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Mac dictation auto-punctuation: turn it off, or make it behave

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To turn Mac dictation auto-punctuation off or on, choose Apple menu, System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, go to Dictation, and switch Auto-punctuation. With it on, Dictation inserts commas, periods and question marks for you as you dictate, in supported languages. With it off, you say each mark yourself, such as comma or period.

If dictation keeps adding periods, or capitals where you did not want them, that switch is the first suspect. Below are the others, the commands to use once it is off, and a ladder of fixes. I built YapToText, a free dictation app, because my hands make typing difficult, and three sections in the second half say how it handles punctuation, so read those with that in mind. Apple's side comes from its Mac User Guide as I read it on October 3 and October 5, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 11 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Turn Auto-punctuation on or off
    1. Step 1: Open Dictation's settings
    2. Step 2: Flip Auto-punctuation
    3. Which languages get it
  3. Why Dictation adds periods and capitals you did not want
    1. Fix a mark that already landed
  4. Dictate every mark yourself with it off
  5. How YapToText handles punctuation
    1. Two-word names, at the end of a clause
    2. Insert, for one-word names
  6. Stop a stray period or capital mid-sentence
    1. Step 1: Click mid-sentence
    2. Step 2: Dictate as usual
  7. Choose how much YapToText changes
  8. If the marks still land wrong
  9. What it cannot do
  10. The short version
  11. Questions

Steps

  1. Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar and go to Dictation.
  2. Turn Auto-punctuation off to place every mark yourself, or on to let Dictation add commas, periods and question marks.
  3. Click into a note, start Dictation and say a sentence to check the result.
  4. With Auto-punctuation off, say each mark where it belongs, such as comma, period or new paragraph.
  5. If capitals still appear, say caps off and test with Capitalize words automatically turned off in Keyboard settings, Text Input, Edit.

Turn Auto-punctuation on or off

The switch sits with the rest of Dictation's settings, in Keyboard settings. One switch decides whether Dictation places the marks or you do.

Step 1: Open Dictation's settings

  • You: Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar; you may need to scroll down. Go to Dictation.
  • macOS: Shows the Dictation settings: the switch, Languages, Microphone source, Shortcut and Auto-punctuation.
  • Check: Dictation itself is on. If it is off, turn it on and click Enable first.

Step 2: Flip Auto-punctuation

  • You: Turn Auto-punctuation off to place every mark yourself, or on to let Dictation place them.
  • macOS: With it on, Dictation inserts commas, periods and question marks as you dictate, in supported languages.
  • Check: Click into a note, start Dictation and say a sentence without naming a mark. With the switch off, no period should appear unless you say one.

Which languages get it

Apple says Auto-punctuation works in supported languages, that Dictation is not available in every language or region, and that its features vary. Apple's macOS Feature Availability page lists which languages include the extra Dictation features. If you dictate in more than one language, check each one there. The guide to dictating in other languages on a Mac covers switching between them.

Why Dictation adds periods and capitals you did not want

Apple does not explain how Auto-punctuation decides where a sentence ends, so treat every mark it places as its guess. When the guesses land in the wrong place, check these four things. Find out which feature placed the mark before you change anything.

  • Auto-punctuation is on. Every comma, period and question mark you did not say came from it. Turn it off, and the only marks are the ones you name.
  • A capitals command is still running. caps on puts the next phrase in Title Case until you say caps off, and all caps on keeps going until all caps off. A forgotten off command looks exactly like random capitals.
  • Your typing settings. In Keyboard settings, under Text Input, click Edit. Capitalize words automatically capitalizes the first word of a sentence and proper nouns as you type. Apple describes it for typing, and I have not tested whether it touches dictated text, so turn it off for a test if capitals keep appearing.
  • A language mismatch. Dictation's features vary by language, and Auto-punctuation works only in supported ones. Under Dictation, click Edit next to Languages and make sure the language and region you actually speak are selected.

Fix a mark that already landed

Words Dictation was unsure of are underlined in blue: click one and choose an alternative, or type or dictate the right word. On a Mac with Apple silicon you can keep using the keyboard while Dictation listens, so press Delete on a stray period and carry on; Dictation picks up again when you stop typing. If Dictation does nothing at all, Mac dictation not working is the page you want.

Dictate every mark yourself with it off

With Auto-punctuation off, say the name of each mark where it belongs, and Dictation types the mark in place of the word. Say the marks you need, where they go, and nothing else gets added.

Say: While Apple's Dictation is listening, with Auto-punctuation off.

the meeting moved to Friday comma so I will call you then period

What happens: Dictation types a comma and a period in place of the two words.

The commands you will use most, from Apple's list:

SayYou get
comma,
period, point, dot or full stop.
question mark?
exclamation markAn exclamation mark
colon:
semicolon;
new lineStarts a new line
new paragraphStarts a new paragraph
caps on, then caps offThe phrase between them in Title Case
all capsThe next word in capitals

New line and new paragraph appear when you finish dictating, so stop before you decide they failed. Apple lists 65 commands in all, from open parenthesis to copyright sign, and the Mac dictation commands list has every one in a box you can copy.

How YapToText handles punctuation

YapToText does not use Apple's Dictation, so the Auto-punctuation switch has no effect on it. Its speech model, Whisper, runs on your Mac and punctuates ordinary speech by itself. Spoken names are for the marks it cannot guess, and naming marks does not switch the rest off: the model still punctuates ordinary speech. Whisper places the everyday marks, and you name the rest.

Two-word names, at the end of a clause

Names of two or more words, such as question mark, new line and new paragraph, fire on their own when they end a clause.

Say: End a sentence with the name of the mark.

is it working now, question mark

You get: “is it working now?” Followed by a lowercase word, a two-word name stays as words, so “it put a question mark in the middle” is typed as you said it.

Insert, for one-word names

On the Commands page, Require the word “insert” before a command is on by default. One-word names such as comma, period and colon need insert in front, so you say insert comma, and “that period of time” stays words. Turn the switch off and every name fires bare.

YapToText's Commands page: Enable voice commands on, Require the word insert before a command on, and the Snippets tab.
Figure 1. Require the word insert before a command sits near the top of the Commands page in YapToText, on by default, so a one-word mark such as period needs insert in front.

Spoken punctuation works in every mode, Raw Transcription included, and it is settled before any AI cleanup. The spoken punctuation guide lists all 45 names, and each can be renamed or switched off.

Apple's rules from its Mac User Guide, read October 3, 2026. YapToText's rules with its defaults.

You wantApple's DictationYapToText
Marks placed for youAuto-punctuation: commas, periods and question marks, in supported languagesWhisper punctuates ordinary speech
To place every mark yourselfTurn off Auto-punctuationSay the names; the model still punctuates ordinary speech
A commaSay commaSay insert comma
A question markSay question markSay question mark at the end of a clause
A new paragraphSay new paragraph; it appears when you finishSay new paragraph at the end of a clause
No stray period mid-sentencePress Delete, or click and retypeIntelligent Insert drops it before the text lands

Stop a stray period or capital mid-sentence

A dictation dropped into the middle of a sentence is where a stray capital and a stray period show up. In YapToText, Intelligent Insert handles exactly that: before the text lands, it reads a few words on each side of your cursor, lowercases your first word mid-sentence, adds one space where words would collide, and drops the trailing period when the sentence carries on. It is on by default. Dictate the words as if they stood alone, and Intelligent Insert fits them in.

Step 1: Click mid-sentence

  • You: Click between two words, or just before the period that ends a sentence.
  • YapToText: Nothing yet.
  • Check: The cursor blinks exactly where the new words go.

Step 2: Dictate as usual

  • You: Tap Right Command, say the words, and tap it again. Do not worry about the capital or the period.
  • YapToText: Reads the words around the cursor and fits the transcript to them before it types.
  • Check: The words land lowercase, with one space on each side and no stray period.

An example: the sentence reads “I will send it tomorrow.” and the cursor sits right after “it”.

Say: With the cursor in the middle of that sentence.

along with the invoice

You get: “I will send it along with the invoice tomorrow.” Whisper's capital A and closing period are fixed before the words land.

It leaves the word I and its contractions capitalized, and an acronym too, when its second letter is also a capital. The period is also dropped when a period, question mark or exclamation point already sits after the cursor. One catch: a name that starts your dictation mid-sentence is lowercased like any other first word. Select it, tap Right Option, say capitalize this with Quick Edit, and tap again; exact case changes skip the AI and are instant.

YapToText's Dictation settings page on a Mac: the Keys, Recording, Microphone and Delivery cards.
Figure 2. The Delivery card on YapToText's Dictation page holds the Intelligent Insert switch and the list of apps where it stays off, with the terminals already in it.

The switch is on the Home page and in the Delivery card on the Dictation page, where Turn off in another app keeps it off in one app only. It starts off in terminals, because the keystrokes it reads with are shortcuts there. The Intelligent Insert guide explains how it reads around the cursor.

Choose how much YapToText changes

Whisper's marks are the starting point, and the mode decides what happens to them next. Raw Transcription keeps Whisper's marks as they are; the other modes may fix them.

  • Raw Transcription. Fast, literal speech to text with basic punctuation, and no AI. With Auto mode on, press 2 while you talk to use it for one dictation.
  • Auto mode, the default. Six words or fewer stay exactly as spoken. Ordinary prose gets a careful pass that fixes misheard words, punctuation and capitalization and keeps your wording.
  • Clean Up. Fixes grammar, capitalization and punctuation, and removes filler words, without shortening what you said.
  • Post-transcription analysis off. The master switch on the Home page. With it off, no mode runs and every dictation is typed exactly as spoken.
YapToText's Switch Mode list: Auto, Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message and Code Comment, numbered 1 to 7.
Figure 3. In the Switch Mode list, Raw Transcription is the one mode tagged Verbatim, so it keeps Whisper's punctuation without an AI pass.

To find out who placed a mark you did not want, open the dictation in History and click Show pipeline details. The raw transcript, what Whisper heard, sits above the final text. A mark in the raw transcript came from Whisper; a mark only in the final text came from a spoken command or the cleanup. The modes guide says what each mode may change.

If the marks still land wrong

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Check the switch. In System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, look at Auto-punctuation. Off means only the marks you say.
  2. Close the capitals. Say caps off or all caps off if you started either one.
  3. Test the typing setting. In Keyboard settings, Text Input, Edit, turn off Capitalize words automatically and dictate the same sentence again.
  4. Match the language. Under Dictation, click Edit next to Languages and select the language and region you speak.
  5. In YapToText, check Intelligent Insert. It must be on, and the app you are dictating into must not be in its off list.
  6. In YapToText, read the raw transcript. History, Show pipeline details, shows whether Whisper placed the mark or a later step did. If it was the cleanup, use Raw Transcription for that kind of writing.
  7. In YapToText, check the spoken name. One-word names need insert while the switch is on, and two-word names fire only at the end of a clause.

The guide to using dictation on a Mac covers the rest of Apple's Dictation settings.

What it cannot do

  • Apple: one switch for three marks. The Dictation settings Apple lists are the switch, Languages, Microphone source, Shortcut and Auto-punctuation, so there is no setting for one mark at a time: commas, periods and question marks come together or not at all.
  • Apple: a spoken delete. Apple's command list has punctuation, formatting and symbols, and nothing that deletes. Press Delete instead.
  • YapToText: stop Whisper punctuating. Naming marks adds to what the model places; it does not replace it. Raw Transcription keeps the AI cleanup out, not Whisper's own marks.
  • YapToText: a mark Whisper never wrote. A spoken name fires only when Whisper writes those exact words, and a noisy room can turn one into something else.
  • YapToText: older Macs. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, and nothing is claimed for Intel Macs.

Every tool here places marks by guessing, so read the result once before you send it.

The short version

  • The switch. System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, Auto-punctuation: on for automatic commas, periods and question marks, off for your own.
  • Random capitals. Check for a caps on without a caps off, and test Capitalize words automatically.
  • With it off. Say comma, period, question mark and new paragraph where they go.
  • In YapToText. Whisper punctuates for you, two-word names go at the end of a clause, one-word names take insert, and Intelligent Insert stops the stray period.

Decide who places the marks, Dictation or you, and set the switch to match.

If a setting here does not match what you see on your Mac, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreDownload for free. No account, nothing locked, macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

How do I turn off auto-punctuation in Mac dictation?

Choose Apple menu, System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, go to Dictation, and turn off Auto-punctuation. From then on, Dictation types only the marks you say, such as comma or period.

Why does Mac dictation keep adding periods?

Auto-punctuation is on. In supported languages it inserts commas, periods and question marks as you dictate. Turn it off under Dictation in Keyboard settings, then say each mark yourself.

Why does Mac dictation capitalize random words?

Check for a caps on or all caps on you never closed with caps off or all caps off. Then test with Capitalize words automatically turned off, in Keyboard settings, Text Input, Edit.

How do I add punctuation when auto-punctuation is off?

Say the name of the mark where it belongs: comma, period, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, new line or new paragraph. New line and new paragraph appear when you finish dictating.

Which languages support auto-punctuation on a Mac?

Apple says it works in supported languages and that Dictation features vary by language and region. Its macOS Feature Availability page lists which languages include the extra Dictation features.

Does YapToText add punctuation automatically?

Yes. Whisper, its speech model, punctuates ordinary speech by itself on your Mac. Say two-word names such as question mark at the end of a clause, and put insert before one-word names such as comma.