Usage+Basic+Punctuation+Rules

**Utah Valley State College Writing Center ** **Table of content **
 * Usage Basic Punctuation Rules **
 * 1. Introduction || 3 ||
 * 2. Comma || 4 ||
 * 3. Period || 15 ||
 * 4. Semicolons || 16 ||
 * 5. Colons || 18 ||
 * 6. Hyphens || 21 ||
 * 7. Dashes || 23 ||
 * 8. Apostrophes || 25 ||
 * 9. Quotation Marks || 28 ||
 * 10. Parenthesis || 33 ||
 * 12. Ellipsis || 35 ||
 * 13. Italics || 35 ||
 * 14. Brackets || 36 ||
 * 15. Conjunctions || 37 ||
 * 16.Summarizing Punctuation Rules || 40 ||
 * 17. Exclamation Point || 42 ||

**1. Introduction ** Correct punctuation is essential for clear and effective writing. The following list contains some of the most critical punctuation rules. **COMMAS ** 1. A statement is followed by a period. 2. A question is followed by a question mark. 3. An exclamation is followed by an exclamation point. 4. An imperative sentence is followed by either a period or an exclamation point. 5. An abbreviation is followed by a period. **1.1 ****Four Rules for Irregular Abbreviations ** 1. A two-letter state abbreviation, used only before a zip code, has no periods and has both letters of the abbreviation in upper case (caps). [Bethesda, MD 20816] 2. Abbreviations for government agencies and some other widely used abbreviations again use all capital letters and no periods. [CIA, NAACP] 3. Abbreviations for metric units of measure customarily use no periods but are lower case. [cc, ml, km] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. When an abbreviation with a period ends a sentence, the second period is not necessary, but a question mark or exclamation point would follow the period required by the abbreviation. [This is Sam, Jr. (but) Is this Sam, Jr.? ] (See "Notes" on p. 739-740 of your textbook) **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Independent clause: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a clause that has a subject and a verb and can stand alone; a complete sentence **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dependent clause: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> a clause that has a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone; an incomplete sentence **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Five End-Mark Rules ** **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">1.2 Seven Capitalization Rules ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Capitalize the first word in every sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Capitalize the pronoun I.  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Capitalize the interjection O.  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Capitalize proper nouns. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Capitalize proper adjectives. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Do not capitalize the names of school subjects except languages and course names followed by a number. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Capitalize titles. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are used to separate parts of a sentence. They tell readers to pause between words or groups of words, and they help clarify the meanings of sentences. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are used to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses in a series. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Practice will be held before school, in the afternoon, and at night. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are used after an introductory dependent clause (a group of words before the subject of a sentence that do not form a complete sentence). **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> If your friends enjoy Chinese food, they will love this restaurant. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are used to set off introductory words, introductory adverbial, participial, or infinitive phrases, and longer introductory prepositional phrases. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Incidentally, I was not late this morning. (Word) Hoping for a bigger fish, Rob spent three more hours fishing. (Phrase) ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are used between independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction ( //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">for //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">and //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">nor //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">but //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">or //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">yet //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">so //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">). **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> My dog had fleas, so we gave him a bath. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas set off nonessential phrases or clauses. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The man, I think, had a funny laugh. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas set off an appositive (a word or phrase that renames a noun). **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Tanya, Debbie's sister, gave a brilliant speech last night. **<span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">END OF SENTENCE PUNCTUATION ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">End of sentence punctuation is used to let the reader know when a thought is finished. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A statement (or declarative sentence) is followed by a period. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Orem is the home of Utah Valley State College. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A direct question (or interrogative sentence) is followed by a question mark. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> When did Joe buy a red shirt? ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do not use a question mark after a declarative sentence that contains an indirect question. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Marie wants to know when Joe bought a red shirt. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An exclamatory sentence is followed by an exclamation point. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> What a good movie! ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use exclamation marks sparingly because they can unnecessarily exaggerate sentences. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Monet was the most influential painter of his time! ( //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Most //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">emphasizes //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">influential painter //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">; therefore, an exclamation point is not needed.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The comma is a much misused and often over used piece of punctuation. The complexity of its usage stems primarily from the fact that there are several different situations in which the comma is the correct piece of punctuation to use. The trick is to identify those situations so as not to use the comma in places where it really should not be. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The following are some of the situations in which a comma should be used: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. To separate the elements in a list of three or more items. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The potion included gobstoppers, chewing gum, bran flakes and coleslaw. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There appears to be some debate about whether or not to include a comma to separate the last two items in the series. Personally I was taught to omit the comma before the final 'and' unless there is a danger that the last two items in the series will merge and become indistinguishable without the comma. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">His favourite puddings were ice apple pie, rhubarb crumble, and jelly and ice cream. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this sentence it is acceptable to use a comma after the word crumble in order to indicate that the jelly and ice cream is considered as a single item in the series. This is called the Oxford comma. There are occasions where it is definitely needed in order to avoid unnecessary confusion. In the sentence below, the inclusion of the Oxford comma would have avoided some confusion. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I dedicate this work to my parents, Marie Smith and God. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Before certain conjunctions. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A comma should be used before these conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so to separate two independent clauses. They are called co-ordinating conjunctions. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She was a fantastic cook, but would never be as good as her mother in law. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He hated his neighbours, so he never invited them round. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A common mistake is to put the comma after the conjunction. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is not usually necessary or indeed correct to use a comma with the conjunction 'because'. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We all had to move to higher ground because the floodwaters were rising quickly. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She really didn't feel hungry because she had already eaten a hearty lunch. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">However, there are occasions when a 'because clause' needs to be set off with a comma in order to avoid any confusion of meaning. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I knew she would not be hungry, because my sister works in a restaurant and had seen her eating a huge meal earlier in the day. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this example the reason for the person in question not being hungry is nothing to do with the sister's working in a restaurant as might be indicated if the comma were omitted. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. To separate introductory elements in a sentence. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma to separate introductory elements in a sentence from the main part of that sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Given the appalling weather conditions, Michael was lucky to survive the storm. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As the night drew to a close, the clubbers wandered home. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Having mastered the use of the colon, it is important to make it work for you in your writing. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the introductory element of the sentence is very short, it is permissible to omit the comma. If the introductory phrase is more than about three words, the comma is recommended. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Shortly we will be leaving for the port. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">After his nap Sam felt a lot better. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">After a deliciously long nap in his hammock, Sam felt a lot better. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If a brief introductory phrase, however short, is likely to merge with the rest of the sentence and confuse the reader, the comma is required. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Inside the house was a total mess. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Inside, the house was a total mess. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Until the summer lectures will take place in the main building <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Until the summer, lectures will take place in the main building. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The comma is also required if the introductory phrase, however short, appears to modify the meaning of the sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sadly, the whole building was beginning to crumble. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">On the other hand, the new extension looked fantastic. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. To separate parenthetical elements in a sentence. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A comma is used to set off parenthetical elements in a sentence. The parenthetical element (also known as an aside) is part of the sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of the sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sarah, the most intelligent pupil in the class, was always late for school. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The pyramids, one of the wonders of the ancient world, lie just outside Cairo. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you are using a comma to do this, it is important that the aside is opened and closed with a comma. A common mistake is to omit the second comma. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the parenthetical element in the sentence is closely identified with the subject the comma may not be necessary. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">His wife Jill was a high flyer in the city. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jill, his wife, was a high flyer in the city. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. To separate direct speech or quoted elements from the rest of the sentence. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are used to separate direct speech or quoted elements from the rest of a sentence. Use a comma to separate the quoted material from the rest of the sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"That house there," he whispered, "is where I grew up." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Give me the money," he snarled, "unless you want to meet your maker." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Note that a comma is not always needed in direct speech if another punctuation mark serves to separate the quoted element from the rest of the sentence. Look at the following example: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Give me the money!" he snarled. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Take care to avoid the comma splice. Look at the following example: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"That cake looks delicious," she said. "Where can I get the recipe?" <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"That cake looks delicious," she said, "Where can I get the recipe?" <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The two quoted elements are separate sentences and as such need to be separated by a full stop. A comma alone is not enough. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Commas are used to separate elements in a sentence that express contrast. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was first attracted by her money, not her stunning looks. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She is intelligent, not pretty. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He thought the building was enormous, but ugly. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Commas are used for typographical reasons to separate dates and years, towns and counties etc. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">His home was in Streatham, East London. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My father was born on March 13, 1949. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. Commas are used to separate several adjectives. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The old, ramshackle, dilapidated house had a charm of its own. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">That rather dull-looking, badly-dressed, clumsy man is actually a university professor. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As a general rule, if you can put the word 'and' or 'or' between the adjectives, then the comma is appropriate. If you cannot, the comma should be omitted. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The little old house was in a beautiful wood. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The comma has specific uses and, like all punctuation marks, can make your writing more precise and persuasive. Many tutors and academics complain that the comma is over used or inappropriately used. Take good care that you do not simply sprinkle your work with commas without good reason. Many people think that a pause in reading is reason enough to insert a comma. I would advise against this and only use a comma if there is a more concrete reason for doing so. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma to join 2 independent clauses by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Road construction can be inconvenient, but it is necessary. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The new house has a large fenced backyard, so I am sure our dog will enjoy it. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma after an introductory phrase, prepositional phrase, or dependent clause. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To get a good grade, you must complete all your assignments. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Because Dad caught the chicken pox, we canceled our vacation. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">After the wedding, the guests attended the reception. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma to separate elements in a series. Although there is no set rule that requires a comma before the last item in a series, it seems to be a general academic convention to include it. The examples below demonstrate this trend. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">On her vacation, Lisa visited Greece, Spain, and Italy. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In their speeches, many of the candidates promised to help protect the environment, bring about world peace, and end world hunger. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma to separate nonessential elements from a sentence. More specifically, when a sentence includes information that is not crucial to the message or intent of the sentence, enclose it in or separate it by commas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">John's truck, a red Chevrolet, needs new tires. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When he realized he had overslept, Matt rushed to his car and hurried to work. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma between coordinate adjectives (adjectives that are equal and reversible). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The irritable, fidgety crowd waited impatiently for the rally speeches to begin. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The sturdy, compact suitcase made a perfect gift. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma after a transitional element (however, therefore, nonetheless, also, otherwise, finally, instead, thus, of course, above all, for example, in other words, as a result, on the other hand, in conclusion, in addition) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">For example, the Red Sox, Yankees, and Indians are popular baseball teams. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you really want to get a good grade this semester, however, you must complete all assignments, attend class, and study your notes. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma with quoted words. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Yes," she promised. Todd replied, saying, "I will be back this afternoon." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma in a date. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">October 25, 1999 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Monday, October 25, 1999 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">25 October 1999 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma in a number. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">15,000,000 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1614 High Street <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma in a personal title. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pam Smith, MD <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Mike Rose, Chief Financial Officer for Operations, reported the quarter's earnings. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a comma to separate a city name from the state. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">West Lafayette, Indiana <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dallas, Texas <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Avoid comma splices (two independent clauses joined only by a comma). Instead, separate the clauses with a period, with a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction, or with a semicolon. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a comma after each item in a series of at least three items. (It has become acceptable to omit the comma before the conjunction in a series. However, it is important to remain consistent.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I still need to take a test, write an essay, and check out a book. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I dislike spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Acceptable: I dislike spinach, broccoli and cauliflower. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use commas after the street address and city in an address. (Do not use a comma after the state.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The address is 1234 Apple Street, Midtown, Kansas 98765. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a comma after the day and the year in a date. (No commas are used in dates when using the MLA style.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Connie's birthday is February 20, 1965. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> MLA version: Connie's birthday is 20 February 1965. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use a comma to clarify large numbers. Counting from right to left, a comma is needed after every 3 digits. This rule does not apply to years, where no commas are used at all. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: In 1998 the population of Claremont was 23,899. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Use a comma to set off an interruption in the main thought of a sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Rosa, of course, will bring her folding chairs. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives that equally modify the same noun. (If you aren't sure whether to use a comma to separate the adjectives or not, say the sentence with the word and in place of the comma. If it makes sense, then use the comma.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Jill was having problems with the unruly, disruptive children. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Use a comma after a dependent clause that begins a sentence. (Never use a comma before a dependent clause at the end of a sentence.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: If Mr. Wilson complains, we'll invite him for a snack. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We'll invite Mr. Wilson for a snack if he complains. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. Use a comma before the conjunction in a compound sentence. However, if the two independent clauses are very short, you do not need the comma. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We had a lot of fun, so I'll have another party soon. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: She spoke and I took notes. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">9. When quoting, put a comma to the left of a quotation mark that does not already have a period, question mark, or exclamation point. (It is much easier to remember this rule than to worry about "inside" and "outside".) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Ariel said, "I knew you would win the contest." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">10. Use a comma after a mild interjection, such as oh or well. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Oh, the test was not that difficult. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">11. Use a comma after a noun of direct address. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Kodi, didn't I ask you to clean your room? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">12. Use a comma after the greeting in a personal letter. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Dear Aunt Sheila, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">13. Use a comma after the closing of a letter. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Sincerely, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">14. Use a comma to indicate where a pause is necessary in order to avoid confusion. (Sometimes rewriting the sentence is a better choice.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: After Kelly, Jennifer gets a turn. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Maria came in, in quite a hurry. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">15. Use a comma after an appositive. (An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that gives additional information about the noun that it follows. Do not use a comma after a restrictive appositive, which is one that cannot be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Wesley, my brother, is an optician. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">16. Use a comma to set off the abbreviation etc. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I went to the store to get napkins, plates, cups, forks, etc. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The comma splice is one of the most frequent mistakes made when using a comma. The comma splice occurs when a comma is used to connect two independent clauses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this example the two clauses make sense on their own. Connecting them with a comma is incorrect <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim usually gets on with everybody, he is an understanding person <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you have two independent clauses that need to be separated, you have several choices: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can make them into two sentences using a full stop. This is probably the easiest solution but may not be the best in terms of style or developing your argument. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim usually gets on with everybody. He is an understanding person. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can use a semicolon. Semicolons should not be overused but can be very powerful when used in the correct situations. In our example, using a semi-colon suggests a link between the two clauses without stating that link specifically. This can be a powerful tool in developing a convincing argument. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim usually gets on with everybody; he is an understanding person. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can introduce a conjunction to connect the sentences. By doing this, you make the connection between the two more explicit. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim usually gets on with everybody because he is an understanding person. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim usually gets on with everybody, as he is an understanding person. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Multiple items (to separate or join) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use commas to separate items in a series. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives that come before a noun. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a comma before and, but, or, nor, for, so, or yet when it joinsindependent clauses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parenthetical and interrupter words <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use commas to set off an expression that interrupts a sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a. non-essential participle phrases or subordinate clauses <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. non-essential appositives or appositive phrases <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">c. words used in direct address <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">d. parenthetical expressions <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Use a comma after yes, no, or any mild exclamation such as well or why at the beginning of a sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Use a comma after an introductory phrase or clause. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a. always follow an introductory participle phrase with a comma <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. always follow an introductory adverb clause with a comma <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">c. put a comma after multiple prepositional phrases that begin a sentence; do not put a comma after a single introductory prepositional phrase unless to omit the comma would cause confusion <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Conventional situations <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Use commas in certain conventional situations. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a. items in dates and addresses <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. after the salutation of a friendly letter and the closing of any letter <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. Do not use unnecessary commas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas are the most frequently used form of punctuation and probably the hardest to master. Using commas well is a science and an art: though there are well-defined rules, there is plenty of room to manouevre as well. Both the science and the art of comma use have changed with time. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writers, for example, used commas unsparingly. But do not think that comma problems boil down to whether we use too many commas or too few. It is best to learn the rules—and to know which ones can be broken and when. You should break the rules for a purpose and consciously. Intuition is not always the best guide. In particular, the sometimes serviceable practice of choosing a comma whenever you would pause in speech can get you into trouble, especially if you write long sentences and lose your breath easily. Here are a few basic rules to guide you in your comma use: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Commas after many introductory phrases are optional. When the introductory phrase is short, you can often omit the comma; when the phrase is longer, a comma will help your reader recognize where the main clause begins: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the early 1960s Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig independently tried to reduce the tremendous complexity of the zoo of particles then known at the time. (Steven Weinberg, Dreams of a Final Theory) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">After much preliminary speculation and a few unsuccessful hypotheses, he achieved his central insight while reading an apparently unrelated work for recreation. (Stephen Jay Gould, Ever Since Darwin) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When the introductory phrase includes a participle (a verb form ending in -ing or -ed), always add a comma: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sitting in traffic, a plumber can't plumb and a deliveryman can't deliver. (Elizabeth Kolbert, "Don't Drive, He Said") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Make sure also to add a comma after an introductory clause (any grammatical unit that contains a subject and a verb): <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As the train straightened after a long curving tunnel near Lhasa, a nomad emerged from his tent on a hillside. (Pankaj Mishra, "The Train to Tibet") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. When joining two independent clauses (clauses that could stand alone as sentences) with a coordinating conjunction (and,or, nor, but, yet, for, so), you normally place a comma before the conjunction: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sweetness is a desire that starts on the tongue with the sense of taste, but it doesn't end there. (Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This rule can occasionally be broken. The shorter the two independent clauses are, the more appropriate it is to break the rule. Examples are more likely to be found in fictional prose where the style is deliberately terse: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. (Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. When joining mere phrases, you usually do not provide a comma: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There have been great civilizations in which the peculiar balance of mind required for science has only fitfully appeared and has produced the feeblest results. (Alfred North Whitehead, Science and the Modern World.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this example, the conjunction and joins two verb phrases. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This rule is frequently broken, particularly when the writer wants to convey surprise or to add an afterthought: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Each of our internal organs has a personality of its own, and a mythology too. (Sherwin Nuland, The Mysteries Within) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We cannot remain absolutely free, and must give up some of our liberty to preserve the rest. (Isaiah Berlin, "Two Concepts of Liberty") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Just make sure that whenever you break the rule, you do so for a reason. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Place commas between each element of a list of three or more parallel words, phrases, or clauses. Writers often place a comma before the conjunction (and or or) preceding the last element in the list: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The history of interactions among disparate people is what shaped the modern world through conquest, epidemics, and genocide. (Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Some writers, however, choose not to place a comma before the last element: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The material consequences in the East of the German occupation, the Soviet advance and the partisan struggles were thus of an altogether different order from the experience of war in the West. (Tony Judt, Postwar) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Though either method of punctuating is acceptable, try to choose one method and stick with it. A comma before the final element is less likely to produce unintended ambiguity. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Surround interrupting or parenthetical clauses or phrases with commas. Such clauses or phrases are not essential to the sentence. If you removed them, the central point of the sentence would remain: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dr. Johnson's Lives of the Poets, as Boswell tells us, was written at the urging of the London booksellers. (Leon Edel,Writing Lives) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Richard Lester, the director of Petulia, is a shrill scold in Mod clothes. (Pauline Kael, Going Steady) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Remember to add commas on both sides of an interrupting phrase or clause: don't forget the second comma. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The interrupting element in the last example is an appositive. It restates the meaning of the noun phrase it follows. An appositive can, however, narrow down rather than simply restate the meaning of a noun or noun phrase. When an appositive restates meaning, surround it with commas; when it narrows down meaning, do not: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hillary Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, has been called the Greta Garbo of presidential children because she shuns the limelight. (CBS News Report) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Charlotte Brontë's sister Emily used weather to great effect in her novel Wuthering Heights. (Karen Odden, Introduction to Hard Times) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hillary Clinton has only one daughter; Charlotte Brontë had more than one sister. Chelsea is therefore not essential to the sentence, while Emily is. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Another type of interrupting element, the relative clause, also deserves close attention. Relative clauses begin with words such as who, which, that, and sometimes where and when: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">During the past thirty years the ideal of the unity of learning, which the Renaissance and Enlightenment bequeathed to us, has been largely abandoned. (E.O. Wilson, Consilience) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As with other interrupting sentence elements, the surrounding commas indicate that the information in the clause is not essential to the main point of the sentence. E.O. Wilson is suggesting that there is only one ideal of the unity of knowledge, and we happen to have inherited that ideal from the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Take the relative clause away, and Wilson's point remains the same: most intellectuals have abandoned this ideal. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Some relative clauses, however, are integral to the meaning of a sentence. In such cases, it is critical not to surround the clause by commas: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The names of the creative writers who have been more or less Freudian in tone or assumption would of course be legion. (Lionel Trilling, "Freud and Literature") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this sentence Trilling makes his assertion not about all creative writers but only about those who are Freudian in their outlook. Remove the clause, and you destroy the sentence's meaning <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One final, purely stylistic point: for relative clauses that do not take commas, the word which or who can be replaced bythat: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. (Nicholas Carr, "Is Google Making Us Stupid.") **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">3. PERIOD ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a period at the end of a sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I enjoyed the movie. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a period after an initial. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: M. E. Kerr is a wonderful author. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a period after an abbreviation. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We welcomed Mrs. Simmons to our team. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use a period as a decimal point. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The workers received a 2.1 percent raise. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Use a period to separate dollars and cents. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The book cost $4.95. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Use a period after each number in a list printed vertically. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: For the example, look at the lists on this page. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">4. Semicolons ****<span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 26.6667px;">W ****<span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">riting Center ** **<span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SEMICOLONS ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semicolons are used to separate clauses or phrases that are related and that receive equal emphasis. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semicolons join independent clauses in a compound sentence if no coordinating conjunction is used. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Michael seemed preoccupied; he answered our questions abruptly. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semicolons are used before a conjunctive adverb (transition word) that joins the clauses of a compound sentence. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The emergency room was crowded; however, Warren was helped immediately. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semicolons help avoid confusion in lists where there are already commas. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We traveled to London, England; Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; and Sofia, Bulgaria. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The semicolon is a hugely powerful punctuation mark. Getting it right will not only impress your tutors and future employers, it will allow you to express your ideas and opinions with more subtlety and precision than ever before. The good news is that it is simple and easy to use and should take you no more than a few minutes to master. In complicated lists. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The semicolon can be used to sort out a complicated list containing many items, many of which themselves contain commas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Have a look at this example: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the meeting today we have Professor Wilson, University of Barnsley, Dr Watson, University of Barrow in Furness, Colonel Custard, Metropolitan Police and Dr Mable Syrup, Genius General, University of Otago, New Zealand. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In a situation such as this, only the mighty semicolon can unravel the mess. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the meeting today we have Professor Wilson, University of Barnsley; Dr Watson, University of Barrow in Furness; Colonel Custard, Metropolitan Police and Dr Mable Syrup, Genius General, University of Otago, New Zealand. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In most lists a comma is enough to separate the items. In a complicated list like the one above, it is perfectly acceptable to use the semicolon to make the list more understandable. Test your understanding of punctuating lists with this exercise. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Separating closely-related independent clauses <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The semicolon is also used to connect two closely-related independent clauses. Have a look at this example: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Terry always slept with the light on; he was afraid of the dark. The two clauses here are closely connected but the link has not been made explicit. They could have been separated by a full stop. Terry always slept with the light on. He was afraid of the dark. They could have been connected by a conjunction. Terry always slept with the light on because he was afraid of the dark. Terry always slept with the light on, as he was afraid of the dark. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this instance we have changed the second clause into a dependent clause; it is directly dependent on the first clause. If you are going to use a semicolon to connect two clauses, it is very important that the two clauses are both independent. That means that each clause has to be able to stand alone and make complete sense without the other. If either one cannot stand alone, a semi-colon cannot be used. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Style <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Using the semicolon to separate the two clauses has allowed us to imply the relationship between the two without stating it explicitly. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This can be quite a powerful tool in allowing/encouraging your reader to make implicit connections. As the reader is involved in the development of the idea, it may well be more persuasive than simply stating the causal relationship between the two clauses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The decision as to whether to use a semicolon or to make the two clauses into separate sentences is one of style and, as such, is up to you the writer. As with many punctuation marks, the semicolon is powerful and can give your writing a good deal more style and precision, but it should not be over used. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a semicolon to join 2 independent clauses when the second clause restates the first or when the two clauses are of equal emphasis. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town; streets have become covered with bulldozers, trucks, and cones. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a semicolon to join 2 independent clauses when the second clause begins with a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, moreover, furthermore, thus, meanwhile, nonetheless, otherwise) or a transition (in fact, for example, that is, for instance, in addition, in other words, on the other hand, even so). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Terrorism in the United States has become a recent concern; in fact, the concern for America's safety has led to an awareness of global terrorism. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a semicolon to join elements of a series when individual items of the series already include commas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Recent sites of the Olympic Games include Athens, Greece; Salt Lake City, Utah; Sydney, Australia; Nagano, Japan. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses. (This eliminates the need for a comma and a conjunction.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Casey read a book; then he did a book report. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when those items contain punctuation such as a comma. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We went on field trips to Topeka, Kansas; Freedom, Oklahoma; and Amarillo, Texas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Four Semicolon Rules <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a semicolon between independent clauses in a sentence if they are not joined by and, but, or, nor, for, yet. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by such words as for example, for instance, that is, besides, accordingly, moreover, nevertheless, furthermore, otherwise, therefore, however, consequently, instead, hence. (In other words, between independent clauses joined by transitional words that are not conjunctions.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a semicolon to separate the independent clauses of a compound sentence if either of the independent clauses contains potentially confusing commas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use semicolons instead of commas to separate a list of items which themselves contain commas. (The "Upgrade Rule") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The semicolon has two main uses. The first is to combine two closely related independent clauses into one sentence: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A scientific genius is not a person who does what no one else can do; he or she is someone who does what it takes many others to do. (Malcolm Gladwell, "In the Air") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Van Gogh painted almost exclusively from life; Gauguin favored imagination. (Peter Schjeldahl, "Different Strokes") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In either case, the writer could just as well have used two separate sentences, but using the semicolon helps convey the close connection between two sequential ideas. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The other valid use of semicolons is to separate list elements that are long or complex. If, in particular, those list elements contain internal commas, semicolons will help show just where each element begins and ends: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Idea of North offers little hard data about the history, geography, population, sociology, politics, or economy of the North; about the burgeoning interest in the North after the Second World War, especially after the creation of the federal Department of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources in 1953; about the aboriginal-land-claims issues being thrashed out in the late sixties. (Kevin Bazzana, Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Colons follow independent clauses and are used to call attention to the information that comes after. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Colons come after the independent clause and before the word, phrase, sentence, quotation, or list it is introducing. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Joe has only one thing on his mind: girls. (Word) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Joe has only one thing on his mind: the girl next door. (Phrase) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Joe has only one thing on his mind: he wants to go out with Linda. (Clause) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Joe has several things on his mind: his finals, his job, and Linda. (list) ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Never use a colon after a verb that directly introduces a list. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">INCORRECT: The things on Joe’s mind are: finals, work, and Linda. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">CORRECT: The things on Joe’s mind are finals, work, and Linda. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The colon is a widely misused but very useful piece of punctuation. Use it correctly and it can add precision to your written work as well as impressing your tutors and future employers. There are not many people around who are able to use colons correctly. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The colon has a number of functions: ü **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To introduce an idea ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The colon has two main uses. Firstly it is used to introduce an idea that is an explanation or continuation of the one that comes before the colon. The colon can be considered as a gateway inviting the reader to go on. Have a look at these examples: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You are left with only one option: Press on until you have mastered it. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is one thing you need to know about coleslaw: it looks and tastes like slurry. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the above examples you have some idea of what will come after the colon. It is important to note that the clause that comes before the colon can stand alone and make complete sense on its own. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the initial clause cannot stand alone and make complete sense, you should not use a colon. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is some debate about whether the clause following the colon should begin with a capital letter or not. If the colon precedes a formal quote, you should begin the language of that quote with a capital letter. If the explanation that follows the colon contains more than one sentence, you should use a capital letter. In other cases, some guides simply advise consistency, others advise that a capital should always be used. ü **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To introduce a list ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The second main use of the colon is to introduce a list. You need to take care; many people assume that a colon always precedes a list. This is not the case. Again it is important to remember that the clause that precedes the colon must make complete sense on its own. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Have a look at these examples: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The potion contained some exotic ingredients: snails' eyes, bats' tongues and garlic. The magic potion contained sesame seeds, bran flakes and coleslaw. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the first sentence, the clause preceding the colon has a subject and a predicate and makes complete sense on its own 'The potion contained some exotic ingredients.' In the second sentence a colon should not be used, as the clause that would precede it would not make sense alone 'The magic potion contained'. ü **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To introduce quoted material ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The colon has other uses: it can also be used after a clause introducing quoted material. Have a look at this example. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The director often used her favourite quotation from Monty Python: 'I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition.' <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the colon precedes a quotation, you should begin the language of that quote with a capital letter. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Style <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Having mastered the correct use of the colon, it is useful to make it work for you in your writing. Using a colon can add emphasis to an idea. For example, consider the following two sentences: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The one thing mankind cannot live without is hope. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is one thing that mankind cannot live without: hope. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Both sentences are grammatically correct, but the second makes the point a little more forcefully. Now we are in the realms of style, it is important to emphasise that you, as the writer, have to decide how to make your newfound expertise with punctuation work for you. Do not be tempted to overuse colons. They are powerful but should be used with precision and care. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a colon to join 2 independent clauses when you wish to emphasize the second clause. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town: parts of Main, Fifth, and West Street are closed during the construction. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a colon after an independent clause when it is followed by a list, a quotation, appositive, or other idea directly related to the independent clause. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Julie went to the store for some groceries: milk, bread, coffee, and cheese. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln urges Americans to rededicate themselves to the unfinished work of the deceased soldiers: "It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I know the perfect job for her: a politician. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a colon at the end of a business letter greeting. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To Whom It May Concern: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a colon to separate the hour and minute(s) in a time notation. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">12:00 p.m.  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a colon to separate the chapter and verse in a Biblical reference. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Matthew 1:6 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a colon between numerals indicating hours and minutes. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: School starts at 8:05 a.m.  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a colon to introduce a list that appears after an independent clause. (Introductory words such as following go somewhere before the colon to help introduce the list.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: You need the following items for class: pencil, pens, paper, ruler, and glue. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. When mentioning a volume number and page number, use a colon between the two items. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: You will find information about Mexico in Grolier Encyclopedia 17:245. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use a colon after the greeting of a business letter. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Dear Sir: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Use a colon between the title and subtitle of a book. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Reading Strategies That Work: Teaching Your Students to Become Better Readers is an excellent resource. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Use a colon between the chapter and verse numbers for parts of the Bible. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Please read Genesis 1:3. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Three Colon Rules ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a colon before a list of items, especially after expressions like as follows or the following. A colon says "note what follows." A colon suggests equality. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a colon before a statement that expands or clarifies a preceding statement. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a colon in conventional situations. between hours and minutes in time after the salutation of a business letter <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Colons offer a way of urging your reader forward. The words preceding the colon create an expectation; the words following the colon fulfill it: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The entomologists' dream of the built-in insecticide was born when workers in the field of applied entomology realized they could take a hint from nature: they found that wheat growing in soil containing sodium selenate was immune to attack by aphids or spider mites. (Rachel Carson, Silent Spring) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Our age has produced a new literary breed: the self-hating essayist. (Cristina Nehring, "Our Essays, Ourselves") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The part of the sentence following the colon can expand on an idea (that nature suggests how to take advantage of built-in insecticides) or answer an implied question (who exactly belongs to this new literary breed?). Note that a colon is generally preceded by a full independent clause. It can, however, be followed either by another independent clause, a phrase, or even a word. The phrase sometimes takes the form of a list: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Shakespeare's archvillain had many Shakespearean forerunners: the melodramatic Richard II, the casuistical Pandulph, the sly and crafty Ulysses. (Harold C. Goddard, The Meaning of Shakespeare)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">people's names
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">geographical names
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">special events
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">historical events/periods
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">nationalities, races, religions
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">brand names
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ships, planets, awards, specific places, things, events
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">title before a name
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">title of high official
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">family relationship when used with or in place of person's name
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">first and all important words of publication titles, movies, songs, works of art
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">words referring to the Deity (other than those of ancient mythology)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">2. Commas **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Use of COMMA **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Eight Comma Rules **
 * <span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">5. COLONS **
 * <span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">6. HYPHENS **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hyphens are used to form compound words or join word units. They are used to join prefixes, suffixes, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">and letters to words. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use hyphens with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and with fractions used as modifiers. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: ****<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">forty-two **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">applicants **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">two-thirds **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">majority ( //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">two-thirds //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">is an adjective modifying //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">majority //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">) **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">three-fourths **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">empty ( //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">three-fourths //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">is an adverb modifying //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">empty //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">) **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">two thirds **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">of the voters ( //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">two thirds //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">is not being used as an adjective here because //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">thirds //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">is a noun being modified by //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">two //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">) ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use hyphens in a compound adjective only when it comes before the word it modifies. However, some compound adjectives are always hyphenated, such as //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">well-balanced //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. Look up compound adjectives in the dictionary if you are unsure whether or not to hyphenate them. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> a **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">well-liked **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">author an author who is **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">well liked ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">world-renowned **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">composer a composer who is **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">world renowned ** ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a hyphen with the prefixes //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ex //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">self //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-, and //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">all //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">-; with the suffix - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">elect //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">; and with all prefixes before a proper noun or proper adjective. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">all-star ex-mayor pro-Canadian senator-elect anti-Semitic non-European self-control self-image **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The hyphen (-) ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This little piece of punctuation is becoming less and less used. There are, however, occasions where the hyphen in definitely required. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you use justified text, your computer will automatically adjust the spacing between words to ensure that you do not need to hyphenate words that have come at the end of a line. This is an extremely good thing, as the rules governing where a hyphen should fall in a given word are complicated and dull to say the very least. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are some instances in which you will need to use a hyphen. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">All words consisting of self combined with a noun: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">self-expression <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">self-confidence <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">self-consciousness <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In adjectives that have been formed by combining two words: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">nineteenth-century history <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">self-paced learning exercises <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">off-the-peg suits <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">old-furniture salesman <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Find out more about compound words. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Take care to use the hyphen only in situations where the hyphenated word is used as an adjective as in the above examples. Contrast these two examples: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was an old-furniture salesman. (The furniture is old) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was an old furniture salesman. (The salesman is old) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tumultuous events took place in the latter half of the nineteenth century. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We have several verbs in English that consist of a verb and a preposition. Have a look at these verbs and the nouns that can be formed as a result: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">to hold up ... This is a hold-up. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">to wash up ... Go and do the washing-up. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">to tell off ... The tutor gave him a good telling-off. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of the use of the hyphen with this exercise. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">HYPHEN ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a hyphen in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The final score was seventy-eight to sixty-two. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a hyphen between the numbers in a fraction. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I only used three-fourths of the flour you gave me. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a hyphen to form some compound words, especially compound adjectives that appear for the nouns they modify. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The court took a ten-minute recess. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use a hyphen to join a capital letter to a word. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I had to have my arm X-rayed. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Use a hyphen to show a family relationship, except "grand" and "half." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: My sister-in-law helps take care of my great-aunt. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We are going to go visit my grandparents while we are in town. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Connie just found out that she has a half sister. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Four Hyphen Rules ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line. Divide words only between syllables, and make sure at least two syllables end up on the second line. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a hyphen with fractions used as adjectives. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex-, self-, and all- and with the suffix -elect. **<span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">7. DASHES ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dashes connect groups of words to other groups of words in order to emphasize a point or show that the information is unessential. Usually the dash separates words in the middle of a sentence from the rest of the sentence, or it leads to material at the end of the sentence. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the middle of a sentence, a dash can put special emphasis on a group of words or make them stand out from the rest of the sentence. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Linda Simpson's prescription for the economy, lower interest rates, higher employment, and less government spending, was rejected by the president's administration. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">BECOMES: Linda Simpson's prescription for the economy—lower interest rates, higher employment, and less government spending—was rejected by the president's administration. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The dash can also be used to attach material to the end of a sentence when there is a clear break in the continuity of the sentence or when an explanation is being introduced. ü **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The president will be unable to win enough votes for another term of office—unless, of course, he can reduce unemployment and the deficit soon. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> It was a close call—the sudden gust of wind pushed the helicopter to within inches of the power line. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The dash (--) ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The dash is longer than a hyphen. There are in fact two different dashes: the en-dash is the same width as a letter N, while the em-dash is the same width as the letter M. Both of these can be found by on MS Word by going to: Insert, Symbol and then selecting the dash you require. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The dash can be used to set off parenthetical elements, when those elements themselves contain internal forms of punctuation. Use the em-dash in these situations. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Consider the following sentences: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My friends, Paul, Barry, Steve and Homer, all love rhubarb crumble. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My friends-Paul, Barry, Steve and Homer-all love rhubarb crumble. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The dash should not be used to set off parenthetical elements when a comma would do just as well. There needs to be a good reason to use the dash. The em-dash can also be used in direct speech to signal a break in thought or a shift in tone. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'What on earth can I do-,' Alan jumped up and ran to the door. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'I've just asked you to-oh what was I telling you?' <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The en-dash (the em-dash's slightly slimmer cousin) is used for indicating the space between dates in a chronological range. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Second World War (1939-1945) was one of mankind's darkest hours. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dashes are used to set off or emphasize the content enclosed within dashes or the content that follows a dash. Dashes place more emphasis on this content than parentheses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Perhaps one reason why the term has been so problematic—so resistant to definition, and yet so transitory in those definitions—is because of its multitude of applications. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In terms of public legitimacy—that is, in terms of garnering support from state legislators, parents, donors, and university administrators—English departments are primarily places where advanced literacy is taught. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The U.S.S. Constitution became known as "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812—during which the cannonballs fired from the British H.M.S. Guerriere merely bounced off the sides of the Constitution. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To some of you, my proposals may seem radical—even revolutionary. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use a dash to set off an appositive phrase that already includes commas. An appositive is a word that adds explanatory or clarifying information to the noun that precedes it. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The cousins—Tina, Todd, and Sam—arrived at the party together. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a pair of dashes to indicate a sudden interruption in a sentence. (One handwritten dash is twice as long as a hyphen. One typewritten dash is one hyphen followed by another.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: There is one thing--actually several things--that I need to tell you. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a dash to attach an afterthought to an already complete sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Sarah bought a new pet yesterday--a boa constrictor. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Use a dash after a series of introductory elements. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Murder, armed robbery, assault--he has a long list of felonies on his record. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dashes serve some of the same functions as commas and colons, but they assert themselves more forcefully. Like commas, dashes are used to set off interrupting clauses or phrases, but a pair of dashes will tend to call more attention to what lies in between: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Old Beijing—designed for pedestrians and imperial processions but not much in between—has turned out to be a bad framework on which to construct a modern city. (Paul Goldberger, "Forbidden Cities") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Acting alone, a dash, like a colon, allows you to expand on or to complete an idea, and dashes used this way are often interchangeable with colons. But the dash tends to be a little more abrupt and is particularly good at suggesting irony or surprise: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Nobody ever recommended or even suggested that I be a novelist—in fact, some tried to stop me. (Haruki Murakami, "The Running Novelist") <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The dash has one other occasional use. Following a list, a dash allows you to tie things together with an explanatory independent clause: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The manner of giving, the thing which is given, the effect of the giving upon the individual—these are the factors which determine the progress of the Sufi. (Idries Shah, The Sufis) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you don't use dashes, adding them to your repertoire will considerably broaden your expressive range as a writer. But be careful: overusing them will blunt their overall impact. **<span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">8. APOSTROPHES ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Apostrophes are used to show possession or to indicate where a letter has been omitted to form a contraction. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To show possession, add an apostrophe and an - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">to singular nouns or indefinite pronouns that end in //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">one //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">or //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">body //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Susan' **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">wrench, anyone' **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">problem ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Add only an apostrophe for plural possessive nouns ending in - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> my parent **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">' car, the musician **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">' instruments ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Add an apostrophe and an - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">for plural possessive nouns that do not end in - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> the men' **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">department, my children' **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">toys ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Add an apostrophe and an - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">for singular possessive nouns that end in - //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Chri **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">' **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">cookbook, the busines **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">' **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">s **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">system ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do not use an apostrophe with possessive personal pronouns including //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">yours //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">his //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">hers //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">its //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ours //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">their //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, and //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">whose //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Apostrophes are also used in contractions, two words which have been combined into one, to mark where the missing letter or letters would be. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I am= I'm I have = I've  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Who is = who's let us = let's   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cannot = can't he is, she is, it is = he's, she's, it's   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You are = you're they are = they're    ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Avoid confusing //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">it's //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">with //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">its //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It's //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">is a contraction for //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">it is //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">; //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">its //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">is a possessive pronoun. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The apostrophe ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Contractions <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One use of the apostrophe is in contracted words. The apostrophe is used to indicate that a letter or letters has/have been removed. If you follow this rule then it will avoid confusion about where the apostrophe should be. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He is = he's  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I am = I'm   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do not = Don't   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">They have = They've   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is = It's   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I would = I'd   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Let us = Let's   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She has = She's   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Who is = who's   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This is not an exhaustive list of contractions. There are many more but all follow the same rule. In examples such as "she'd" (the contracted form of she would) the apostrophe replaces several letters. Obviously, only one apostrophe is needed to indicate that several letters have been omitted. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You need to be a bit careful with apostrophes; many people make the mistake of putting them in all over the place. Contracted forms are very common in spoken language but should not be used in a formal academic essay. In formal/academic writing you must use the full, unabbreviated form. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Clayton does not find any evidence that densely amnesiac patients show reduced performance on other measures of working memory. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is no doubt that successive presidents of the United States have found difficulty in balancing pressures from home and abroad. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The only place they could legitimately appear is in quotations. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"I'm drowning!!" he shouted. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of contracted words with this exercise. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The apostrophe showing possession. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Before reading on, you can have a go at this question if you would like. If not, read on and have a go at the exercise at the end. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A second and trickier use of the apostrophe is to show possession. If the possessor is a singular noun, an -'s is added to the end of the noun. This is true for both proper nouns (people and places beginning with a capital letter) and common nouns (other nouns). Here are some examples of the apostrophe at work showing possession: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He found himself lost in Madrid's winding streets. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I cannot understand Tim's point of view. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The building's foundations were very unstable. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The poet's work was highly regarded around the world. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A very common mistake is to put apostrophes where they should not be. Many people, unsure about using the apostrophe, put it in every time they see a word ending in s. Grammar checkers do not always highlight this mistake, as they do not know the meaning of the sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bristol contain's a lot of lovely old building's and street's.  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I have never seen the mountain's and the sea's look so beautiful. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the possessor is a plural noun ending in s, simply adding an apostrophe after the final s indicates possession. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The teacher was always losing her pupils' books. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The monks' meals were served in a cold and damp dining room. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I can never understand the politicians' obsession with spin. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As you can see, the positioning of the apostrophe makes a big difference to the meaning of the sentence. Make sure when adding the apostrophe that it indicates your intended meaning very precisely. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The monk's meals were served in a cold, damp room. (one monk) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The monks' meals were served in a cold, damp room. (lots of monks) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the plural noun does not end in an s, the addition of -'s shows possession. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The children's books lay on the table. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The men's boots were lined up outside the door. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The women's race will take place before the children's race. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the possessor is a singular noun that happens to end in an -s, there is some debate about whether the apostrophe is simply added after the -s or whether an -'s is needed. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It appears that both are acceptable. Whichever you decide to use, make sure you are consistent. The university English department's style guide recommends that proper nouns that end in -s form their possessive form by adding -'s.  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Have you seen James' book? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Have you seen James's book? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The exceptions to this rule are proper nouns that are Latin or Greek in origin. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Odysseus' adventures spanned many miles and many many years. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pythagoras' theorem has baffled generations of school children. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">APOSTROPHE <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use an apostrophe in a contraction to show where letters have been omitted, or left out. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I don't think I can do this. (The apostrophe shows that the letter  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use an apostrophe when you leave out the first two numbers of a year.   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> She was in the class of '93.   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. For a singular noun that does not end in -s, add 's.   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The lady's hands were trembling.   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. For a one syllable singular noun that ends in possessive.   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: It is my boss's birthday today.   <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. If a singular noun has more than one syllable and ends in -s it is acceptable to use 's OR to use only an apostrophe after the -s. (It is important to remain consistent.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The metropolis's citizens were very friendly during our visit. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Acceptable: The metropolis' citizens were very friendly during our visit. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. To form the possessive of a singular proper noun ending in -s, it is acceptable to add 's OR to add only an apostrophe. (It is important to remain consistent.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Mr. Ness's classroom is very inviting. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Acceptable: Mr. Ness' classroom is very inviting. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. If a plural noun ends in -s, add an apostrophe after the -s. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The ladies' restroom was a mess. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. If a plural noun does not end with an -s, form the possessive by using an apostrophe before an -s. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The mice's tails were caught in a trap. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">9. For a compound noun, place the possessive ending after the last word. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: My mother-in-law's car was in the garage during the hail storm. (singular) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: My brothers-in-law's cars were damaged in the hail storm. (plural) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">10. To show possession of the same object by more than one noun, only make the last noun in the series possessive. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I'm looking for Mrs. Garcia, Mrs. Lee, and Miss Carter's office. (They all share the same office.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I'm looking for Mrs. Garcia's, Mrs. Lee's, and Miss Carter's offices. (Each person has her own office.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">11. Use an apostrophe to form the plural of a number, letter, sign, or word used as a word. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Check to see that you used the +'s and -'s correctly. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Four Apostrophe Rules Possessives ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1.To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s. Do not use apostrophes to form the possessives of the personal pronouns. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2.To form the possessive case of a plural noun ending in s, add only the apostrophe. Contractions <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3.Use an apostrophe to show where letters have been omitted in a contraction. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4.Use an apostrophe and s to form the plural of letters, numbers, and signs, and for words referred to as words. N. B. such letters, numbers, signs, or words as words would be in italics **<span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">9. QUOTATION MARKS ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations. Note that commas and periods are placed inside the closing quotation mark, and colons and semicolons are placed outside. The placement of question and exclamation marks depends on the situation. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He asked, "When will you be arriving?" I answered, "Sometime after 6:30." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use quotation marks to indicate the novel, ironic, or reserved use of a word. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">History is stained with blood spilled in the name of "justice." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use quotation marks around the titles of short poems, song titles, short stories, magazine or newspaper articles, essays, speeches, chapter titles, short films, and episodes of television or radio shows. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Self-Reliance," by Ralph Waldo Emerson <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Just Like a Woman," by Bob Dylan <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"The Smelly Car," an episode of Seinfeld <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do not use quotation marks in indirect or block quotations. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation marks are used to show the beginning and end of a quotation or a title of a short work. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation marks enclose the exact words of a person (direct quotation). **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Megan said, "Kurt has a red hat." ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Do not use quotation marks around a paraphrase (using your own words to express the author’s ideas) or a summary of the author's words. **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Megan said that Kurt’s hat was red. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation marks set off the titles of magazine articles, poems, reports, and chapters within a book. (Titles of books, magazines, plays, and other whole publications should be underlined or italicized.) **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> "The Talk of the Town" is a regular feature in //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Time //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">magazine. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">QUOTATION MARKS WITH OTHER PUNCTUATION ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Place periods and commas inside quotation marks. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: Aida said, “Aaron has a blue shirt.” ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Place semicolons and colons outside quotation marks. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: He calls me his "teddy bear"; I'm not a bear. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Place question marks or exclamation points inside the quotation marks if they punctuate the quotation only. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: "Are we too late?" she asked. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Place question marks or exclamation points outside the quotation marks if they punctuate the entire sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: Why did she say, "We are too late"? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">QUOTATION MARKS <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use quotation marks before and after a direct quote. If the speaker tag interrupts the quoted material, then two sets of quotation marks are needed. However, do not put quotation marks around the speaker tag. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: "I think my leg is broken," Jesse whimpered. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Did Mrs. Steele just say, "We are going to have a test today"? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: "I can't move." Maria whispered, "I'm too scared." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Put quotation marks around the titles of short works, such as articles, songs, short stories, or poems. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Have you heard the song "Love Me Tender," by Elvis Presley? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Place quotation marks around words, letters, or symbols that are slang or being discussed or used in a special way. (Underlining can be used for the same purpose.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I have a hard time spelling "miscellaneous." <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: I have a hard time spelling miscellaneous. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Use single quotation marks for quotation marks within quotations. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: "Have your read the poem, 'The Raven,' by Edgar Alan Poe?" I asked Chris. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Any punctuation used goes to the left of a quotation mark. However, if the punctuation is used to punctuate the whole sentence and not just what is inside the quotation marks, then it goes to the right. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Have you read the poem, "Anabel Lee"? **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Ten Quotation Rules ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation-a person's exact words. How to punctuate and capitalize a quotation <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. A direct quotation begins with a capital letter. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. When a quoted sentence is divided into two parts by an interrupting expression such as he said or Mother asked, the second part begins [read that as continues] with a small letter. (Split quotation) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. A direct quotation is set off from the rest of the sentence by commas or by a question mark or exclamation point. Where to place end marks in a quote <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. A period or comma following a quotation should be placed inside the closing quotation marks. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. A question mark or an exclamation point should be placed inside the closing quotation marks if the quotation is a question or exclamation. Otherwise it should be placed outside. Special placement of quotes <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. When you write dialogue (two or more persons having a conversation), begin a new paragraph each time you change speakers. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">8. When a quotation consists of several sentences, put quotation marks only at the beginning and at the end of the whole quotation, not around each sentence in the quotation. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">9. Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation. Conventional uses <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">10. Use quotation marks to enclose titles of chapters, articles, short stories, poems, songs, and other parts of books or magazines. (Minor works or parts of works) **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Punctuating Quoted Material ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is some debate about whether embedded quotations should be in single or double quotation marks. Consistency is vital. The University English Department's style guide recommends single quotation marks; these have been used in the examples here. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">According to Vincent, working memory is 'the cognitive powerhouse, the central processing station of the brain' (Cognitive Psychology, p27). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the quoted material contains some direct speech, the direct speech should be bounded by double speech marks. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bottom thinks he would make a wonderful lion: 'I will roar, that I will make the Duke say "Let him roar again let him roar again!"' (Midsummer Night's Dream, I.ii.67-9). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(Many thanks to the English Department's style guide for the above example.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Speeches from plays do not require quotation marks. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If there is a line break in the original verse that is being quoted, indicate it with a diagonal slash, and keep the original capitalisation. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Horatio tells Hamlet that the watchmen have seen 'a figure like your father / Armed at point exactly, cap-à-pie' (Hamlet, I.ii.199-200). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(Many thanks to the English Department's style guide for the above example.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is no need to use quotation marks with indented quotations. The original punctuation, capitalisation and indentation of lines should be left exactly as they are in the original. The reference should be in brackets at the right hand side after the quotation. There is no punctuation mark after the reference. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The punctuation mark needed to introduce an embedded quotation will depend on the structure and flow of the sentence and the quotation. The quotation can be introduced with a colon (but never a semi-colon), a comma or nothing. Consider the following examples: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hilary Clinton is keenly aware of the opportunities she has had: 'My mother and grandmothers could never have lived my life; my father and grandfathers could never have imagined it' (Living History). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As the Bible says, 'it is better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife' (Proverbs). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Moore believes that 'dentists must have gotten together and decided that the real money was in root canals and a full set of X-rays every time you go in' (Hey Dude, Where's My Country). **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Indented quotations also are often introduced with a colon. ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The writer is often at pains to point out the many ways in which an ordinary experience can be made into a 'millionaire' experience: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When you are on holiday, there is no need to be wealthy to feel like a millionaire. The trick is to know when to spend that little bit extra and to make the experience into something special and memorable. If you are looking out across the perfect calm of a Mediterranean sunset, use that £20 you kept back and have a nice bottle of wine. You will remember the moment for the rest of your life, and, for that moment, you are living like a millionaire. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(How to Live Like a Millionaire of an Average Salary) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sometimes your own introduction can lead straight into the quotation, which can begin in mid sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Comparing descriptions of funerals by H.G.Wells and by Dickens, E.M.Forster argues that they have <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">... the same point of view and even use the same tricks of style ...  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">They are both humourists and visualisers who get an effect by cataloguing details and whisking the page over irritably. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(Aspects of the Novel, p.33) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If strictly necessary you may use square brackets [ ] to add something to make a quotation clearer. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">MacBeth says that 'she [Lady MacBeth] should have died hereafter' (V.iii.16). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">However, this is thought to be bad practice and should be avoided if possible. It is far better to change the form of your sentence to avoid the confusion that the square brackets might need to clear up. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">MacBeth says of his wife, 'she should have died hereafter' (V.iii.16). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If your own sentence continues on after the end of an embedded quotation, you should omit the final punctuation mark in the quotation unless it is an exclamation mark or a question mark that is important for the sense of the quoted material. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You should put a full stop after the reference so that it is not left hanging between two sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As the Bible says, 'it is better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.' (Proverbs) Many men would agree with these sentiments. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As the Bible says, 'it is better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife' (Proverbs). Many men would agree with these sentiments. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An indented quotation should end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark if that is what the quoted passage ends with. If you have stopped quoting before the end of the original passage, you should use an ellipsis (...) to indicate you have not quoted the original in full. No punctuation is required after the reference for an indented quotation. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Other uses of quotation marks <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation marks can be used to indicate short titles of songs, poems etc that would not normally stand alone. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Abba's finest hour was undoubtedly 'Dancing Queen'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Note that the full stop here is outside the quotation marks. This is in line with UK convention which tends to be logical in its placing of punctuation marks. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What do you think of Abba's 'Dancing Queen'? **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Where to put the Quoted Material ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the quotation is short (most guides recommend three lines or fewer) you can embed the quoted material in the main body of your text. If you are quoting a specific page or paragraph of a source text, you must reference it with a page or line number. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Passolunghi and Siegel claim that 'children's mathematical difficulties are often explained in terms of working memory deficits' (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 88(4) pp348-367). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An embedded quotation should not stand alone as a complete sentence in the middle of your text. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the quoted passage is longer, you will need to indent the quoted material. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the course of the investigation, many of the subjects showed very clear and unexpected working memory profiles: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Participant MH showed an extraordinary ability to remember nonsense words after very few trials. In this respect his working memory was functioning at a level well beyond the norm. This participant did, however, have huge problems with the visual-spatial tasks indicating a very specific cognitive impairment. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(Memory in Everyday Life, p45) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When to quote and when not to. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Avoid quoting for the sake of quoting; ensure that the quoted material does actually add to, illuminate, explain or illustrate the point you are making, or that it highlights a problem that you are going on to tackle. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In these examples, the quoted material adds nothing to the argument and should be avoided. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Antipholos invites the merchant to dine at 'my inn'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Vincent's brain based theories have resulted from many years of studying 'cognitive processing' (Cognitive Psychology, p789). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you use a direct quotation, you must include enough contextual and introductory material that your reader can make sense of the quotation. It is also highly important that the sentence including the embedded quotation makes sense as a whole. This can be a particular problem if the quoted material is from an ancient, old English source. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In both the examples, the quoted passages make sense on their own, but do not fit with the rest of the sentence to make a coherent and grammatically correct whole. In such cases you must not alter the quoted material to make it fit with the rest of your sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Vincent stresses the importance of 'retrieval from long term memory is a vital cognitive skill that can be practiced by children from the age of three' (Cognitive Psychology, p789). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">According to Vincent's clinical notes, his patient has 'problems often occur when he is recalling newly learned vocabulary from working memory, but he has a fully functioning long term memory' (Cognitive Psychology, p789). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Some rewording of the sentence surrounding the quoted material is needed to make the whole sentence make sense. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Vincent notes of one of his patients: 'problems often occur when he is recalling newly learned vocabulary from working memory, but he has a fully functioning long term memory' (Cognitive Psychology, p789). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is utterly unacceptable to alter the language of the quoted material to make it fit with the form of the rest of your sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Martin Luther King said that 'he had seen the promised land.' (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Martin Luther King said of himself: 'I have seen the promised land.' (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is also unacceptable to quote selectively and so misrepresent the original material or to misattribute a quotation. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Original text: I found the film so awful, the fact that it was ever released is incredible. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation: One critic said that he found 'the film ... incredible.' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Original text: Smith reported that a friend of his thought that all car drivers should be made to pay £50 a year to cyclists. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation: Smith thinks that 'all car drivers should be made to pay £50 a year to cyclists.' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quoted material should not be altered, even if it contains spelling or other errors. Errors in the quoted material can be indicated by inserting the word [sic] italicised and in square brackets after the error. You should, however, not use a quotation to highlight the grammatical or other shortcomings of the writer. If possible, arrange your own sentence so that the errors in the quoted material are not repeated. **<span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">10. PARENTHES ****<span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">E ****<span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">S ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elements inside parentheses are related to the sentence but are nonessential. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parentheses set off additions or expressions that are not necessary to the sentence. They tend to de-emphasize what they set off. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: We visited several European countries (England, France, Spain) on our trip last year. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parentheses enclose figures within a sentence. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: Grades will be based on (1) participation, (2) in-class writing, and (3) exams. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When the group inside the parentheses forms a complete sentence but is inserted inside a larger sentence, no period is needed. However, if a question mark or exclamation point is needed, it may be used. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: The snow (she saw it as she passed the window) was now falling heavily. ü <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When parentheses are used to enclose an independent sentence, the end punctuation belongs inside the parentheses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">EXAMPLE: Mandy told me she saw Amy’s new car. (I saw Amy’s car before Mandy.) She said it was a nice car. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use a set of parentheses around a word or phrase in a sentence that adds information or makes an idea more clear. (Punctuation is placed inside the parentheses to mark the material in the parentheses. Punctuation is placed outside the parentheses to mark the entire sentence. When the material in parentheses is longer than one sentence [such as this information], then the punctuation for the final sentence is placed inside the parentheses.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Your essay (all nine pages of it) is on my desk. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Do not use parentheses within parentheses. Use brackets in place of the inner parentheses. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Please refer to Julius Caesar (Act IV, scene i [page 72]). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parentheses are used to emphasize content. They place more emphasis on the enclosed content than commas. Use parentheses to set off nonessential material, such as dates, clarifying information, or sources, from a sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Muhammed Ali (1942-present), arguably the greatest athlete of all time, claimed he would "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parentheses & Dashes Rules <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use parentheses to enclose material added to a sentence but not of major importance. (An understated interruption) Place a space outside the parentheses (before the first unless it begins a sentence and after the last unless it ends a sentence), but do not place a space after the opening parenthesis or before the closing parenthesis. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use a dash to indicate an abrupt break in thought or speech. (Use dashes to enclose an overstated interruption?) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a. Do not put a space on either side of an em-dash (the type of dash we are discussing here). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. To type an em-dash on a Macintosh computer, hold down the Option and Shift keys and press the Hyphen key. If your typewriter or printer cannot make an em-dash, use two hyphens in a row (without spaces) to indicate an em-dash. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parentheses offer a third way of introducing interrupting material. A pair of commas supplies the standard, matter-of-fact way of doing so. If dashes provide a more forceful alternative to commas, parentheses offer a tentative and modest one: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul, like Jesus, encouraged celibacy not because he loathed the flesh (which in my opinion he did not) but out of his urgent concern for the practical work of proclaiming the gospel. (Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A parenthetical aside often sounds like a footnote. It need not always be perfectly integrated into the sentence: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In one sense, the "epistemic" sense ("epistemic" here means having to do with knowledge), science is indeed objective. (John R. Searle, Consciousness and Language) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Parentheses can also enclose full sentences. The period goes inside the closing parenthesis: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Ondaatje was born in 1943, into a prominent Sri Lankan family. (He has written a memoir of his relatives, Running in the Family, published in 1982.) (Louis Menand, "The Aesthete") **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">12. ELLIPSIS ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use an ellipsis to indicate a pause. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: You mean ... I ... uh ... we have a test today? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use an ellipsis to indicate omitted words in a quotation. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: "Then you'd blast off ... on screen, as if you were looking out ... of a spaceship." <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. If the ellipses comes at the end of your sentence, you still need end punctuation, even it is a period. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> I listened carefully as the teacher read Lincoln's inaugural address. "Four score and seven years ago ...." <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is usually no need to use the three dots (called an ellipsis) before and after a quotation, as almost all quotations are taken from a larger body of material. The ellipsis should be used when you leave out some material from the original in your quote. You will need to use some common sense and discretion in deciding when the omission is sufficient that the use of the ellipsis helps with understanding. It is not necessary to use it when quoting just a single word or phrase, especially in an embedded quote. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Although the quoted material here is clearly taken from a longer sentence, the beginning and end of which has been omitted, there is no need for an ellipsis. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Such a self-protection strategy is known as 'cognitive distancing'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You should use an ellipsis if you omit the beginning or end of a longer, indented quote. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Vincent claims that many stressed teachers employ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">... cognitive distancing. It is clearly a powerful psychological tool ... that makes perfect sense to stressed or mentally ill people. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(Even More Cognitive Psychology p45) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An ellipsis is considered as an unbreakable unit. It should not be split at the end of a line. To ensure this does not happen, you can use your computer to generate an ellipsis rather than simply typing three full stops. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can get an ellipsis in MS Word by holding down the ctrl and alt keys and then pressing the full stop key. It should be noted that the ellipsis consists of a space, three dots and a further space. There should be a space between the dots and the text. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Look at the Forster quote above for a good example of the correct use of the ellipsis. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause for thought, and can be especially useful in direct speech. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">James considered the problem for several minutes ... and then spoke. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'I wonder ...' Steve said, 'if the answer lies somewhere in that cave.' **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 26.6667px;">13. Italics ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Underlining and Italics are often used interchangeably. Before word-processing programs were widely available, writers would underline certain words to indicate to publishers to italicize whatever was underlined. Although the general trend has been moving toward italicizing instead of underlining, you should remain consistent with your choice throughout your paper. To be safe, you could check with your teacher to find out which he/she prefers. ü <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Italicize the titles of magazines, books, newspapers, academic journals, films, television shows, long poems, plays of three or more acts, operas, musical albums, works of art, websites, and individual trains, planes, or ships. Time //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Romeo and Juliet //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">by William Shakespeare //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Metamorphosis of Narcissus //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> by Salvador Dali ü <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Italicize foreign words. //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semper fi //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, the motto of the U.S. //Marine Corps//, means "always faithful." ü <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Italicize a word or phrase to add emphasis. //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The truth is of utmost concern //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">! ü <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Italicize a word when referring to that word. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The word justice is often misunderstood and therefore misused. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">UNDERLINING (OR ITALICS) ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> It is more acceptable to use italics when available. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Underline titles of long works such as books, magazines, albums, movies, etc. (Do not underline end punctuation.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We use The Language Handbook to study grammar. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: We use The Language Handbook to study grammar. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Underline foreign words which are not commonly used in everyday English. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: If you look closely, you'll see e pluribus on most U.S. currency. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: If you look closely, you'll see e pluribus on most U.S. currency. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Underline a word, number, or letter which is being discussed or used in a special way. (Quotation marks can be used for the same purpose.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Remember to dot every i and cross every t.  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Remember to dot every i and cross every t.   **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Three Rules for Italics/Underlining ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use underlining (italics) for titles of books, periodicals, works of art, films, record albums, television series, trains, ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and so on. (Titles of major works) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Use underlining (italics) to indicate words referred to as words, letters referred to as letters, numerals referred to as numerals. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Italicize foreign words. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">14. BRACKETS ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use brackets around around words of your own that you add to the words of someone you are quoting. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: The news anchor announced, "It is my sad duty to inform our audience that we are now at war [with Iraq]." **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">15. Conjunctions ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This section will explain a little about what conjunctions are and how they should be used. Conjunctions are words or phrases that are used to join two independent clauses together. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Coordinating conjunctions are and/or/but/nor/as/for/so. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When they are used to connect two independent clauses together they should be accompanied by a comma, which comes before the coordinating conjunction. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Some writers would argue that the comma itself is an adequate separation and would omit the comma in sentences where the two clauses are short and balanced. If in any doubt, I would use a comma as doing so cannot be wrong in this situation. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">AND **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Of all the coordinating conjunctions, 'and' is the most common and the one where the use or otherwise of the comma is possibly most troublesome. The comma is needed if the 'and' is used to connect two independent clauses. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul went to Kenya for his holiday, and Steve went to Dorset. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim's mother washed the floor, and his dad just sat in front of the fire. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If, however it is used simply to connect two elements in the same clause or sentence, no comma is required. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul and Steve went to sunny Barrow in Furness on holiday this year. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He liked listening to rap and classical music. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">BUT **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> But requires a comma when acting as a coordinating conjunction, connecting two independent clauses. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The weather was fine on Sunday, but we chose to stay in and watch TV. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jim's wife was a fine cook, but her pastry always tasted like clay. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When used to connect two ideas with the idea of 'with the exception of', no comma is needed. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Everybody but Jim got a new pencil. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It seemed like cake was given to everyone but me. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">OR **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Again, a comma is required when or is used to separate two independent clauses. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I can cook something special tonight, or Jim can zoom down to the fish and chip shop. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sharon can get you a ticket to the concert, or Suzie could take you to that new fish and chip shop. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If it is used to separate two elements in the same sentence, no comma is needed. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can have fish or chicken. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul decided he wasn't that keen on Kenya or Dorset. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> As well as the coordinating conjunctions noted and explained above, there is a whole raft of subordinating conjunctions. Some of them are: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">After, although, as, as if, as long as, as though, because, before, even if, even though, if, if only, in order that, now that, once, rather than, since, so that, than, that, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, while <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Using these will make one of the two clauses in a sentence dependent on (or subordinate to) the other (main) clause. When these are used to separate two clauses (a main clause and a dependent or subordinate clause), no comma is needed: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The cyclist fell off her bike because the road was icy. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You cannot have any chocolate crumble unless you finish your main course. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">However, if the dependent (or subordinate clause) is put first in the sentence, it must be offset with a comma. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Because the road was icy, the cyclist fell off her bike. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Unless you finish your main course, you cannot have any chocolate crumble. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">HOWEVER **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Here might be a good place to mention the word 'however'. Two independent clauses can be connected by coordinating conjunctions (with a comma) butcannot be connected by the word however. Using the word 'however' to connect two independent clauses is a common mistake. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul decided to go to Kenya, and Steve went to Dorset. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul decided to go to Kenya, but Steve went to Dorset. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul decided to go to Kenya, however Steve went to Dorset. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the example above, it would be better to make the two clauses into separate sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul decided to go to Kenya. Steve, however, went to Dorset. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can use 'however' to express contrast. It is usually offset with a comma. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There was, however, no chance of any cricket being played on Wednesday. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She, however, was a truly awful cook. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My culinary skills are, however, second to none. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Split infinitives ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The infinitive of a verb is the form given in the dictionary where no specific subject is indicated. In English it is always characterised by the word 'to': <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">e.g. to work, to pay, to eat, to find, to inhabit, to bribe...  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A 'split infinitive' occurs when the 'to' is separated from its verb by other words. The most famous split infinitive comes at the beginning of every episode of Star Trek, when the crew's continuing mission is announced as: "to boldly go" (rather than "to go boldly"). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Split infinitives have, traditionally, been regarded by some commentators as anathema, something to be avoided at all costs. There is no rational basis for this rule; splitting infinitives is commonplace in spoken language, and even in written English it may be clearer or more elegant to do so. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In general, however, split infinitives should be avoided in the formal register of an essay or other piece of academic writing, unless the alternative seems excessively awkward or clumsy. Usually it is sufficient to move the offending word so that it comes either before or after the infinitive. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Harry's teacher told him to never look back. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Harry's teacher told him never to look back. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She told me I had to quickly finish this sandwich. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She told me I had to finish this sandwich quickly. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I thought it best to quietly sneak away from the accident. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I thought it best to sneak away from the accident quietly. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I was told to always pay attention in class. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I was told always to pay attention in class. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are occasions when splitting the infinitice is far clearer than any alternative phrasing: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">That was the only way to more than double his salary. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">The Subjunctive ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you have learned a foreign language such as French, German or Spanish you may well have had to do battle with the subjunctive. It is little used in English but worth getting to grips with nonetheless. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The subjunctive mood, as it is known, is used to indicate a hypothetical or speculative situation: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the following examples the subjunctive is given in brackets: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If only I was [were] rich, I would be able to afford to buy a house. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I would like him better if he was [were] more sociable. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the weather was [were] better, we would be in a better mood. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the 'if' clause is simply reporting a factual situation, there is no need for the subjunctive. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If the weather had been better, we would have enjoyed our holiday better. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The subjunctive is also used after verbs indicating obligation, requirement or compulsion. The word 'that' in such situations often hints at the need for the subjunctive: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is important that these new facts are [be] taken into consideration. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The government has rejected calls that it amends [amend] the law. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The coach insisted that the new player plays [play] in the team's opening match. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The boss demanded that we are [be] back in the office by one o'clock. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The P.M requested that the minister uses [use] plain English. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The subjunctive is quite tricky, partly because it is so little used and therefore very little taught in English. As it is often not used in situations where it is necessary, sentences, which require the subjunctive, can sound perfectly correct without it. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Compound Words ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We have many words that have grown from the merging of two words. Some have changed over time and merged into a single word. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">keyboard, classroom, childlike, redhead, drawbridge, football, paperwork, stepfather <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Some require a hyphen. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">washing-up, daughter-in-law, e-mail, master-butcher, six-pack, school-run, head-lamp ...  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Others seem to work well as separate words: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">post office, job centre, vice president, middle classes, fuel tank, car park ...  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is no foolproof way of knowing whether a compound is a single word, needs a hyphen or will stand as two separate words. The computer grammar checker will help and so will a good dictionary (many available on-line). In some instances, there seems to be no universally accepted of writing the word. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">For example, semicolon and semi-colon both seem to be acceptable. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">16. Summarizing Punctuation Rules ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Punctuation rules can confuse the best of us. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When do we use semi-colons? What are the rules for commas? When do we use apostrophes and quotation marks? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use this guide to help you! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Periods. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Ending Sentences <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use these to end declarative sentences and imperative sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• The sun is shining today. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Open the door. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Abbreviations (shortened forms of words). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I spoke with Sgt. Johnson about the troops. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Question Marks ? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The punctuation rules for question marks are very simple. In fact, there is really only one rule! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Ending Sentences <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">These end interrogative sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This kind of sentence asks a question. Any time you ask a question, end the sentence with a question mark. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Should I use a question mark on this sentence? (Yes!) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Exclamation Marks ! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Ending Sentences <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use these at the end of exclamatory sentences, which are sentences that show emotion. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• We won the game! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Interjections <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can use either an exclamation mark or a comma after an interjection. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Yes! We won the game! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Comma Rules , <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Commas show your reader that there is a pause in the sentence they are reading. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It seems that commas have more punctuation rules than any other form of punctuation. I've narrowed it down to seven rules for you. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Lists <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When you list three or more things, use commas between the words. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I would like grapes, apples, and cookies. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Are we having fish, chicken, or beef for dinner? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Three or More Adverbs or Adjectives <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• This is a warm, fuzzy, pink sweater. (adjectives) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• My new car ran quietly, quickly, and smoothly. (adverbs) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Numbers <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When a number is over 999, use commas to separate the numbers. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I paid $3,500 for my new boat. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• The house is $600,000. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. Dates and Addresses <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• September 1, 2009 <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Send the package to 5154 Smith Street, Los Angeles, California, 92674. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">5. Quotations <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When you are quoting someone's exact speech, you must use quotation marks and a comma. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• My sister exclaimed, "You came home!" <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• "I missed you," I said. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">6. Joining Independent Clauses <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When you join two independent clauses, use a comma and a coordinating conjunction. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I love cats, but I also love dogs. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Can you come, or should I go? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• My sister had a ballet performance, and my brother had an orchestra concert. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">7. Introductory Words and Clauses <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Quietly, she ran past the sleeping man. (adverbs) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Wow, my sister came home from college. (interjections) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• If I see your sister, I will call you. (subordinate adverb clauses) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Semicolons ; <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use these to separate two complete sentences that are closely related. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I went to the play; my cousin was the main actor. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Colons : <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Introducing Lists <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• There are three ways that I love to relax: reading magazines, practicing yoga, and taking baths. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Introducing Single Items <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You can use a colon to introduce a single thing when you want to emphasize it. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• After shopping for eight hours, I finally found them: the perfect pair of jeans. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. Between Two Complete Sentences <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This is only a legit move if the second sentence states a logical consequence of whatever is stated in the first sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Jim ate brownies constantly: He gained seven pounds. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Apostrophes ' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I would argue that the punctuation rules for apostrophes are some of the most commonly misused punctuation rules ever. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">While misusing apostrophes can make for some funny signs (We Sell Carpet's!), you'll probably want to avoid misusing them. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The rules are pretty simple. There are only two times when you should use apostrophes. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Possessive <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When you want to make something possessive (to show ownership), use an apostrophe. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• This is Mark's cat. (The cat belongs to Mark.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• That is the television's remote control. (The remote control belongs to the television.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Don't ever go into the teachers' lounge. (The lounge belongs to the teachers.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Contractions <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Contractions use apostrophes to stand in the place of missing letters. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I can't stand the smell of bananas! (can't = cannot) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• I won't go with you. (won't = will not) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• The students shouldn't use cell phones in class. (shouldn't = should not) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">________________________________________ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotation Marks "" <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you're up for a laugh, the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks has lots of funny misuses of quotation marks. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Quoting Exact Speech <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Whenever you quote someone's exact speech, you must use quotation marks. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• The police officer said, "Where are you going?" <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• "I'm going to work," I replied. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. Titles <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use quotation marks to show the titles of magazine articles, chapters, short stories, essays, poems, and songs. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• "Columbus" is a great poem. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Our homework tonight is to read Chapter 6, "The Lovely Rose Garden." <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">• Sydney sang "The Star Spangled Banner" at the football game. **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 24px;">17. EXCLAMATION POINT ** <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. Use an exclamation point at the end of sentence, phrase, or word to indicate strong emotion. (Never use more than one exclamation point.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Example: Wow! I never thought Mom would let us go to the concert! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Unacceptable: Wow!! I never thought Mom would let us go to the concert!!!!!! <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When using numbers in essays and reports, it is important to decide whether to write the number out in full (two hundred thousand four hundred and six) or to use numerals (200,406). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are some rules to follow to make sure you use numbers in the right way. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use words if the number can be written in two words of fewer. Remember that some words require a hyphen (twenty-six, thirty-nine). Some guides recommend that numbers up to nine should be written in words, and those over nine written using numerals. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You should use numerals if the number modifies a unit of measurement, time or proportion (5 minutes, 8 kilograms, 54 mph). Abbreviations of units of measure should always be in the singular. (8 kg, 17cm, 12,900 km) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I live at number forty-eight. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I thought there were nine biscuits left in the tin? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My new car does 0-60 mph in just over 12 minutes. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She broke the long jump record by 17 centimetres. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The prize marrow weighed over 67 kg. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Numerals should be used for all larger numbers although the context might determine the precise usage. In technical writing such numbers should always be written using numerals. If the number is less precise, it may be possible to write the number in words. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The rock sample measured 17.74 grams when dried. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The lower attaining maths group's mean score was 88.6, with a standard deviation of 14.3. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are over thirty million people living in Mexico City. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Florida contains several thousand disenfranchised voters. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Numerals should always be used for decimals and fractions (7.625, 1/4 in, 1/2 a pint, 0.75) unless the figures are vague (...half the voters in the country..., ...two thirds of the population cannot use a colon correctly.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Following the drying process, 1/2 a gram of copper sulphate was added. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students spend more than half their disposable income on baked beans. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She beat the world pole-vault record by 1/4 cm. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Nearly a quarter of the world's population survives on less than a pound a day. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Place a hyphen after a unit of measure when the unit modifies a noun: 10-foot pole, 6-inch rule, 3-year-old horse. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He tried to retrieve the lost bottle with a 5-foot stick. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I teach a class of angelic 7-year-old children. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The thief was unable to scale the 12-metre fence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was delighted with his 78-kg prize marrow. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are occasions where combining written numbers and numerals will clear up possible confusion. Where you have two numbers running together, write the shorter one out in words and use numerals for the longer one. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I have a lovely class of 32seven-year-old children. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We need another 12five-litre bottles. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The thief made off with twenty1000-dollar bills. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He counted out 200 fifty-pence pieces. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You should avoid beginning a sentence with a number that is not written out. If a sentence begins with a year, write 'The year' before writing out the year in numbers. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One hundred and seventeen protests were lodged with the ombudsman. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Six hundred and thirty-five nuggets were discovered in the first day of the gold rush. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The year 1849 saw the great gold rush in California. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You should always use numerals in the following situations: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">With dates. Monday 20 April, 1968. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I will arrive on Tuesday 17 May, 2004. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">They are due back from their holiday on Monday 23 June. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">With fractions, decimals and percentages. The word 'percent' should be written out in words unless it is part of a technical report, in which case it is fine to use the mathematical symbol (%). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You will need to add 1/2 a teaspoon of treacle. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">More than 20 percent of students admit to spending more on pot noodles than on books. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The IQ scores of the children in the control group increased by 25.75 points. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">With money. The only exception to this is when the amounts are vague. In such cases it is fine to write the numbers out in words. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The concert tickets cost £ 27.50 each. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Consumers spend over £ 6 million a year on cous-cous. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Global ice-cream sales exceeded $ 1.2 million last month. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">With times. Again, if timings are vague it is fine to write them out in words. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The plane from Bombay will arrive at 16:45. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I'll see you at around half past seven. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The early morning bus arrived at 05:10 on the dot. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We left the pub at around eight o'clock and got home at around nine. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We usually do not have to think about making the verb agree with its subject. We would not write <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She give the biscuits to her daughter. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I gives the biscuits to my daughter. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are, however, instances where it is possible to mismatch the verb and the subject without it sounding as disjointed as the above examples do. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Plural subject, singular verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this sentence, careful planning and a clear mind are the subject of the verb and as they are plural the verb has to be plural: are rather than is. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Careful planning and a clear mind is important for writing a good essay. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Careful planning and a clear mind are important for writing a good essay. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You need to be careful in situations where the subject is a list of things, the last of which is a singular item. In such cases, the whole list of different items forms the subject and therefore needs a plural verb <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Warships, yachts, dinghies and a huge aircraft carrier is out on the harbour. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Warships, yachts, dinghies and a huge aircraft carrier are out on the harbour. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The subject in this sentence is 'Tim's collection', which is singular. It therefore needs a singular verb: 'was' rather than 'were'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim's collection of bottles was fantastic. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim's collection of bottles were fantastic. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Problems are particularly likely to occur with collective nouns such as a herd of, a collection of, a group of, a flock of, etc. All these are singular. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this example, the subject is 'a small group of birds', which is singular (even though there are lots of birds) and needs a singular verb: was. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A small group of birds were flying across the midnight sea. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A small group of birds was flying across the midnight sea. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An enormous herd of zebras was thundering towards us. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An enormous herd of zebras were thundering towards us. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Take care with 'each', which is also singular and therefore needs a singular verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Each of these bottles are cracked. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Each of these bottles is cracked. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You also need to watch out when other phrases are added between the subject and its verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this sentence the subject is my best friend, which is singular and so needs a singular verb 'is moving' rather than 'are moving'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My best friend, along with all his family and pets, is moving to Australia. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My best friend, along with all his family and pets, are moving to Australia. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My best friend, all his family and pets, are moving to Australia. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Either and neither can also cause problems. They are both singular and need a singular verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Neither of you is going to the cinema this evening. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Neither of you are going to the cinema this evening. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Either Spain or Portugal seems like a good place for a holiday. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Either Spain or Portugal seem like a good place for a holiday. (Incorrect) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It seems that none can be treated as either singular or plural. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">None of my friends speak German. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">None of my friends speaks German. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">None of the bottles was cracked. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">None of the bottles were cracked. (Correct) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is important to be careful with the position of 'only' and 'often'. If it is positioned carelessly, its meaning can be ambiguous. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The following sentence is ambiguous. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students who go to the pub often can get worse grades. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This could mean either of the following: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students who often go to the pub can get worse grades. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students who go to the pub can often get worse grades. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This sentence is also ambiguous. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The women who protested at Greenham Common often would sleep in tents. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This could mean either of the following: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The women who often protested at Greenham Common would sleep in tents. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The women who protested at Greenham Common would often sleep in tents. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The same problem can occur with only. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The students who went to the pub only found warm beer. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This could mean either of the following: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The students who only went to the pub found warm beer. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The students who went to the pub found only warm beer. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Take care when using these little words that can pop up at different places in sentences. While the meaning of the sentence may be obvious to you, it may well be ambiguous to your reader. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A common mistake is to change tense in the middle of a sentence or paragraph. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I was quite surprised how well I feel. (Past tense becomes present.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She fully intended to do her homework but she forgets and goes out with her mates. (Past tense becomes present.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim wants to get a job but he didn't know what to do about it. (Present tense becomes past.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When you are recounting the plot of a play or other literary work, you should use the present tense. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">At this point Japhy and Ray decide to climb a mountain in the High Sierras. They spend a night under the stars, and Japhy cooks a fantastic chocolate pudding, which cools in the snow. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Be careful not to slip into the past tense. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">At this point Japhy and Ray decide to climb a mountain in the High Sierras. They spend a night under the stars, and Japhy cooked a fantastic chocolate pudding, which cooled in the snow. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It might be necessary to use the past tense (perfect tense) when a chronological sequence of events is involved. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Once Japhy and Ray have packed the car, they are able to set off for the mountains. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This section is slightly different from the preceding grammar section. It is less to do with the 'nuts and bolts' of the language and more to do with writing style. It is possible to write in a way that is grammatically correct, but clumsy or unconvincing. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">By working through the following pages, you will not only avoid some of the common traps that can spoil your writing style, you will also hear about ways of improving your writing style. A good writing style is a hugely useful life skill, both at university and onward into professional life. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Run-on sentences are grammatically incorrect; they read very badly and should be rooted out from your writing. Unfortunately computer grammar checkers are not good at identifying them. Grammar checkers will identify the comma splice (two independent clauses separated by a comma) but seem quite happy if there is no punctuation between the clauses. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A run-on sentence is really two sentences that should be separated by some kind of punctuation mark but are not. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Below are some examples of run-on sentences. Although they look very clumsy when seen in isolation like this, it is easy to get carried away when writing an essay and end up with run-on sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She only rings me at certain times she just wants to make herself feel better. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I rushed out to the shop I had no milk left. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The professor ran to his office he had just had a brilliant idea. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you find that your sentences are long and each contains more than one idea, you will need to find a way of separating the ideas. You could simply use a full stop. A semi-colon might make the connection between the ideas clearer. You could connect the two clauses with a conjunction of some kind. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I rushed out to the shop. I had no milk left. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I rushed out to the shop; I had no milk left. (The connection between the two clauses is implied but not explicitly stated.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I rushed out to the shop because I had no milk left. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I rushed out to the shop, as I had no milk left. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is no substitute for proof reading your writing to eliminate run on sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your ability to spot run-on sentences with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Although this sounds like a nasty medical complaint, it is in fact a barrier to a good writing style. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A pleonasm occurs when unnecessary or redundant words are used. They simply add bulk to a sentence without adding any extra content. Below are some examples of sentences containing a pleonasm. The redundant words have been highlighted. Omitting these words simply makes the sentences more concise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jill saw the building burning down with her own eyes. (She must have seen it with her own eyes.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The vote was completely and totally unanimous. (A unanimous vote cannot be anything but complete and total.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She herself had written her autobiography of her own life in just two weeks. (She must have written her autobiography, by definition. The biography must have been of her life.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim and his friends decided to co-operate together on their project. (Co-operating involves working together, by definition). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It was his usual, habitual custom to have a bacon sandwich for breakfast. (A custom is always usual and habitual.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are lists of common pleonasms on line. One such list can be found at  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">http://www.wordexplorations.com/pleonasm.html <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">While reading such lists is quite entertaining, it is impossible to remember all the different traps you could fall into. As with many aspects of good style, there is no substitute for rigorous proof reading. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your ability to spot pleonasms with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is no set length for a paragraph. It is possible, however, to have your paragraphs too long or too short. There are some guiding principles that will help you to get your paragraphs right. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with a one focus or major point of discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas. This is one reason why paragraphs can become over-long. More will be said later about maintaining focus in your writing. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A paragraph should usually begin with an introductory sentence, which sets out the subject of that paragraph. The remainder of the paragraph should go on to explain and 'unpack' that initial sentence. If you find that you are writing about something different from your initial sentence, your paragraph is probably too long and your focus has wandered. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you find that your paragraphs are too long: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Consider splitting a single long paragraph into two shorter ones. It is perfectly acceptable to begin a paragraph with a sentence connecting it to the previous paragraph. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Try to organise your writing so that your ideas are developed logically and sequentially. If you find that a paragraph contains more than one idea, you may need to reorganise your essay so that your ideas are developed more logically. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Look at the other paragraphs in your essay. Paragraphs should all be of roughly similar length. If you find that you have one or two paragraphs that are much longer than all the others, read them carefully and try to find out why. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If a paragraph is too short, it may be because the initial idea has not been developed sufficiently. To some extent, the level of development is dependent on the writer's purpose and the overall length of the essay. However, you should beware of paragraphs of only two or three sentences. Read them carefully and consider if your idea has been sufficiently developed. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you think that an idea requires further development, consider some of the following strategies: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use an anecdote or story <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Define terms in the paragraph <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Compare and contrast <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Evaluate causes and reasons <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Examine effects and consequences. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Inclusion of irrelevant and unnecessary information can cause paragraphs to become over long and to lose focus. Such irrelevant information will cause your argument to lose force. Your reader will lose interest and the main thrust of your argument will be buried. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the paragraph below, the irrelevant information is italicised. By removing the information there would be more space for relevant information. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim loves to go to India. He tries to go at least once a year. Last year he took his new rucksack, which is blue and white. His love of the country began during his first visit when he was seduced by the exotic sounds and smells. These days it is possible to buy a lot of exotic fruit, that has to be flown into the country in our supermarkets. He particularly enjoys travelling around the country's rail network where you get to see real Indian life. The trains in England are faster and cleaner but nowhere near as much fun. His favourite place in India is the Rajasthani desert, a beautiful landscape in the west of the country. Camels are found all over the desert and are often known as ships of the desert. Tim tries to go on a camel trek whenever he visits Rajasthan. Camels can be temperamental creatures and rather smelly too. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Below is a corrected version of the above paragraph with the irrelevant information removed. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim loves to go to India. He tries to go at least once a year. His love of the country began during his first visit when he was seduced by the exotic sounds and smells. He particularly enjoys travelling around the country's rail network where you get to see real Indian life. His favourite place in India is the Rajasthani desert, a beautiful landscape in the west of the country. Tim tries to go on a camel trek whenever he visits Rajasthan. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">These two cause all sorts of problems and it is well worth the two minutes it takes to understand the difference between the two. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It's is the contracted form of 'it has' or 'it is' and is used in the following ways: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"It's been a long time since we spoke," he whispered. (it has) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Come on," he shouted, "it's a lovely day!" (it is) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"There is no way it's going to be ready on time."(it is) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"It's been ready for weeks!" (it has) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Its is the possessive form of it, meaning 'of it'. This is possibly why the difference between it's and its causes so many problems. Its, without an apostrophe, is a possessive form, where an apostrophe is usually required. It is similar to words like his and her, neither of which needs an apostrophe. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The building was missing its doors and windows. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The tree had lost all of its leaves. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Has your chewing gum lost its flavour? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Madrid is famous for its art galleries. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of it's and its with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There and Their and They're. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Another easy one to sort out. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Their is the possessive form indicating belonging to them. You should only use this when you are indicating possession to a group. Look at the examples below. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The children all ate their sandwiches. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The soldiers polished their rifles. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Greek people are justifiably proud of their beautiful country. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The passengers complained that the airline had lost their luggage. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is the place, i.e. not here. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is also used when saying 'there is' and 'there are'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Put those books over there please. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I found the old shoes in there. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There are thousands of stars visible from Earth. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is soot all over the new carpet. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">They're is the contracted form of "they are". Remember that abbreviations like this should not be used in essays and other formal writing. They are fine in reported speech. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'They're all going to the cinema this evening,' said Paul's mum. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'I can't see where they're coming from!' he yelled. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'They're waiting for you in the interview room.' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'Do you know where they're going to be this afternoon?' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of there, their and they're with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">These three are occasionally muddled. Luckily it is easy to sort out when to use them. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Two is the number. In academic writing it is better to use the written form than to write the numeral '2'. There is more on using numbers in formal writing here. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When I looked in the tin, there were only two biscuits left. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tim has only got two friends: Colin and Donald. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Two cars passed the building shortly before the explosion. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We were stopped by two angry-looking policemen. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Too is used with adverbs and adjectives in sentences like these: <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">English grammar is far too complicated for me. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I'm not buying this car; it is far too expensive. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The French speak too quickly for me to understand them completely. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The match was none too exciting until the final few minutes. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To is the most common of these three words. It has several different uses. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is used with verbs in their infinitive form. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I think it is going to rain today. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul and Steve both had ambitions to become professional bowls players. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When I win the lottery, I would like to spend a year travelling the world. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is no need to shout. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Remember that you should not put anything in between the 'to' and the rest of the verb infinitive. This is known as a split infinitive. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'To' is also used in the sense of 'towards'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I walk to school every day. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Next month I am travelling to India and then to Thailand. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'Get to the back of the queue!' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">'Are you going to the shops later on today?' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of the uses of to/two/too with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This seems to cause some problems but can be easily sorted out. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Essentially, who is a subject pronoun and should be used to replace the subject of the verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Whom is an object pronoun and should be used either to replace the object of a verb or before a preposition. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A simple test is to see whether you can replace the who/whom with a subject pronoun (I or he) or an object pronoun (me or him). <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Whomdid you see? (Did you see him?) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I cannot see who is in the classroom. (He is in the classroom.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To whom it may concern. (To him...) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Who has lost their shoes? (He has lost his shoes.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of who and whom using this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This can cause some problems and again, is easily sorted. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If we can get a little grammatical here, I should be used when it is the subject of the sentence, that is the person doing the verb. Me should be used for the object of the sentence either direct or indirect. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A good test as to which one to use is to think which one would be used if the other person were not included in the sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">These are the kinds of situations where there could be a problem deciding whether to use I or me. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The situation was awful for Paul and me. (...was awful for me.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Paul and I were out strolling along the seafront when the ship sank. (I was out....) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She asked if she could come out with Julia and me. (...come out with me.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Julia and I were very pleased to have her along. (I was very pleased...) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She thought she'd seen Jane and me. (...she'd seen me.) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My best friend and I are off to India at the end of the month. (I am off ...) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Imagine that the other person or people are not included in the sentence. It should then be obvious whether to use Ior me. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of I and me with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This decision can cause some problems. Luckily, it is easily solved. The most common mistake is to use 'less' when 'fewer' would be correct. It is unlikely you would make the reverse error. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Less is used with things/material that cannot be counted or separated into individual parts. You can not count orange juice, sunshine, sand etc (although you can count litres of orange juice, hours of sunshine, grains of sand etc) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I would like less custard please. (Custard is not countable) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You get less jam in a smaller jar. (Jam is not countable) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">There is a lot less rain in the Greek islands than in Bristol. (Rain is not countable) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Once I heard what happened, I had far less sympathy with her. (Sympathy is not countable) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Fewer is used with discrete things that can be separated or counted. CDs, sausages, cows, people etc can be counted. By far the most common mistake is to use 'less' when 'fewer' is needed. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If only there were fewer people in this bus. (People are individual, countable things) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He decided he should buy fewer CDs. (CDs are individual, countable things) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Steve always buys fewer drinks than the rest of us! (Drinks are individual, countable things) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I will have to take fewer holidays this year. (Holidays are individual, countable things) <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of less/fewer in this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This is another instance where a simple rule will help you to make sense of something that many people still get wrong. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Like is a preposition (don't panic), which means that it can come before a noun but it should not come before a whole clause containing a verb. As is a conjunction, and can be used before a clause containing a verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As I told you, the car was parked behind a tree. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We could take a trip to the coast, just like old times. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">As we thought, the weather was awful. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In formal academic text, you should avoid using 'like' in a sentence like this one. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It looks like it is going to rain. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The hero feels like he is the most powerful man on earth. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He looks like he has had a rough night. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is better to substitute 'like' with 'as if' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It looks as if it is going to rain. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The hero feels as if he is the most powerful man on earth. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He looks as if he has had a rough night. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When listing things that are similar it is better to avoid 'like' and use 'such as', as in these examples. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The hero has many engaging qualities like courage, kindness and compassion. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The hero has many engaging qualities such as courage, kindness and compassion. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I have visited many tropical countries like India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I have visited many tropical countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this country we eat a lot of junk food like chips, hamburgers and other rubbish. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In this country we eat a lot of junk food such as chips, hamburgers and other rubbish. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your knowledge of like and as with this exercise. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">English is full of words, which sound the same or similar yet have different meaning and are easily confused. A computer spell checker will not highlight a word that is spelled correctly but used incorrectly. If you are uncertain about the correct spelling of a particular word, the only way to be certain is to look the word up in a dictionary and check the definition so you know you are using the correct word. Below are some commonly confused words with their definitions and examples of their use. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Whether - is used in indirect questions to introduce one alternative. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Weather - is a noun meaning the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I'm not sure whether he is from Bolton or from Blackpool. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I am certain that the weather is going to be fantastic tomorrow. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Affect - is a verb meaning to have an influence on  <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Effect - is a noun meaning a cause of change brought about by an agent. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Poor grammar may affect your essay marks. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Poor grammar had a huge effect on his academic achievements. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Uninterested means to find something boring or dull. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Disinterested means impartial <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I am uninterested in this book; it is totally boring. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The judge and jury are personally disinterested in the outcome of the case. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Loose - is an adjective meaning not fastened, contained or restrained. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Lose - is a verb and has many meanings such as not to win, to mislay etc <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">That roof tile is loose and might fall at any minute. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You must not lose that cheque. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cite - is a verb meaning to quote as an authority or example. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sight - is a noun meaning the ability to see or something that is seen. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Site - is a noun meaning a place or setting of something. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In a good essay, it is important to cite expert opinion. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In his old age he had poor sight. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This would be a good site for a new golf course. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Allowed - this is the past participle of the verb to allow and means given permission. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Aloud - this is an adjective and means using a (loud) voice. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You are not allowed to go to the cinema this evening. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was asked to read the poem aloud. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Comprise - is a verb meaning to consist of or be composed of. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Compose - to make up the constituent parts of. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The USA comprises 50 states. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The USA is composed of 50 states. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Accept - is a verb and has many meanings among which are to receive something. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Except - is a preposition meaning 'with the exclusion of'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I would like you to accept this gift. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">All his friends came to the party except Jim who was in hospital. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Elicit - is a verb meaning to bring or draw out/gather information. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Illicit - is an adjective meaning not sanctioned by custom or law. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I tried to elicit information from my interviewees. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The football manager was involved in an illicit affair. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Imply - To express or indicate indirectly. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Infer - To conclude from evidence or premises. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Somebody will imply something and the recipient of the implication will infer from it. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She tried to imply that I could not understand the question. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">From what he said, I was able to infer that he did not understand the situation. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Incredible - so implausible as to elicit disbelief/astonishing <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Incredulous - sceptical of disbelieving. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The golden tower was utterly incredible. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When I first saw the tower I was utterly incredulous. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Passed - this is the past tense of the verb to pass. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Past - the time before the present, no longer current. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He passed the ball to the striker. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He hoped that the unfortunate incident was now firmly in the past. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Historic -means having importance in or influence on history. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Historical - means 'of or relating to the character of history.' <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It was a wet day when Cook set off on his historic voyage. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The archaeological find was of major historical significance. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Assert - to express or maintain positively/affirm. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Ensure - to make sure or certain. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Assure - to give confidence/remove doubt. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was very keen to assert his innocence. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I wanted to ensure that the car would be ready on time. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The mechanic was able to assure me that my car would be ready on time. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Complement - to complete, make whole or bring to perfection. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Compliment - an expression of praise, admiration or congratulation. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The wine complemented the fish perfectly. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The guests complimented her on the lovely meal. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Precede - to come before in time or rank. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Proceed - to go forward or onwards. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The abstract should precede the main body of the report. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I instructed him to proceed with the research. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Advice - is the noun <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Advise - is the verb. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">She gave me some good advice about the problem of noisy neighbours. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I asked him to advise me about my noisy neighbours. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Your - means belonging to you. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You're - is the contracted form of 'you are'. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Are these smelly things your shoes? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">You're going to have to get rid of these shoes, they're beyond repair. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Loath - reluctant or unwilling <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Loathe - to hate or detest. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I am loath to finish this report; I am uninterested in the subject. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I loathe this room; the wallpaper will have to be changed. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Climactic - relating to or resulting in a climax. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Climatic - relating to the climate. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The war was described as a climactic event. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">While planning the voyage, he paid close attention to the climatic conditions. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dependent - relying on or requiring the aid of another. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dependant - one who relies on another especially for financial support. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I am dependent on my supervisor for some good advice. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He wanted to emigrate with his wife and all his dependants. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Council - an assembly or collection of persons. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Counsel - (to give) advice, opinions or advice. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He was elected to represent his class on the school council. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I would counsel you to pay the fine and draw a line under the matter. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Prophesy - to reveal by divine inspiration. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Prophecy - an inspired utterance of a prophet. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The mystic used to sit beneath the waterfall and prophesy. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">He would sit next to the waterfall and deliver his prophecy. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Stationary - not moving. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Stationery - office supplies. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The broken down car was stationary. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Finding he had run out of pencils, Mr Bush ordered more stationery. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Economic - of or relating to the economy. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Economical - thrifty and prudent in management. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The country was experiencing a period of sustained economic growth. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The minister was accused of being somewhat economical with the truth. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Test your understanding of these confusable words with these exercises.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Using Numbers **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Subject/Verb Agreement **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Singular subject plural verb **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Positioning of 'only' and 'often' **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Consistency of Tense **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Style **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Run-on sentences **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Pleonasm **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Paragraph Length **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Use examples and illustrations **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Straying Off The Point **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It's and Its **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">To, Two and Too **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Who and Whom. **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">I or me **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Less/Fewer **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Like or As **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">confusable words **