There are reasonable and normal guides for spelling, grammar
and punctuation. You should follow these routinely and without
complaint. Most of those who find such guidelines too restrictive
have yet to learn the guidelines. The most commonly flouted guidelines
are these:
Punctuation
Apostrophes
- Use apostrophes to show possession
- Use 's to show possession by a singular noun
- Use s' to show possession by a plural noun
- Use no apostrophes in possessive pronouns
such as "its.''
- Use apostrophes to signal a contraction (such
as "it's'' meaning "it is.'')
- Use an apostrophe to signal certain odd plurals:
numerals, abbreviations, single letters, and some acronyms.
Colons
- Use a colon after the salutation of a formal
business letter.
- Use a colon to separate hours from minutes
in times.
- Use a colon to introduce a long or famous
quotation.
- Use a colon to introduce a list of particulars
following a completed independent clause. If the element before
the colon is not a completed statement, do not use the colon.
Commas to Separate
- Use a comma after each element of an A, B,
and C series except the last element. A comma does go before
the conjunction.
- Use a comma before a short quotation.
- Use a comma to separate an introductory element
from the independent clause that follows.
- Use a comma to separate independent clauses
joined by simple conjunctions. The comma goes just before the
conjunction.
- Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.
- Use a comma after the salutation of an informal
letter.
Commas to Enclose
- Use a pair of commas or a comma and a period
to enclose certain elements. When enclosing, do not put down
one mark and forget the other.
- Use a pair of commas or a comma and a period
to enclose
Titles such as "M.D.,'' "PhD,''
or Jr.''
Names of states
Years in dates
Words of direct address
Inserted sentence elements
Parenthetical elements
Appositives
Nonidentifying (nonrestrictive) elements
Comma Problems
- Do not use one mark when two are needed to
enclose some element.
- Do not use commas where a semicolon or a
period is required:
- Between independent clauses with no conjunction
joining the clauses
Between independent clauses joined by conjunctive adverbs
Between two independent clauses containing internal punctuation
but joined by a simple conjunction.
- Do not use commas to separate two words,
two phrases, or two dependent clauses joined by a simple conjunction
(usually "and'').
Dashes
- Use a pair of dashes around an element that
deserves enclosing commas but that contains internal punctuation.
(A pair of parentheses might serve in such a situation but would
reduce the apparent importance of the item enclosed.)
- Use a dash only when some of mark of punctuation
seems inadequate.
Hyphens
- Use a hyphen to join compound adjectives.
- Use a hyphen at the end of a line to break
a word that would not fit on the line. Hyphenate at the syllable
breaks. When in doubt about where to break, consult a dictionary.
Numbers
- Spell out numbers one through ten.
- Do not start sentences with numerals.
Parentheses
- Avoid overusing parentheses. In the middle
of sentences, they can distract your reader.
- Use parentheses in place of commas to enclose
an element containing internal punctuation. (A pair of dashes
might serve you better since parentheses reduce the apparent
importance of the element they enclose.)
- Use other marks of punctuation correctly
in relation to parentheses.
Quotations and Quotation Marks
- Use a comma before a short quotation
- Use a colon before a famous or long quotation
or before a quotation used as documentary evidence.
- Use other punctuation correctly in relation
to quotation marks. At the ends of quotations
- Periods and commas always go inside the quotation
marks.
- Semicolons, colons, and dashes always go
outside the quotation marks.
- Quotation marks and exclamation points go
in their logical positions.
Semicolons
- Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses
joined by no conjunction.
- Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses
joined by a conjunctive adverb. Use a comma after the adverb.
- Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses
joined by a simple conjunction when the first clause contains
a comma or commas.
- Use a semicolon to separate members of an
A, B, and C series when one more members have internal punctuation.
Grammar
Case of Pronouns
Use the case of pronoun correct for the grammatical
situation
Use the nominative case for
Subjects of verbs
Predicate nominatives
Appositives with nouns in the nominative
Use the objective case for
Direct objects
Indirect objects
Objects of prepositions
Appositives with nouns in the objective
Use the possessive case of pronouns
To show a pronoun's ownership of a noun
To show a pronoun's ownership of a gerund
Be wary of cases of pronouns when the pronouns
are joined to something else by "and.''
A pronoun's case following "than'' or "as'' is determined
by completing the elliptical clause in one's mind.
Modifiers
Put modifiers as near the word modified as
you can.
A participle at the beginning of a sentence modifies the grammatical
subject of the sentence.
"Which,'' "who,'' and "that'' should go right
next to the words they modify.
Modifiers must have some clear reference; they must not refer
to ideas, but to actual words.
"Only'' and "not'' are two single-word modifiers extremely
hard to place accurately.
Parallelism
When joining elements on an A and B construction
or in a series, make sure that the elements are of the same grammatical
type.
Use no ''. . .and that'' statements without a "that'' clause
before it; no ''. . .and who'' without a "who'' or "whom''
clause before it; no ''. . .and which'' statement without a "which''
clause before it.
Lists should be in parallel form.
Elements joined by correlative conjunctions should be grammatically
parallel.
Pronouns and Antecedents
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in
number, person, and case.
If the antecedent of the pronoun is a collective noun and the
collective noun has, earlier in the sentence, agreed with a singular
verb, the pronoun must be singular.
A pronoun must have a single clear antecedent; the same pronoun,
used twice in a sentence, must refer to only one antecedent.
Use "he or she,'' "him or her,'' or "his or her''
to refer to singular antecedents of indefinite gender.
Subject and Verb Agreement
- A verb must agree with its subject in number
and in person.
- Use a singular verb with certain pronouns:''each,''
"everyone,'' "neither,'' "not one,'' "no
one.''
- "Here'' and "there,'' though often
in the subject position, are not subjects.
- A prepositional phrase following the subject
does not affect the number of the subject.
- Certain words not ending in "s'' are
plurals: "phenomena,'' "media,'' "criteria,''
"data.''
- Certain words ending in "s'' are actually
singular. Most of them end in "-ics'': "politics,''
"semantics,'' "athletics,'' "ethics.''
- Names of diseases ending in "s'' are
generally considered singular: "mumps,'' "measles,''
"rabies.''
- A numbered amount, like "fifty miles,''
is considered singular if the writer has only the one amount
in mind, not the individual parts of the amount.
- Collective nouns are generally taken as singular
these days, though they may be taken as plural if the writer
is thinking of the individual actions of the members of the group.
- The verb "to be'' agrees with the noun
or pronoun in the subject position.
- The pronouns "which,'' "who,''
and "that'' can be singular or plural depending on what
they refer to.
- Compound subjects joined by "and'' are
plural.
- Verbs agreeing with compound subjects joined
by "or,'' "either. . .or,'' or "neither. . .nor''
agree with the part of the subject nearer the verb.
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