For a grammar junkie or someone who simply enjoys clarity in reading, looking over the writing found in newspapers, Internet forums, blogs, and nearly any other place where the printed word exists can be an excruciating experience. Aside from the typical texting and instant messaging lingo tossed into the mix, there is also an alarming amount of word usage confusion that obviously plagues the masses. The main culprit, aside from general spelling errors, is the confusion of certain common homophones. There is no doubt these common mix-ups have caused many college professors to slay student essays with red ink. Luckily, they are also easily remedied. 

One of the most common misuses is the confusion over its and it’s. That little apostrophe makes a huge difference! Its should be used whenever you are talking about something that belongs to someone else. For example: “The dog lost its ball.” On the other hand, it’s breaks down to mean “it is.” This variation should be used whenever the phrase “it is” would fit into the sentence. For example: “The dog lost its ball, and it’s sad about it.” 

 Another widespread error is the slip-ups with they’re, their, and there. They’re breaks down to mean “they are.” Whenever the phrase “they are” works in a sentence, then they’re is the correct word to use. For example: “John said that they’re arriving on time.” However, their indicates possession. If something belongs to someone, it is their possession. For example: “John said that their flight will arrive on time.” Finally, there simply shows location. For example: “John said that the plane will land there.” 

Two other words subjected to mix-ups are than and then. A surprising number of people do not understand  how swapping the “e” and the “a” can change the meaning of the word. Than indicates something is being compared to something else. Usually, it is preceded by a comparative adjective, such as “better,” “faster,” or “stronger.” For example: “Susie is better than John at solving equations.” On the other hand, then indicates time or a specific order of events or things. For example: “Susie took algebra, then she jumped straight into calculus, and even then she excelled.” One of the easiest ways to determine whether to use than or then is to determine whether or not you are comparing something to something else. If not, use then.

This guest post is contributed by Jessica Cortez, who writes on the topics of online degree programs.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: cortez.jessi23@gmail.com

Confused about how to punctuate quotations?  The basic rule is: Quotation marks must be used in pairs, open-ended and close-ended–except when the quotation continues in an additional paragraph, in which case the ending double quotation marks are left off the preceding paragraph–and quotes within the quotation are set off by a pair of single quotation marks.

But what about the other punctuation? How do you know where to place a terminal mark within a quotation?

For example, what if the primary quotation is a question but the quote-within is declarative?  Where does the question mark go? Here are examples to guide you.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Heather stormed into the parlor. “How can you stand there and say ‘Heather isn’t well’ when I’m standing here as fit as a fiddle?”

“How can you be so ridiculous as to say ‘Heather is ill’?” Heather asked.

“‘Heather is ill,’ you say?  Preposterous.”
Internal dialogue requires no formatting and no quotation marks unless you change to present tense, first person.

Well, she’d show him a thing or two.
~or~
Well, I’ll show him a thing or two.
 
Internal dialogue doesn’t take a tag with italics:

WRONG: Well, I’ll show him a thing or two, she thought.
BETTER: She thought she’d show him a thing or two.
PREFERRED: Well, I’ll show him a thing or two.
~or~ She’d show him a thing or two.

 Finally, what about interrupted speech?  Use the em dash only.  No other punctuation (other than quotation marks) is needed.  Examples:

“What I’m trying to say is–”
“You’re trying to tell me how to live my life.”

“I need you to take a look”–he handed her the photographs–”and see if you recognize anyone.”

Don’t be afraid to write dialogue.  Readers love it.  It picks up the story’s pace and provides plenty of “white space.”  It’s easy on the eyes.  Just be certain you punctuate correctly to avoid confusion.

Cheryl Norman

It’s March 4th, and the Grammar Cop is observing National Grammar Day. This year’s host is one of my favorite grammarians, the grammar girl herself, Mignon Fogarty.  There is a lot going on at the National Grammar Day Website, so check out http://www.nationalgrammarday.com/

If you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow me (http://twitter.com/cherylnorman)  and tweet me with #grammarday for a chance to win a copy of her book:

March forth on March 4th for good grammar. Send me a tweet @cherylnorman with #grammarday in it and you’re eligible for a drawing.

Cheryl Norman, Grammar Cop

The Grammar Cop

I also see hyphens that aren’t needed. Commonly mishyphenated words include: ongoing, under way, a priori (or any Latin phrase), bona fide, vice versa, and ad hoc.

Avoid using a hyphen with an -ly adverb: widely known, thinly coated, readily available.

Rules are fine, but most of the time you can use common sense. For instance, if the reader will stumble over a word because of a missing hyphen, it’s wise to add one: Do-able, co-worker, pre-wedding, city-wide. Another situation arises when the compound word repeats letters, creating an awkward spelling: anti-inflammatory, re-emphasize, multi-item, shell-like. You don’t want to jar your reader from your story with funny looking words like antiinflammatory, reemphasize, multiitem, shelllike, right?

It’s a good idea to hyphenate when the root word is capitalized or a numeral: pre-Columbian, Buddha-like, un-American, pre-1900s, post-1950s. Likewise, hyphenate numbers that are spelled out or are stated as fractions: twenty-one, sixty-seven, one-fourth, but not two-word numbers combined with a fraction: forty four one-hundredths of a percent.

Commonly accepted hyphenated words are those with the prefix ex, self, or all, or words with the suffixes free, odd, elect. Examples: salt-free, ex-husband, self-employed, all-encompassing, ninety-odd dollars, president-elect.

Don’t expect to remember all this. Keep a good grammar reference handy, such as Grammatically Correct: The Writer’s Essential Guide to Punctuation, Spelling, Style, Usage and Grammar by Anne Stilman.

After going through edits for RUNNING SCARED, I learned the rules aren’t cut and dried.  For instance, while Internet and Web or Web site are capitalized, google used as a verb is not.  Don’t ask why; I don’t know.  According to my editor, that’s Google’s decision.  Perhaps they like their trademarked word being generic for online search engines.

Other everyday items we don’t think about as proper names but are trademarked include Windbreaker, Dumpster, Formica, Jaws of Life, Hula Hoop, Kleenex, Coke, and Jeep. It’s very important that you respect a company’s brand name; they’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars to register and advertise it.

Back by popular demand, here is the Grammar Cop’s quick reference for capitalization:

CAPITALIZE:

• A person’s name.
• A person’s title when it precedes the name.
• Days of the week, months of the year.
• Special days, holidays.
• Organizations and abbreviations of organizations.
• Historical periods, documents, and events.
• Nationality, race, or language.
• Personification of objects or abstract concepts.
• First word of a statement.
• When used as part of a proper name: lake, county, high school, college, river, street, park, country, company, institution, etc. (Ohio River, the river)
• A noun identifying a family member when used as a name. (Mom, your mom)
• Geographical locations-specific. (The West, out west)
• References to the Diety.
• The pronoun “I.”
• Acronyms (AT&T, URL)
• In a title, all words except prepositions, articles, and conjunctions of four letters or less (Days of Thunder) unless it’s the first word. (The Runaway Bride)
• Subjects studied that are specific titles (Composition 101, meteorology, American History 202, biology)

 

 

DON’T CAPITALIZE:

• Points on a compass or direction.
• Seasons of the year.
• Pronouns other than “I” unless at the start of a sentence or part of a title.

 

 

EXAMPLES:

We watched West Wing before heading down south.

Independence Day falls on a Wednesday this year, according to my mother.

Mother is always right about summer holidays.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and best wishes for the new year.

 

As always, you should consult a dictionary or grammar or style reference when in doubt.  Happy writing!