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Grammar English 2126 |
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A Handbook of Selected Punctuation Marks
Sandra Penrose
March 6, 1997
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Apostrophe:
The apostrophe is used to indicate the possessive case of nouns and indefinite pronouns; to mark character omissions in contracted words and dates; and to form the plurals of symbols, abbreviations, and some dates and numbers.
1. Possessives:
Use an 's to indicate possession for a singular noun.
Sarah's coat is black.
When more than one noun can demonstrate possession of an item, use the 's on the last noun in the list.
Joe and Linda's house is being sold.
To demonstrate individual possession of similar items, apply the 's to each noun.
Mike's and Molly's grades have improved.
Singular nouns that are longer than one syllable and end in s, or ce may have either an apostrophe or an 's to designate possession. If the noun is only one syllable long, however, it must end in 's.
Louis' candy is sticky.
Ross's cat is mean.
When a singular noun ends in s and the next word begins with an s, use the apostrophe to indicate possession.
Denis' sweet tooth is legendary.
If the plural noun ends in s, only the apostrophe is needed to indicate possession.
George is at the teachers' meeting.
If a noun ends with repeated s or z sounds, or an eez sound, use only the apostrophe to indicate possession.
Moses' mother hid him in the bulrushes.
Louise' tooth hurts her.
Do not use an apostrophe or an 's with possessive pronouns.
Sheila, whose eyes are blue, wears green contacts.
You must use 's to indicate possession for an indefinite or an impersonal pronoun.
I need someone's help with my homework.
When using compound nouns, put the 's on the noun closest to the object to indicate possession.
The Surgeon General's report is due soon.
Often, names of places or institutions will not use the apostrophe to designate possession.
He attended Johns Hopkins University.
2. Contractions:
Contractions of words and dates can appear in informal writing. Use an apostrophe to indicate the place where characters have been omitted.
She wouldn't work for the gov't. in '93.
Omit the apostrophe in abbreviated names and titles.
Lt. Wm. Jones visited us.
3. Plurals:
No apostrophe is needed when a word reflects its meaning in a sentence.
Don't give me any ifs, ands, or buts.
However, when the word is referred to only as a word, add an 's for clarity.
He used twenty-five and's in one paragraph.
Dates, numbers, and acronyms that end with an upper case letter do not require an apostrophe with the s.
Seven Ph.D.s lived in this building in the 1970s.
If the plural of an upper case letter could be misunderstood, use an 's to form the plural.
The Roman Numerals for the number eight is a V followed by three I's.
Comma:
The comma is used to connect, separate, or highlight grammatical elements, and to indicate the omission of words or characters in sentences.
1. Connecting Elements:
The comma is used before the coordinating conjunction when a sentence contains more than one main clause. The coordinating conjunctions are and,or, but, yet, for,nor, and so (i.e., therefore).
He painted the exterior of the house, and she painted the interior.
2. Separating Elements:
Use the comma to separate two or more coordinate modifying words. Be careful not to separate a modifying word from its own modifier.
Sam looked up at the bright, yellow sun.
He ate a bright red apple.
Place a comma between an introductory phrase that modifies the subject, unless the phrase is short.
While waiting for the bus on that cold rainy night, she started sneezing.
At 10 o'clock the bus arrived.
Place commas before and after Jr., Sr., Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., Inc., and similar designations, unless the designation is genitive.
They identified him as Howard R. Williams, Jr., chairman of their board.
That is Howard R. Williams, Jr.'s company.
A comma separates an imperative or declarative clause from its tag question.
Do it, won't you?
You know the answer, don't you?
An adverb or adverb phrase that begins a sentence must be followed by a comma if it serves as a link to the previous sentence.
She believed he had the talent to succeed. Unfortunately, he was lazy.
Place a comma before the final and, or, or nor when it is part of a list of three or more words, phrases, or other members of a list.
He promised to supply the pencils, pens, and notebooks for the class.
Place a comma between words, phrases, or figures that would otherwise be ambiguous.
That she knew where the money was, was news to me.
Use commas to separate direct quotations from the rest of the sentence.
Maggie frowned and said, "You can't do that."
"Perhaps," Tom responded, "I will try anyway."
Place a comma after the name of someone being addressed.
George, put out the garbage.
3. Highlighting Elements:
Use commas to set off interjected words, phrases, or clauses.
He knew, however, that no one would listen to his warning.
No, you may not come with us.
Words or phrases used in contrast should be set off with commas.
Jane, not Shirley, will attend the meeting.
Set off nonrestrictive words or phrases with commas.
Her husband, Bill, is a scientist.
4. Replacing Elements:
When a word or phrase is missing from a sentence because its meaning can be inferred, a comma marks the omission.
George was the hard worker; John, the lazy one.
Ellipses:
Ellipses are a series of dots used to indicate the omission of words or paragraphs from quoted material. They can also be used to indicate hesitant speech.
1. Word Omission:
When words are omitted from the beginning of a quotation, three periods are used as the ellipses. If the quotation begins in the middle of a sentence, the first word after the ellipses will be in lower case.
". . . into that good night."
When words are omitted in the middle of the quotation, the ellipses appear as three periods to mark the omission.
He agreed that prices were . . . reasonable.
If the omitted words appear at the end of a sentence, four periods are used.
She disagreed with the decision . . . .
2. Paragraph Omission:
The omission of one or more paragraphs is designated by ellipses in the form of a single row of periods.
This is paragraph 1.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This is paragraph 3.
If the paragraph preceding the omitted one ends in the middle, use four periods to indicate the omission of the remaining words.
This is . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This is paragraph 3.
If the paragraph following the omitted one starts in the middle, use three periods to indicate the omission opening words of the paragraph.
This is paragraph 1.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . is paragraph 3.
3. Speech Hesitation:
The ellipses may be used between words to indicate where the natural flow of speech has been interrupted.
Clutching at his throat, he gasped, " Help. . .help me."
Italics:
Italics can be used to print titles of complete works, to emphasize specific parts of a written passage, or to highlight unfamiliar words that may require some definition.
1. Titles:
Italics can be used for the titles of complete works, such as books, magazines, or plays.
The Journal of the American Medical Association is on your desk.
Italics can also be used for the abbreviated titles of complete works.
The JAMA contains reports on medical research.
2. Emphasis:
Certain words may be printed in italics to emphasize a point.
Maintaining normal blood pressure is extremely important.
3. Unfamiliar Words:
Scientific words and foreign words not yet included in our vernacular are often set off in italics.
The Escherichia coli 0157 is considered deadly.
Period:
Periods are used to end sentences; to signal the omission of words, sentences, or paragraphs; to form leaders that link information; and to end abbreviations. They also serve several different functions when used with numbers.
1. Ending Sentences:
Use the period to end declarative and imperative sentences. Some interrogative sentences that are intended as imperatives may also end in a period.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
Since when am I supposed to believe this.
It ends a quotation when it also ends the sentence, but not when the quote ends in the middle of the sentence (see Quotation Marks).
2. Omissions:
The omission of words, sentences, or paragraphs may be indicated by a string of periods (see Ellipses).
3. Links:
A string of periods may also be leaders, for example, to locate page numbers after headings in a Table of Contents:
Chapter 2...........................................................page 30.
4. Abbreviations:
A period may be found after an abbreviation, after each letter of a person's initials, and within some acronyms.
Mr. Jones will see you now.
On the plaque were the initials W.R.K.
The Rosicrucians are identified by the acronym A.M.O.R.C.
5. Numbers:
A period can indicate the multiplication function in mathematical expressions.
3 . 5 means 3 times 5.
It is also used to separate dollars from cents in monetary expressions.
$13.50
Similarly, periods can be used to indicate decimal points.
11.9%, 25.3 °C
The period is commonly found terminating numbers or letters tabulating a list.
1. (item 1)
2. (item 2)
Quotation Marks:
Quotation marks enclose direct quotations, titles, technical terms, nicknames, and selected words for emphasis.
1. Direct Quotations:
Short quotations are enclosed within a paragraph. If a dialogue between several people is being quoted, a new paragraph begins each time the speaker changes.
"Did you do it?" he asked.
"No," she replied.
Quoted material is usually set off from the rest of a sentence with commas. However, if the quotation should end with an exclamation mark or a question mark, this punctuation will be used in place of the expected comma.
"I'm finally tired enough to get to sleep," she yawned.
They shouted, "Congratulations!" through the door.
If the quotation ends the sentence, the end of the quotation will contain the ending punctuation for the sentence.
He exclaimed, "I am the strongest man in Texas!"
If the quoted material would end with a period, but the sentence is not complete, a comma is placed at the end of the quote, inside the quotation mark.
"I'm in here," he whispered.
If the body of the sentence is interrogatory or exclamatory, but the quoted material is not, and if the quotation ends the sentence, the ending punctuation is put outside the quotation mark.
Did she really say, "I've heard it all before"?
If one quotation contains another expression that itself requires quote marks, the inner expression is enclosed in single quotation marks.
George explained, "I heard her say, 'Go away!' so I left."
2. Titles:
Titles of articles, reports, short stories, editorials, poems, plays, and films can be placed in quotation marks.
The poem "Trees" was written by Joyce Kilmer.
3. Special Words:
When quotation marks are placed around technical words, or around words that are being emphasized, no comma is required before the first quotation mark. If the quotation is at the end of the sentence, the appropriate ending punctuation is placed before the final quotation mark.
Doctors refer to the red blemish as an "hemangioma."
Sources
- Sidney Greenbaum, Grammar and Usage, University College, London.
- Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Portland House, New York, 1989.
- Porter H. Perrin and George H. Smith, Handbook of Current English, 3rd Ed., (revised by J.W. Corder), Scott, Forsman and Co., 1968.
- Mary K. McCaskill, Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization: A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
- Charles T. Brusaw, Gerald J. Alred, and Walter E. Oliu, Handbook of Technical Writing, 2nd Ed., St. Martin's Press, New York, 1982.
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