This week we ’re joined by a peculiar guest blogger . Patricia T. O’Conner , a former editor in chief atThe New York Times Book Review , is the source of the national best - sellerWoe Is I : The Grammarphobe ’s Guide to Better English in Plain English , as well as other Bible about speech communication . She is a steady monthly guest on public radio station WNYC in New York . check more at her web site , grammarphobia.com . Make her feel welcome !
For sheer legibility , few things make as much difference as proper punctuation mark . These examples fromYou Send Me , a Good Book I wrote with my husband , show how much difference of opinion punctuation mark can make :
" Who got arouse , Stacey?“ said the director .
Who got fired ? Stacey , say the director .
Who got fired ? Stacey pronounce the managing director .
See what I mean ? Now I ca n’t distinguish you in a few paragraph all you take to know about punctuation mark . But I can hit the high spots , the problem that amount up most often .
1. The Indispensable Comma
The word " comma" comes from a Greek intelligence meaning " to dilute off,“ and that ’s what commas do . They cut sentences into piece , organizing words into meaningful groups . Sometimes , the organization can make a big difference ! Check out these sentences:(1 ) Jack said Harry wrecked the railway car . ( 2 ) Jack , said Harry , wrecked the railroad car .
Here ’s some comma - sense advice :
" ¢ Use comma and a connecting word ( likeandorbut ) to separate clause — groups of words with both a subject and a verb . John had forget her natal day five time in a run-in , but Gloria imagine this year would be unlike .
" ¢ Use commas between detail in a list : Gloria was hoping for dinner , dance , and flowers . She was furious that John had n’t made a dinner party reservation , cry the flower store , or even buy a carte .
" ¢ Use commas before or after a cite : Gloria enjoin , " I might have know . “ " I ’ll make it up to you,“ John promised . But do n’t use a comma after a quote that ’s a question or exclamation:“Why not snog and make up?“ John expect .
" ¢ Use commas before or after the name of someone you ’re addressing:“Gloria , you ’re over - reacting,“ he said . " Maybe you ’re right , John,“ she answer .
" ¢ expend a comma after an basic remark if you want to emphasize the interruption : luckily , the argument was soon over . Before long , they were cuddling on the couch .
" ¢ Use comma around an aside , as you might apply dashes or parentheses : He dial Chez Panisse , their favorite restaurant , and contend to wangle a mental reservation .
" ¢ Use commas around a clause that disrupt a sentence to insert a thought . These interruptions often begin withwhich , where , who , orwhen : They arrive at Chez Panisse , which was half an hour away , at ten . The waiter , who fuck John and Gloria , join them in a toast.(But do n’t use a comma if there ’s no break : John fuck which wine-colored was which . Gloria knew when she was ahead . )
2. The Underused Semicolon
The semicolon may be the most unappreciated and underused punctuation mark . If you discover semicolons intimidate , relax . They ’re big for neaten up a serial of items with commas inside them . guess how hard it would be to read this sentence if only commas were used : Jack will his star sign to Jill , his best supporter ; his collection of lederhosen to his neighbor , Hans and Franz ; and his dog , Tige , to a acquaintance , Buster .
semicolon are also ready to hand for connect clump of a conviction that could stand alone . A comma butterfly by itself is n’t enough to hold together clauses like these : Jack fail his crownwork , Jill was n’t badly injured.(This is sometimes called a run - on sentence . ) Unless you need to add a connecting countersign , use a semicolon : Jack broke his crown ; Jill was n’t seriously injured .
3. Chatty Quotation Marks
The trick with cite marks is at the end of the quote . Does punctuation mark that follow the quote stuff ( period , comma , question sign , or whatever ) go inside or outside the shutting quotation marks ? Here are the atomic number 49 and the outs .
" ¢ Periods go inside . “I think I ’m getting the grippe . “"¢ Commas go indoors . “I probably caught it at work,“ he added . “¢ Colons go outside . Elizabeth did n’t like being call " Liz" : it was so predictable . “¢ Semicolons go out of doors . Don’t play " My Funny Valentine" ; she hates it . “¢ Question German mark and exclamation point are sometimes at heart and sometimes outdoors . In most case , they go inside the quotation marks:“What ’s your name , sweetie?“ tell the teller . " It ’s not sweetie!“ shouted the kid . But interrogation score and exclaiming points must go outside if they ’re not part of the actual quotation . Have you understand the film rendering of Gray ’s " Elegy" ? Good heavens , I did n’t even know they ’d film Gray ’s " Elegy" !
" ¢ Parentheses go outside quotation mark if the intact quotation is parenthetical : Mom had the deciding suffrage ( " I order no").Parentheses go inside the quotation marks if only part of the quotation is parenthetic . She added , " Next clip , ask me first ( if there is a next time).“
4. The Much-Abused Apostrophe
As someone with an apostrophe in her name , I hate to see this punctuation mark mistreated . Here ’s how it ought to be used .
" ¢Possessives . apostrophe help show who owns what . To make a noun possessive , add either an apostrophe with the letter s ( ’s ) or just the apostrophe alone , depend on the circumstance . The rules come in threes :
" ¢Contractions . An apostrophe usher where letters have been drop in a shortened word or phrase . For good example , shouldn’tis scant for " should not" ; the apostrophe replaces theoin " not . “ AndI’llis short for " I will" ; the apostrophe is a polite nod to the dropped missive . You ca n’t say I did n’t warn you .
" ¢Some unusual plurals . No , you DON’T add’sto a word or a name to make it plural ! you’re able to , however , add’sto forge the plural form of an private letter . This makes for easier version , and many stylebooks advocate it . At Swarthmore , Libbi gotB’sandC’sand started spelling her name with twoi ’s .
5. The Helpful Hyphen
Look what a departure a hyphen can make : The stolen sofa wasrecovered . Or , The steal sofa wasre - covered . Don’t underestimate this handy punctuation mark Saint Mark . If in dubiety about using a hyphen with a prefix , look it up .
When two words are combined to describe a noun , we sometimes use a hyphen between them . Generally if the compound follows the noun , it does n’t get a dash : That duck is water resistant . But if the compound get before the noun , it usually gets a dash : That ’s a urine - resistant duck.(And do n’t take why a duck . )
