In case you were curious, or if it has been a while since you were in school...
The 3 'theres'they're <--> they are --> They're in the garage.
their <--> it belongs to them --> The garage is theirs.
there <--> location --> The garage is over there.
you're vs. youryou're --> you are
your --> denotes possession --> That skid mark is yours.
(I always smile when someone writes "Your an idiot!")
two, too, to:2 --> two
to --> I'm going to the garage.
too --> Are you going to the garage too?
then vs. thanthen --> Do this, then do that.
than --> Do this, rather than that.
But then again, it's better than that.
here, hear:here --> Come here.
hear --> Did you hear me? I said come here!
(Hearsay, not heresay)
'of' does not mean 'have'should 'of' been --> should
have been, or should've been.
Those damn apostrophes...In a contraction (where two words are brought together), generally, apostrophes are placed where the first letter is missing.
Examples:
do not --> don't
does not --> doesn't
can not --> can't
This is not always the case though...
will not --> won't (notice "ill" got dropped and we added an "o")
it's --> it is --> It's a nice day.
it's --> it has --> It's been a while.
its --> Every dog has its day.
Indicating possession (it belongs to someone):
That is Heffay's Yugo.
Billings' residents need to be careful when Heff rides through.
The above sentence is correct, but I'm told the following is also correct:
Billings's residents....
The use of multiple periods (ellipsis):The rules are to use 3 or 4.
In general, they are used to emphasize a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or at the end of a sentence indicating trailing off into silence.
For example, if a deep thought inspired the following sentence, I might put 3 periods at the
beginning:
...or it could be the carburetor.
If I want to emphasize further thought at the end, I would write:
I wonder if it's the carburetor...
If this sentence falls at the end of the paragraph, then I'd end it with 4 periods:
I wonder if it's the carburetor....
Use multiple periods when you quote someone, but only use part of the quote. The periods replace the omitted words.
Example:
In 1969, the Honda Motor Company revealed the remarkable CB750, a machine that would change motorcycling forever.
"...the Honda Motor Company revealed the remarkable CB750...."
or the more correct (but more cumbersome)
"[...]the Honda Motor Company revealed the remarkable CB750[....]"
(In general, [] is used when inserting stuff into direct quotes. Here, we use it to emphasize that the ellipsis are not pauses in speech, but omitted words. I still prefer the less cumbersome version though.)
What in the Flip Wilson does e.g., i.e., and et al. mean?They're Latin; the actual words are exempli gratia (e.g.), id est (i.e.), and et alii (et al.).
e.g. --> "for example"
i.e. --> "that is"
et al. --> "and others"
Punctuation... does it go inside quotation marks, or outside?Answer: Both, it depends on the situation. But most of the time, it goes on the inside (except if you're British).
Examples:
Today, I saw Heffay and said, "Hey Hef, what's up?"
Heffay said, "not much," but I could tell he was up to no good.
Attempting to keep Heffay out of the hooscow, I told him he really shouldn't build that doomsday machine.
Heffay, unsure of what I said, asked me if I said "shouldn't"? (Here, it would also be correct to place the punctuation inside the quotation mark, but I purposely put the punctuation outside when I want to emphasize the word, and not the word-punctuation combination. In this example, when my character used the word "shouldn't" in this make-believe conversation, he used it more as a statement and not a question.)
" vs. 'Use " when you directly quote someone.
If the thing you're quoting involves an embedded quotation, then it goes like this:
"When I saw Heffay on his CB, he said, 'Look soichiro, no hands.'"
Outside of these set rules, in general, I use ' when I paraphrase someone (that is, not a direct quote, but I just relay to the reader the gist of what someone else said. I do not claim that this is a set rule, but it's what I do).
General style:Well, you know, I mean...
Here are some principles I try to use, but it's just my preference, not a rule per se.
I generally go for efficiency and clarity, without making it sound too boring. People are more likely to read what you write (and understand it) if you keep it as short as possible. Get rid of everything that doesn't contribute to the thought you're trying to convey. Also, it's best, in an
argument, to convey only one thought at a time.
Here's an example. The first draft, and then the edited version.
Well... if I were going to tune my carburetor, I would first check to see if the gaskets are still good. I mean, if the gaskets are bad, then we're in trouble. The next step is to check to see if the jets are clogged. You can do this by eye. If the jets are clogged, then gas will not flow to the cylinders the way it should.
Edited for conciseness and clarity:
As a first step when tuning your carburetor, visually check the gaskets and jets. Clogged jets restrict the flow of gasoline.
I could probably get away with just this:
As a first step when tuning your carburetor, visually check the gaskets and jets.
Notice the elimination of those horrendous phrases like 'you know' and 'I mean'.
That f'n semicolon!(From William Strunk, Jr. (1869–1946). The Elements of Style. 1918.)
If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.
Examples:
1. Stevenson's romances are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures.
2. It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
It is of course equally correct to write the above as two sentences each, replacing the semicolons by periods.
1. Stevenson's romances are entertaining. They are full of exciting adventures.
2. It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.
If a conjunction is inserted, the proper mark is a comma. (The 'conjunctions'
here are 'for' and 'and')
1. Stevenson's romances are entertaining, for they are full of exciting adventures.
2. It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.
Anyway, this is just for anyone who may have been wondering but was afraid to ask. I'm no English professor, so take this with a grain of salt. And don't worry... I don't judge anyone by the way they type.
