Common Punctuation Errors COMMA Use punctuation, such as a comma, to separate main and subordinate clauses as well as an Apposition. Examples: "My uncle, a rich man, lives in Texas." -- "I have written it down, so you can remember it better." - "Let's eat, grandma" is not the same as "Let's eat grandma". Punctuation saves lives! Use a comma before a Subordinate Clause that is a complete sentence (i.e. containing Subject and Verb). Example: "I am making it easy for you, so you can understand". "He went to school, but his sister stayed home." - However, no comma when there is no complete subordinate clause. Example: "He ate everything but the olives." OXFORD COMMA The Oxford Comma is only used to avoid possible confusion with an Apposition. For example: “My heroes are my parents, Superman, and Wonder Woman”. Without the comma before the word “and” it could mean that the parents are “Superman and Wonder Woman”. – However, in most cases, the so-called Oxford Comma makes no sense. Hence do not use a comma before “and” when it is not ambivalent. Example: “I like to play cards, tennis and soccer”. No comma needed here. ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS Other than Acronyms, words abbreviated need to have a Period. Examples: Dr., vs., Prof., etc. Simple rule: Every word that is abbreviated needs to have a Period (e.g. Dr., Fr., Rev.), but Acronyms do not have a Period (URL, CBN, NATO, RN, etc.). CLOCK TIMES Times are written with a colon: 8:15 (NOT 815). International time or 24-clock time is written in the same way: 21:20 (NOT 2120, which is military time). Note: "Military Time" is different from "International Time" or the 24-hour clock ! HYPHEN and DASH Distinguish between a Hyphen and a Dash: (1) A Hyphen is a short line connecting two words (e.g., so-called); (2) A Dash is the opposite, a longer line separating two words, phrases or sentences (e.g., my old house -- I’d like you to see -- was built in the 19th century). Note that a Dash has spaces before and after! QUOTATION A Quotation Mark at the end of a sentence should end before the period (or any other punctuation). Example: All agreed to the terms as outlined in the "Statement of Intent". Placing Quotation Marks behind or outside punctuation makes no sense. However, when writing about a person that uses a quote, it is acceptable. Example: My aunt said: “Come visit me.” POSSESSIVE The Genitive (Possessive Case) of words ending in "s" is usually a simple ', NOT another “s”. – Example: Thomas' house. Davis' car, Moses' hand. Some still use that extra "s", but it is antiquated. HEADLINES ALL words in a headline must be capitalized, not just Nouns and Verbs. Example: Incorrect: "The Journey to the Unknown Land". (It makes no sense to just capitalize "journey", "unknown" and "land" here). CORRECT: "The Journey To The Unknown Land" |