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Semicolons

Semicolons

The Oatmeal calls semicolons “the most feared punctuation on earth”. If you’re afraid, don’t be! This lesson will be quick, easy, and solve your semicolon woes.

Join Independent Clauses

An independent clause is a complete thought with a subject and a verb; it can be a complete sentence. You can join independent clauses with either a comma and a coordinating conjunction, or with a semicolon

Comma and coordinating conjunction: Today we’re having lasagna for dinner, and I’m making apple pie for dessert.

Semicolon: Today we’re having lasagna for dinner; I’m making apple pie for dessert.

Comma and coordinating conjunction: Caitlin studies Russian literature, and she wants to be a professor.

Semicolon: Caitlin studies Russian literature; she wants to be a professor.

As you can see, both of these methods work, but sometimes one sounds better than the other.

Note: Sometimes, especially in lengthy sentences, writers use a semicolon with a coordinating conjunction to avoid confusion.

Join Independent Clauses with a Conjunctive Adverb

This is the same principle as above. If your second independent clause starts with a conjunctive adverb, you can join it to the previous independent clause with a semicolon, not with a comma.

Trevor is a pizza fiend; however, he appears to be too full to eat the last slice.

The weather forecast is awful; therefore we’re going to stay home this weekend.

Reduce Confusion in Lists with Commas

Look at this sentence:

I invited Karim, my best friend from high school, Maryam, my next-door neighbour, her sister, Sarah, and Yael.

How many people did I invite? If you have no idea, you’re right. In sentences like this, where there are modifiers set off by commas, it’s best to use semicolons to separate the items on the list.

I invited Karim, my best friend from high school; Maryam, my next-door neighbour; her sister, Sarah; and Yael.

Now it’s obvious that I invited four people.

That was pretty painless, wasn’t it?

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Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks

No one agrees about quotation marks. American usage is frequently the exact opposite of British usage, Canadians often form a hybrid, and exceptions abound. So, can you just do what you like with quotation marks? Well, not quite. Here are some rules that you do need to follow:

American Style: 5 Easy Rules

1. Enclose Direct Quotes in Double Quotation Marks

A direct quote is word-for-word and is not introduced by the word “that”.

Direct: Maurice said, “There will be croissants at brunch.”

Indirect: Maurice said that there would be croissants at brunch.

Double quotation marks look like this: “ ”

Words that you are trying to distinguish from the rest of the sentence can be put in double quotation marks, too.

I always misspell “embarrass” and “definitely.”

2. Place All Periods and Commas Inside Quotation Marks

 Whether or not this punctuation was part of the original material that you’re quoting, it goes inside the quotes.

“Their,” “they’re,” and “there” are commonly confused.

Hannah announced her intention “to systematize quotation mark usage once and for all.”

3. Place Colons and Semicolons Outside Quotation Marks

 Whether or not this punctuation was part of the original material that you’re quoting, it goes outside the quotes.

At the meeting, Mr. Suzuki revealed his “sure-to-succeed strategy”: blogging, networking, and advertising.

Cathy responded, “My music is only suited for sophisticated ears”; City Music Review considers this statement insulting.

4. Place Question and Exclamation Marks Where They Fit Logically

 If your quote is a question, place the question mark inside the quotation marks. If your sentence is a question, place the question mark outside the quotation marks. The same rules apply for exclamation marks.

Alexander asked, “Have you ever seen a wolf on the beach?”

Do you know who said, “We’re all worms, but I am a glow worm”?

The pirate bellowed, “Avast mateys!”

I published my poem “Blog Blues”!

5. For Quoted Material Inside a Quotation, Use Single Quotation Marks

“And then Phoebe said, ‘I’m busy on Friday too’,” sighed Amanda.

British Style: 5 Logical Rules

1. Enclose Direct Quotes in Single Quotation Marks

 Yep! That’s the opposite of American style.

Maurice said, ‘There will be croissants at brunch’.

Single quotation marks look like this: ‘ ’

Words that you are trying to distinguish from the rest of the sentence can be put in single quotation marks, too.

I always misspell ‘embarrass’ and ‘definitely’.

2. Place Periods and Commas Where They Fit Logically

 If the comma or period is part of what you’re quoting, place it inside the quotes. If not, place it outside.

“Their”, “they’re”, and “there” are commonly confused.

“I was reading about how important a  healthy lifestyle is,” said Jaques, “so I’m going to start exercising more.”

Hannah announced her intention “to systematize quotation mark usage once and for all”.

If the period could go inside or outside the quotes, place it outside:

My dad always said, “Eat your broccoli”.

3. Place Colons and Semicolons Outside Quotation Marks

This is exactly the same as American English! Whether or not this punctuation was part of the original material that you’re quoting, it goes outside the quotes.

At the meeting, Mr. Suzuki revealed his “sure-to-succeed strategy”: blogging, networking, and advertising.

Cathy responded, “My music is only suited for sophisticated ears”; City Music Review considers this statement insulting.

4. Place Question and Exclamation Marks Where They Fit Logically

Hey! This is the same as American usage, too! If your quote is a question, place the question mark inside the quotation marks. If your sentence is a question, place the question mark outside the quotation marks. The same rules apply for exclamation marks.

Alexander asked, “Have you ever seen a wolf on the beach?”

Do you know who said, “We’re all worms, but I am a glow worm”?

The pirate bellowed, “Avast mateys!”

I published my poem “Blog Blues”!

5. For Quoted Material Inside a Quotation, Use Double Quotation Marks

‘And then Phoebe said, “I’m busy on Friday too”’, sighed Amanda.

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Parentheses and Brackets

Parentheses and Brackets

Parentheses provide non-essential information in unquoted text. Brackets provide additional information in quoted text.

Parentheses

As with commas and dashes, you can use parentheses to insert some non-essential text into your writing. If the parentheses occur within a sentence, place the final period or comma outside the parentheses and don’t capitalize the first word in parentheses:

I encourage you to watch the show (the cast may be amateur, but they are talented).

The stage director approved of my performance (even though I thought it was awful), but suggested a different costume.

If the parentheses occur within a sentence, place exclamation and question marks inside them, but don’t capitalize the first word in parentheses:

I saw Olivia (is she your cousin?) at the ice rink today

My brother is the head chef at a restaurant that serves nothing but artichokes (yuck!).

When a whole sentence is in parentheses, place all punctuation inside the parentheses and capitalize the first letter:

I applied for a job with Google, but I’m almost certain I’ll be rejected. (Although my aunt’s friend’s cousin works there, so maybe that connection will help.)

Your sentence needs to make grammatical sense without the parenthetical part.

Wrong: Charles (and his dog) are cooking dinner.

Right: Charles (and his dog) is cooking dinner.

Brackets

Use brackets to insert your own writing into a quotes. They use the same rules of punctuation as parentheses:

Then she said, “I think we should invite her [Lucille], too”.

“It’s like deja-vu all over again [what?].

If you spot a mistake in the text that you’re quoting, italicize the word sic and put it in brackets after the mistake:

In her essay on Hamlet, May wrote, “‘To bee [sic], or not to be, that is the question.’”

If you change part of a quote, place the change in brackets.

Original: “I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”

Changed: “I say to you today, my friends, […] I still have a dream.”

Original:But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”

Changed: “[W]e cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”

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It’s, They’re, You’re

It’s, They’re, You’re

Now that you know the rules for apostrophes, it’s time to look at some common problems.

It’s vs. Its

It’s has a contraction because it’s short for it is or it has.

It’s -10C today.

It’s been great talking to you.

Its is possessive. Just like his, my, yours and other possessive pronouns, its doesn’t have an apostrophe.

Its face is so cute.

Its minty aroma is the perfect finishing touch.

They’re, Their, and There

They’re is a contraction of they are.

They’re going to the gym.

They’re my parents.

Their is the possessive form of they.

Their writing has improved immensely.

Their joke was my favorite.

There refers to a place or idea.

Eliza lives there.

There is some confusion about what I said.

You’re vs. Your

You’re is another contraction, and it means you are.

You’re my best friend.

You’re really going to New Zealand?

Your is the possessive form of you.

Your strawberry pie is irresistible

Your kindness is appreciated.

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Hyphens and Dashes

Hyphens and Dashes

Hyphens and Dashes look similar.

This is a hyphen: –

This is a dash: — (made by writing two hyphens)

Connect Words and Numbers with a Hyphen

You can combine two words with a hyphen to create a compound adjective or name:

I love ChineseAmerican food.

MaryLou ConwayRichardson had the longest name in her class.

Numbers from 21 to 99 are also written with a hyphen:

My greataunt Eileen is almost ninetyeight.

It’s Brad’s twentyfirst birthday next week.

Replace “To” with a Hyphen

Instead of writing “to”, you can use a hyphen.

Malachi took the Boston to New York City train.

Malachi took the BostonNew York City train.

I prefer temperatures in the 20 to 25C range.

I prefer temperatures in the 2025C range.

Substitute Other Punctuation with a Dash

Dashes are less formal than colons, semicolons, parentheses, commas and ellipses, but they can be used some of the same ways.

A dash can replace a colon, but only if it is not followed by a list.

Right: There’s only one person that I love in the whole universe: you.

Right: There’s only one person that I love in the whole universe you.

Right: Lee has three favourite sports: curling, water polo, and lacrosse.

Wrong: Lee has three favourite sports curling, water polo, and lacrosse.

In informal writing, you can replace a semicolon with a dash, if the two clauses are short and contrasting.

I’m vegetarian; my brother is a butcher.

I’m vegetarian my brother is a butcher.

Parenthetical (or non-restrictive) phrases can be set off by commas, parentheses, or dashes. These punctuation marks are not interchangeable, however.

In phrases that start with who or which, a commas is best.

Right: Dominic, who came in first place this year, began training at age five.

Okay: Dominic (who came in first place this year) began training at age five.

Bad: Dominic who came in first place this year began training at age five.

When the parenthetical phrase is an independent clause, you can’t use commas

Right: I was devastated about dropping all my china (my grandmother had given this heirloom set to me at my wedding), but I managed to salvage some of it.

Right: I was devastated about dropping all my china my grandmother had given this heirloom set to me at my wedding but I managed to salvage some of it.

Wrong: I was devastated about dropping all my china, my grandmother had given this heirloom set to me at my wedding, but I managed to salvage some of it.

Use ellipses or a dash depending whether you want to create a slow trailing off or a quick break.

Slow: I wonder where I put my keys…. Oh! I know!

Fast: I wonder where I put my keys Oh! I know

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Ellipses

Ellipses

Ellipses are used in informal and formal writing.

Informal

If you want to express a pause or a trailing off in your writing, use an ellipsis. An ellipsis is always three dots, but if you put an ellipsis at the end of a sentence you need to use a period as well (for a total of four dots).

You can choose whether or not to place a space between the ellipsis and your words.

Is that ascorpion?

Is that a scorpion?

I once wished that…. Actually, never mind.

I once wished that … .  Actually, never mind.

Formal

Ellipses are used to indicate that you’ve removed part of a quote. Some writers enclose these ellipses in brackets, and some don’t.

Some style guides use ellipses at the end of quotes, and some don’t.

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, … we shall fight on the beaches. …”

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, […] we shall fight on the beaches.”

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Commas

Commas

The comma is arguably the most versatile punctuation mark. Since its list of uses is so lengthy, let’s get going!

Lists

If you have a series of three or more things, separate those words with commas.

Wrong: Braeden bought apples bread yoghurt and zucchini at the grocery store.

Right: Breaden bought apples, bread, yoghurt, and zucchini at the grocery store.

In the example, I included a comma before the “and”. This comma is called the Oxford or serial comma, and it is not essential. However, it can eliminate confusion.

Whether or not you use the Oxford comma, it’s important to choose one method and stick with it.

Adjectives

Have you ever noticed that some adjectives had commas between them and others don’t?

Commas: I live in a red, white, and black house.

No Commas: I live in a genuine 18th-century house.

Believe it or not, there actually are rules about when commas go between adjectives and when they don’t. Use commas if your adjectives are coordinate, meaning that the adjectives can go in any order and you can put “and” between them.

Rearranging the Order: I live in a white, black, and red house.

Adding And: I live in a red and white and black house.

Both of those sentences make sense.

Don’t use commas if your adjectives are cummulative, meaning that you can’t rearrange them or put “and” between them.

Rearranging the Order: I live in an 18th-century genuine house.

Adding And: I live in a genuine and 18th-century house.

Huh? These sentences don’t make sense because “genuine” is modifying “18th-century” not “house”. The speaker is saying that his house really is from the 18th-century, not that it’s really a house. Grammar Girl has more examples to help you with this tricky concept.

Quotes

Quotes that occur in the middle of a sentence get lots of introduction. First, there’s a comma, then the quotation marks, then the actual quote. Like this:

After breakfast, Janine said, “I’m stuffed!”

If you’ve got a broken quote, you also need a comma after the first half:

“My concern”, said Jackson, “is that I’ll be late for the bus.”

Parenthetical Elements

A parenthetical element is a phrase or word that is not essential to your sentence and can easily be removed. You indicate that this part of the sentence is parenthetical by setting it off with commas.

Evangeline’s comma splice, usually an egregious offence, was hardly noticed.

Honestly, I rarely go to the movies.

Non-restrictive relative clauses are a type of parenthetical element.

Places and Dates

Separate smaller places from the larger places in which they are located (e.g. cities from provinces, states from countries).

Victoria, British Columbia

Paris, France

New Mexico, USA

If you write dates in the month, day, year format, place a comma between the day and the year:

May 12, 2014

If you write dates in the day, month, year format, don’t use any commas:

12 May 2014

Conjunctions and Dependent Clauses

Using commas with coordinating conjunctions and dependent clauses is covered in the sentences lesson.

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Colons

Colons

Even though semicolons and colons look similar and have similar names, they have different functions.

Introduce a List

Colons indicate that a list is coming up. However, you can only use a colon after an independent clause.

Wrong: My favourite punctuation marks are: semicolons, colons, and ellipses.

Right: I have three favorite punctuation marks: semicolons, colons, and ellipses.

Wrong: My employees must have:

  • good time management
  • computer programming experience

Right: My employees must have the following skills:

  • good time management
  • computer programming experience

If you’re unsure about about whether or not you can use a colon, check if the part before the colon makes sense by itself (i.e. is an independent clause).

If you’ve placed your colon correctly, you can replace it with “namely”.

Following Speakers in Interviews, Plays, and Transcripts

Chloe: What advice do you have for new bloggers?

Brian: Write for you target audience.

Explain What Follows:

Here colons and semicolons are similar. You can replace a semicolon with a colon if the second independent clause explains or illustrates the previous one. You can choose whether or not to capitalize the second independent clause.

I am so proud of Aubrey: she practiced for years to win the competition.

I am so proud of Aubrey: She practiced for years to win the competition.

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Apostrophes

Apostrophes

Apostrophes are frequently misused, but the rules about them aren’t complicated.

Possession

If you have a singular noun that doesn’t end in -s, add an apostrophe + s.

The dog’s dinner smells strange.

Marie’s bouquet includes orchids.

If you have a singular noun that ends in in -s, you can either add an apostrophe + s, or just add an apostrophe.

Chris’s treasure chest is hidden on this island.

Chris’ treasure chest is hidden on this island.

If you have a plural noun that doesn’t end in -s, add an  apostrophe + s

After much questioning, we discovered the children’s mischief.

The mice’s squeaks terrified me.

If you have a plural noun that ends in -s, only add an apostrophe after the -s.

On Saturdays, I go to the farmers’ market.

The musicians’ performances have all been fabulous.

Omission

When letters are left out of a word or digits are left out of a number, that omission is indicated by an apostrophe. Here are some common contractions:

Can’t (Cannot)

Could’ve (Could have)

Don’t (Do not)

We’re (We are)

‘60s (1960s)

The commonly confused contractions it’s, they’re, and you’re are covered in this lesson.

Pluralization

Before you go any farther, I want to make something clear: using apostrophes to pluralize is the exception, not the rule. The only times you can use an apostrophe when pluralizing are with letters and numbers (and even in these cases, you don’t have to use an apostrophe).

If it’s not a letter or number, just add -s. All of the following examples are correct:

You didn’t cross your t’s.

You didn’t cross your “t”s.

My sister-in-law has two PhD’s.

My sister-in-law has two PhDs.

Natalie is the only person I know who loves 80’s fashion.

Natalie is the only person I know who loves ‘80s fashion.

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Comma

When Should You Use the Comma?

– Use commas to separate items in a list.

– Use a comma after introductory word, phrase, words that come before the main phrase.

– Use a comma before a quotation.

– Use a comma to join two long phrases.

– Use commas to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

– Use commas to separate coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.