Grammar and Punctuation | The #1 Grammar Punctuation Resource on the Internet!

Time 2020-09-20 12:03:35

Web Name: Grammar and Punctuation | The #1 Grammar Punctuation Resource on the Internet!

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Enable JavaScript Uh oh! It looks like you have JavaScript turned off. While most of our site should function with out, we recommend turning it back on for a better experience. Hide Notice Remembering Jane Straus | May 18, 1954 February 25, 2011 | Author of the original Blue Book of Grammar and PunctuationHunting for Help with HyphensPosted on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at 11:00 pmFew components of English grammar have puzzled writers and editors more than the hyphen. When do we insert it? When don’t we? Why does it appear here but not there when last time it was there?Hyphen use remains in continual flux. The stylistic tug of war could be seen in 2019 updates to The Associated Press Stylebook, including:reversing an earlier decision to omit the hyphen from phrases such as first-quarter touchdown. The reversal followed guidance that no hyphen is needed in a compound modifier if the modifier is commonly recognized as one phrase, and if the meaning is clear and unambiguous without the hyphen … one example is first quarter touchdown. (However, removing the hyphen was inconsistent with style being maintained for first-half run.)deleting the long-standing guidance that hyphen use is optional in most cases and that the fewer the hyphens the better. maintaining previous wording that use of the hyphen is not standardized and can be a matter of taste, judgment, and style sense. keeping hyphens out of phrases such as first grade student and high school student.removing the requirement to hyphenate most compound modifiers after versions of the verb to be (e.g., The basket is old fashioned [not old-fashioned]).As might be anticipated, the developments sparked more dissent among writers and editors. The reactions lay mainly in the universal desire for resolute rules instead of pliable guidelines.Having guidelines rather than rules requires us to take typographical risks at our own peril: Someone somewhere is sure to call us out on our hyphenation or lack thereof. Without strict principles, we must rely on our mettle as arbiters of grammatical details.While we would love to lead the way to resolution, we recognize the bag is open and too many cats are free. We therefore will support what else AP has to say in helping with the hyphen conundrum:Hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid ambiguity (recover, re-cover; recreation, re-creation) or to form a single idea from two or more words (jack-of-all-trades).Think of hyphens as an aid to readers’ comprehension. If a hyphen makes the meaning clearer, use it (small-business owner, high-income workers). If it just adds clutter without helping to clarify, don’t use it (chocolate chip cookie, dog food bowl).If the number of hyphens in a phrase becomes tedious, try rephrasing. It’s an article about how to use hyphens without strict rules, not it’s a how-to-use-hyphens-without-strict-rules article.We further suggest not relying too much on spellchecking software for clarity on hyphens. This is because they will often test the spelling of each word, including those with a hyphen. For example, it will not flag either nontraditional or non-traditional as an error.When in doubt about hyphens, refer to your preferred style source (including ours) or consult an online dictionary.Pop QuizUsing what you’ve considered in this article, choose the correct answers concerning hyphens in the following sentences.1. The third baseman hit a [bases loaded / bases-loaded] triple in the ninth inning.2. We hope to [re-cover / recover] our company’s losses in the next quarter.3. Montreal, Canada, has many [French-speaking / French speaking] people.4. The sky looks [pinkish red / pinkish-red].5. When Tanille grows up, she wants to be a [high-school / high school] teacher.Pop Quiz Answers1. The third baseman hit a bases-loaded triple in the ninth inning.2. We hope to recover our company’s losses in the next quarter.3. Montreal, Canada, has many French-speaking people.4. The sky looks pinkish red.5. When Tanille grows up, she wants to be a high school teacher.Leave a CommentShape-shifting TroublemakersPosted on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, at 11:00 pmNo nouns in our language behave like pronouns. The most common subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever) all become different words (me, him, her, us, them, whom, whomever) when they are objects. Colloquial English has always thumbed its nose at proper English. A seemingly innocent everyday sentence like It’s me is Exhibit Read MoreAbbreviation, Acronym, or Initialism: Fixing (not Mixing) IdentityPosted on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, at 11:00 pmAmerican English often applies ways to shorten words and phrases for convenience and economy. This is particularly true in business, government, the military, and perhaps even more so now in texting and social media. For those with an interest in grammar, the question can become whether we are using an abbreviation, an acronym, or an Read MoreI Subject, Your HonorPosted on Tuesday, August 25, 2020, at 11:00 pmIn past discussions of who-whom and whoever-whomever, we passed along a handy memory aid: who (and whoever) = they; whom (and whomever) = them.* That's fine as far as it goes, but it goes nowhere unless we can tell a subject (they) from an object (them). One reason that distinguishing between subjects and objects is Read MoreA Study of Style: The U.S. MilitaryPosted on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at 11:00 pmOur exploration of American English strives to venture even further than the principles that guide writing with precision and eloquence. We are also interested in the language variances beyond what we accept as common for information exchange. For example, we know that United States can be abbreviated, often as either US or U.S. One might Read More

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