Nicole Parker Answers and Asks Grammar and Punctuation Questions

Tricky punctuation, grammar, and general writing rules

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

I'm convinced that no one knows all the rules of punctuation

Just when you thought you had a resource that would finally answer all of your punctuation questions, this comes along:
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/06/28/040628crbo_books1
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Friday, May 25, 2007

Need Help With Apostrophe...

Hi,

If anyone knows the answer to this, please let me know:

If you're using a last name that ends in a vowel, in a plural sense, do you put an apostrophe?
For example: the Kwai extended family is the Kwais. Are they the Kwais or the Kwai's? It seems like there should be no apostrophe, but I'm not sure if that's changed or what. Thanks!
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If anyone sees any mistakes, or wants to add on, please do so!

After reading so many rules from so many sources, in so many contexts, I've decided that no one really knows absolutely what's right and what's wrong. If they do, I would love to see the exhaustive list. Anyway, I'll start.

Commas:

Ex: Use commas with lists, dependent clauses, and after introductory phrases.

Ex: I have red shoes, a black headband, and a blue bicycle.

Everyone knows you use commas when you have a list of 2 or more things. The confusion comes about whether or not you put a comma before the "and" before the last item. You do. (Unless you work at a newspaper or magazine company.)

Ex: When you called I had an entire popsicle.
 When I said you were stupid, I had eaten most of my popsicle.

Personally, I feel like a comma should always be used after a prepositional phrase; however, from what I've gleaned, if there's a prepositional phrase that's less than 5 words, you don't need a comma to follow.
However, if the phrase is 5 or more words, use a comma. This seems to be up for debate though. I think if you want to use a comma in a prepositional phrase, no matter how long it is, you may. If you use a comma, I think you'll always be correct; if you don't, you could be wrong.

Ex: If you were 8 years old, you would think that rule was silly.
If there is a dependent clause preceding an independent clause, use a comma to separate the two. (as shown above) If an independent clause precedes a dependent clause, do not use a comma.

Ex: The woman at the store, whose name I do not know, was very nice.


Commas come before and after paranthetical phrases. (non-restrictive) If you could take a phrase out of a sentence, and the sentence would still make sense, it is paranthetical; hence, surrounded by 2 commas.

If a phrase is necessary to the meaning of a sentence, it's considered restrictive and does not require commas around it.

Ex: The woman at the store who had red hair was very nice.

The difference between restrictive and non-restrictive can be confusing, to me anyway, but just think: if you're talking about a woman at a store, that could be anyone, so you NEED to mention that you're talking about the one with red hair. If it's obvious what woman you're talking about, and you want to mention that she has red hair, as an aside, then it's non-restrictive, and you use commas before and after the phrase.



The Semi-Colon
At first, I thought she was nice; however, now I know better.
She has curly hair; I have straight hair.
I used to think that aside from using a semi-colon after words like "however," "otherwise," "therefore," etc., you also used them when you wanted a longer pause than a comma seemed to provide. Now I don't think that's correct. You definitely DO use a semicolon before the words I listed above (and then a comma after the word,) but you use a semi-colon to join two independent clauses, when you don't use a conjunction (in which case you'd use a comma.)
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