Beware the Lowly Comma … It’s National Punctuation Day!
The Grammar Guru has always maintained that punctuation is important. This company has found out too late that a simple comma voids their iron-clad contract before the original end date, and may end up costing them more than $2 million. That said, today is the day to celebrate punctuation. At least, punctuation used properly.
Sloppy, Impossible Writing
I’m reading the online news this morning, and one of the stories presents me with the following two sentences … sentences which are so badly written that I wonder how the writer made it out of journalism school! Can you pinpoint the problems and fix them? Problem Sentence 1: A widow is suing Petsmart Inc, […]
Now, Where Does that Period Go? End Stops and Quotation Marks
Dear Grammar Guru: Please tell us how to punctuate around quotation marks. I get confused, particularly if I have a word or phrase at the end of the sentence that I am setting off with quotations. This is a common concern to all who wish their writing to reflect knowledge of proper grammar. It’s not […]
Comma, Comma, Who’s Got the Comma?
Commas can be confusing, especially as there are divergent opinions on some uses. Being the old-fashioned type, I’m going to give you only one set of rules, leaving the least chance of misapprehension of your writing. Commas are used to signal a pause in thought or to set off a phrase or clause (either for […]