2
Grammar
Punctuation Guidelines
1. Periods/Ellipses
2. Apostrophes
3. Commas
4. Semicolons
5. Colons
6. Dashes
7. Hyphens
8. Quotations
9. Parentheses
10. Brackets
11. Slashes
12. Italics
13. Numbers
Revised: January 2015
Punctuation
1. Periods/Ellipses . . .
Guidelines:
1. Use periods at the end of complete thoughts. (This includes independent clauses and indirect questions.)
a. Grammar is fun.
b. My friends always wonder why grammar is fun.
2. Use periods to end fragments, as so desired stylistically.
a. Grey sails against the sun. (Fragments are not accepted in formal writing.)
3. Use periods with abbreviations.
a. Mr. D. arrived in Washington, D.C. (No extra period needed.)
b. He’s finally in Washington, D.C.! (Period + exclamation)
4. Do NOT USE periods with most acronyms.
a. FBI, CIA, NAACP, NY
b. U.S.A.
5. Use one (1) space after a period.
a. The dog growled. The man ran.
6. Place ellipses where material has been omitted from direct quotations.
a. The author remarks that “Life is lived . . . and that is the joy.”
7. Use ellipses to indicate a pause of any kind or to suggest that an action is incomplete or continuing.
a. John turned from her. “I don’t know what to say. . .”
8. Use correct spacing and punctuation before, between, and after the three periods.
a. In the middle of a sentence, leave a space before the first and after the last period.
i. Ellipses never fail . . . to make dramatic pauses.
b. When a punctuation mark is included before it, follow with a space.
i. They hate you; . . . and people will always hate you.
c. When it occurs at the end of a sentence or represents a deleted sentence or more, place a period, followed by a space and then the ellipsis.
i. I hate you. . . . Always.
9. Do NOT use ellipses at the beginning of sentences or at the end of sentences (save for stylistic preferences).
a. The author writes, “beggars choose begging.” (NOT: The author writes, “. . . beggars choose begging . . .”
b. Use a full line of dots when you delete a full line or more of verse.
2. Apostrophes’
Guidelines:
1. Use apostrophes in contractions to show where letters have been omitted.
a. Can’t = Can not; Won’t = Would/Will not (NOTE: contractions are NOT accepted in formal writing)
2. Use apostrophes to form the possessives of nouns.
a. Charles’s; Burns’s; Chris’s
b. Conventional use requires apostrophe “s” (’s) whatever the final consonant. Modern use is lenient, though consistency is crucial.
3. Use apostrophes to show joint ownership.
a. If jointly owned: Peg and John’s research grant.
b. If separately owned: Peg’s and John’s educations.
4. Do NOT use apostrophes to make personal pronouns possessive: my, yours, hers, his, ours, theirs, its. (Remember: it’s = it is.)
5. Using apostrophes to mark certain types of plurals is optional.
a. 2’s or 2s; 1990’s or 1990s
3. Commas,
Guidelines:
1. Use a comma after introductory phrases of more than three or four words. (NOTE: Similar usage regarding conditionals.)
a. Well before the end of the day, we were in Amarillo.
b. If I knew better, then I wouldn’t have spoken to her.
2. Use a comma after an introductory dependent clause.
a. After the test was over, we passed out from exhaustion.
b. NOTE: This may be known as front-branch sentences or SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS.
i. AAAWWUBBIS—As, After, Although, When, While, Until, Before, Because, If, Since. Comma goes AFTER the phrase, not the word.
1. Since you’re here, you might as well do the work.
2. Because you believed, I left.
3. I left because you believed. (No comma is needed when a subordinating conjunction is used in the middle of a sentence)
3. Use a comma to set off contrasts.
a. The partners expect to work together, despite personal differences.
b. He was merely ignorant, not stupid.
4. Use commas after conjunctive adverbs at the beginning of sentences or clauses.
a. Nevertheless, those who commissioned it had faith in the answers.
5. Use commas to set off absolute phrases.
a. All things considered, Bob is a decent student.
6. Use commas to introduce quotations or to follow them, but not without a dialogue tag.
a. The student said, “These devil stories frighten me.”
b. “I adore the dash,” Mr. D. said.
c. Mr. D. explained that “these stories are moral lessons.”
7. Learn other uses of commas that separate.
a. Brad Pitt once worked as a giant chicken; Rod Stewart, as a gravedigger; Whoopi Goldberg, as a makeup artist for corpses. (Comma = “once worked”)
b. No, I’m sure the student wasn’t in class. (Comma = setting off introductory words)
c. “Jay, sit down.” (Comma = setting off an opening/greeting)
d. Oh, I’m sure it will be all right. (Comma = interjection)
e. You took out the garbage, didn’t you? (Comma = setting off a question)
f. She waved enthusiastically at the departing boat, laughing happily. (Comma = setting off a phrase at the end of the sentence.)
g. You can write to Jim Johnston Jr., 1436 Westwood Drive, Birlingham, ID 83900, for more information. (Comma = separating city and state when used for addresses)
i. Jim Johnston Jr.
1436 Westwood Drive
Birlingham, ID 83900
h. Go to Fairmont Street, Chicago, Illinois, to get your prize, and then go to Washington, D.C., for your money. (Comma = separating geographical names; note how commas separate each item)
i. 4,300,150; 27,000; 4,450 (comma = separating numbers into groups of three)
j. There are several books from which to choose, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Fahrenheit 451. (Comma goes before “such as,” not after it.)
k. Let’s eat, Grandma! (Comma = preventing cannibalism)
8. Use commas to set off nonessential (nonrestrictive) modifiers AND use commas to enclose appositives that are nonessential.
a. The police officers, who had been carefully screened, marched in front. (Note how the commas surrounding the modifier specify something about these police officers as opposed to others.)
b. The Beatles’ final album, The White Album, is my favorite. (Note how the meaning does not change if “The White Album” is removed.)
c. The factory workers who had been hired last month were the first to be fired. (Note how inserting commas around “who had been hired last month” changes the meaning to separate the factory workers into distinct groups.)
9. Use commas to enclose various interrupting words, phrases, and clauses.
a. The president intends, predictably, to veto the bill in its current form.
10. Use commas before the COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so when these words link independent clauses to form compound sentences. FANBOYS.
NOTE: comma goes BEFORE the FANBOYS word.
a. Stocks have more growth potential than bonds, but the risk is higher.
11. Use commas to link items in a series of three or more.
a. The group plans to travel by plane, by bus, and by canoe.
b. He talked about his college studies, art, and history. (Note how the Oxford Comma usage means “he” talked about three distinct things.)
c. He talked about his college studies, art and history. (Note how the absence of the Oxford Comma [serial comma] means the “college studies” are “art and history.”
d. Jeremy turned and faced Leslie, his sister and a police officer. (Note how Leslie is both Jeremy’s sister and a police officer.)
e. Jeremy turned and faced Leslie, his sister, and a police officer. (Note how Jeremy is facing three people.)
12. Use commas to link coordinate adjectives (modifiers of equal value) in a series unless the adjectives are not modifying the same thing (or are unequal). HINT: If you can replace the comma with “and” or reverse the order of the adjectives, a comma is needed.
a. The job calls for a creative, imaginative, intelligent manager.
b. He drives a shiny blue Mustang convertible.
c. Dive into the cold, dark water. He’s a greedy, stubborn child.
d. There stood six big dogs. In walked two young men.
13. Place commas inside quotation marks.
a. The author of this article expresses her belief that “people must be free to chase even the most fantastical dreams,” and this quest is what shapes and defines human endeavors.
b. “I want to know more,” Bob said.
THE MAJOR MISUSAGE
NEVER use a comma to separate two independent clauses. This is known as a comma splice.
a. Charlie walked into the store, it was too hot to be outside. (WRONG! Comma Splice!)
This can be easily fixed with the semicolon or the dash, and sometimes
the colon. (There are nuanced guidelines to help decide between the semi-colon and the colon, but the dash is versatile.)
a. Charlie walked into the store; it was too hot to be outside.
b. Charlie walked into the store—it was too hot to be outside.
c. Charlie walked into the store: it was too hot to be outside.
Semicolons;
Guidelines:
1. Use semicolons to join independent clauses closely related in thought. (The clause following the semi-colon should add more information to the meaning of the clause before the semi-colon.)
a. Miss Carter walked into the classroom in a fury; she slammed the door and screamed, “Everyone needs to hear this!”
2. Use semicolons to join independent clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs.
a. The students had been misbehaving; however, they immediately bowed their heads when the teacher started berating them.
3. Use semicolons to separate clauses, phrases, and items in a series that might be confusing if commas alone were used to mark boundaries.
a. The soundtrack for the film included the Supremes’ “Stop in the Name of Love!”; Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 &35”; and Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a Brick.”
4. Place semicolons outside quotation marks (unless they are part of the quote).
a. The first Edgar Allen Poe work to be filmed was “The Raven”; movies based on the poem appeared in 1912, 1915, and 1935.
b. The author goes on to write, “It is vital to think; our minds make us who we are”; here, the author dares the reader to embrace intellectually challenging endeavors.
Colons:
Guidelines:
1. Use colons to direct readers to examples, explanations, and significant words and phrases.
a. Orson Welles’s greatest problem may also have been his greatest achievement: the brilliance of his first film, Citizen Kane.
2. Use the colon to join independent clauses when the second clause explains the first. (Note the difference to semicolon usage.)
a. The colon is a strong punctuation mark: it has the power of the period without the finality.
3. Use colons to direct readers to lists.
a. Besides Citizen Kane, Welles directed, produced, or acted in many movies: The Magnificent Ambersons, Journey into Fear, and Macbeth, to name a few.
4. Use colons to direct readers to quotations or dialogue, but not after dialogue labels or tags (stylistic exceptions).
a. We recalled Dirty Harry’s memorable challenge: “Make my day!”
b. Mr. D. screamed: “Be quiet!”
5. Place colons outside the quotation marks (unless they are part of the quote).
a. The author argues that “belief is absurd: its essence is illogical”: the author’s blatant disregard for the imagination is rooted in his reliance on practicality.
6. Use colons in special situations.
a. “Darkest Night: Hollywood and Film Noir”
b. 12:35 p.m.
c. Matthew 3:1
d. Dear Mr. Ebert:
e. <http://google.com>
NOTE: When typing, use one (1) space after all punctuation where needed: comas, periods, colons, semi-colons . . .
Dashes—
Guidelines:
1. Use the dash to add illustrations, examples, or summaries to the ends of sentences or to emphasize a shift in tone or thought.
a. He stared at her—this was finally the moment.
b. There are many ways to finish this—directly and obliquely.
c. Food covered the table—pies, cookies, pastries, muffins.
d. Fame, fortune, and a Ferrari—these were his goals in life.
2. Use a pair of dashes to insert information into a sentence.
a. Mr. D. stressed that the dash—the greatest punctuation mark, or so he claims—is the coolest, quickest, and most stylistic way to improve our writing.
b. The dash—which draws attention to additional information—may be used in a variety of literary situations.
3. Use a dash in dialogue to indicate that a speaker has broken off abruptly or has been interrupted.
a. Shelia stepped closer. “You can’t just—”
“Yes,” Paul said. “I can.”
NOTE: When typing, use two hyphens (--) to create a dash (—). This is known as the em-dash. The en-dash (–) is longer than the hyphen (-) but shorter than the em-dash: it is used to separate numbers or ranges: (1967–1974; 61–43)
Hyphens-
Guidelines:
1. Use hyphens to connect items rather than to separate them.
a. Mother-in-law
b. Clear-cut answers
c. Thirty-six
d. Mother-, father-, and sister-in-law
2. Use hyphens with prefixes and suffixes: all-, self-, and ex-, and -elect.
a. Self-taught
b. Ex-girlfriend
3. Use hyphens to write out numbers twenty-one through ninety-nine.
a. Ninety-nine
4. Use hyphens to link compound nouns and verbs: mother-of-pearl; best-seller
a. Father-in-law
b. He went open-mouthed for his annual dental check-up.
5. Use hyphens to link unit modifiers before a noun: a bare-chested warrior (This is known as a compound modifier.)
a. Man-eating shark
b. Wild-goose chase
c. The old stone wall is not an old-stone wall. (Notice the difference.)
6. Do not use hyphens with very or with adverbs that end in -ly: a sharply honed knife.
a. NOT: A sharply-honed knife. (This is wrong.)
7. Do not use a hyphen with the following words, unless needed to avoid ambiguity: almost, already, best, early, ever, last, late, less, more, most, much, never, not, now, once, only, seldom, sometimes, still, very, yet.
a. NOT: A more-effective introduction. (This is wrong.)