yet? See how to turn on Dictation on Mac.
In supported languages, Dictation also adds commas, periods and question marks by itself. If you’d rather say every mark, turn off Auto-punctuation in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation.
Punctuation
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| period / point / dot / full stop | . |
| comma | , |
| question mark | ? |
| exclamation mark | ! |
| colon | : |
| semicolon | ; |
| apostrophe | ’ |
| dash | – |
| hyphen | - |
| ellipsis | … |
| quote / end quote | “ ” |
| begin single quote / end single quote | ‘ ’ |
| open parenthesis / close parenthesis | ( ) |
| open square bracket / close square bracket | [ ] |
| open brace / close brace | { } |
| open angle bracket / close angle bracket | < > |
Formatting and capitalization
| Say | What it does |
|---|---|
| new line | Starts a new line |
| new paragraph | Starts a new paragraph |
| tab key | Moves the cursor to the next tab stop |
| numeral | Formats the next phrase as a number |
| roman numeral | Formats the next phrase as a Roman numeral |
| no space on / no space off | Next phrase without spaces / back to normal spacing |
| caps on / caps off | Next phrase in Title Case / back to normal |
| all caps | Next word in ALL CAPS |
| all caps on / all caps off | Next phrase in ALL CAPS / back to normal |
Typography, math and currency
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| ampersand | & |
| asterisk | * |
| at sign | @ |
| hashtag / pound sign | # |
| percent sign | % |
| underscore | _ |
| forward slash / backslash | / \ |
| vertical bar | | |
| caret | ^ |
| degree sign | ° |
| center dot / large center dot | ・ ● |
| equal sign | = |
| plus sign / minus sign | + - |
| multiplication sign | x |
| greater than sign / less than sign | > < |
| dollar sign / cent sign | $ ¢ |
| pound sterling sign / euro sign / yen sign | £ € ¥ |
Emoticons, trademarks and emoji
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| smiley face | :-) |
| frowny face | :-( |
| winky face | ;-) |
| cross-eyed laughing face | XD |
| copyright sign | © |
| registered sign | ® |
| trademark sign | ™ |
| “heart emoji”, “car emoji” | The emoji (only in some languages) |
Can you edit text by voice with Mac Dictation?
No. Apple’s Dictation command list has no editing commands: no “delete that”, no “select”, no “undo”. The built-in way to fix a mistake is visual. Words Dictation wasn’t sure about are underlined in blue; click one and pick an alternative, or type or dictate the correct text.
If you need to edit and navigate by voice, that’s Voice Control, an accessibility feature. Turn it on in System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control. Some examples from Apple:
- “Replace cat with dog” swaps a word in your text.
- “Show numbers” labels lines and words, then “Delete” or “Uppercase” followed by a number acts on that item.
- “Spelling mode” enters text letter by letter; “Command mode” listens only for commands; “Dictation mode” goes back to word-by-word dictation.
- “Show commands” lists what you can say right now. “Stop listening” and “Start listening” pause and resume.
The trade-off: when Voice Control is on, standard macOS Dictation isn’t available. You dictate through Voice Control instead. If Dictation suddenly stopped responding after you tried Voice Control, that’s why; see Mac Dictation not working. Voice Control’s full command list is in System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control > Commands.
| Feature | Dictation | Voice Control |
|---|---|---|
| Punctuation and formatting commands | Yes | Yes |
| Edit, select and replace by voice | No | Yes |
| Control apps and click buttons | No | Yes |
| Where to turn it on | Keyboard > Dictation | Accessibility > Voice Control |
| Can both be on at once? | No. Voice Control on means standard Dictation is off. | |
Tips and version notes
- New line looks missing? Apple notes that “new line” and “new paragraph” appear only after you finish dictating.
- Stop Dictation with Escape, the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut. It also stops on its own after 30 seconds without speech. On macOS 13 Ventura you could also press Return or click Done.
- Keep typing: on Apple silicon you can type without stopping Dictation.
- Older macOS (13–15): Dictation lives in the same place, System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation.
When built-in Dictation isn’t enough
Apple’s commands are great for short notes. If you write long messages and spend more time fixing text than speaking it, a dedicated app can help. VybeScript is a paid Mac app ($99 once or $39 a year) that takes a different approach:
- No commands to memorize for lists: the Polish and Formal styles turn spoken lists into bullets and steps into numbered lists.
- Clean removes “um”, “uh” and false starts. Clean, Polish and Formal need macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence on.
- Vocabulary corrections for names and jargon Dictation keeps getting wrong.
- Runs on your Mac, in any app, in English and Spanish.
- To be clear: VybeScript has no voice commands for editing or controlling your Mac. For that, Voice Control is the right tool.
See pricing, or compare options in the best dictation apps for Mac.
Sources: Apple, Commands for dictating text on Mac, Use Dictation on Mac and Use Voice Control commands, checked 2026-10-01. More how-tos in our guides.