Grammar & Punctuation | The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Pled v. Pleaded & Enormity Defined

Jane — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:22:51 +0000

Today I will answer a couple of questions I received from radio listeners when I was a guest.

Question: Should you say “pled guilty” or “pleaded guilty”? Answer: Either one is considered correct.

Question: Does “enormity” mean “something monstrous” or “something important”? Answer: Both

Enormity

Definition: something outrageous or heinous, as an offense.

Example: The bombing of the defenseless population was an enormity beyond belief.

Definition: greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity.

Example: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.

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Wordplay

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

Plurals of Symbols

Jane — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:27:38 +0000

You don’t need to use an apostrophe to show the plurals of symbols.

Examples: #s 1, 2, and 3 (numbers 1, 2, and 3)
$s, not €s (dollars, not euros)

For information on apostrophes with numbers, dates, and letters, click here.

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Wordplay

In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.

On to vs. Onto

Jane — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:53:48 +0000

An inquisitive reader asked the following question:

When do you use on to vs. onto?

Answer: Use onto as one word if you can add up before on.

Example: He climbed (up) onto the roof.
Example: She held on to her child in the crowd. (She did not hold up her child.)

Click here to learn hundreds of distinctions between common words.

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Wordplay
A man sent 20 different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least ten of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Into vs. In To

Jane — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:02:52 +0000

How does one know when to use into or in to?

One of the main uses of the preposition into is to indicate movement toward the
inside of a place.

Examples
The children jumped into the lake for a swim.
Mom drove the car into the garage.

In to is the adverb in followed by the preposition to.

Examples:
He turned his paper in to the teacher.
The administrators wouldn’t give in to the demands of the protesters.

We will explore into vs. in to in more depth in a future blog.

Pop Quiz

As a child, I was too afraid to go into/in to the Halloween haunted house.
I’m going to turn the wallet I found into/in to the police.
If your battery is running low, you’ll need to plug your power cord into/in to the
socket.

Answers

into
in to
into

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Wordplay
Choose the correct spelling of the following words. These are three of the English language’s 25 most commonly misspelled words.
A.

license
lisense
licens
lisence

occassion
ocassion
occasion
ocasion

C. Which of the following spellings is preferred in American English?

judgement
judgment
judgemant
judgmant

Answers
A. license
B. occasion
C. judgment

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“None Were” vs. “None Was”

Jane — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:15:53 +0000

Rule: With words that indicate portions—some, all, none, percent, fraction, part, majority, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples:
None of the pie was eaten.
None of the children were hungry.

In a sentence like “None were missing,” there is an implicit noun that answers the question, “None of what?” That noun is what determines whether none takes a plural or singular verb.

Examples:
None were missing. (None of the cookies were missing.)
None was missing. (None of the pie was missing.)

Note: Apparently, the SAT testing service considers none as a singular word only. However, according to Merriam
Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, “Clearly none has been both singular and plural since Old English and still is. The notion that it is singular only is a myth of unknown origin that appears to have arisen in the 19th century. If in context it seems like a singular to
you, use a singular verb; if it seems like a plural, use a plural verb. Both are acceptable beyond serious criticism” (p. 664).

Pop Quiz

None of the garbage was/were picked up.
None of the chairs was/were comfortable.
She inspected all of the plates and none was/were chipped.

Answers

None of the garbage was picked up.
None of the chairs were comfortable.
She inspected all of the plates and none were chipped.

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Wordplay
The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

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________________________________________
English In A Snap: 68 One-Minute English Usage Videos
View Jane’s 68 one-minute video lessons that are available FREE. Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and bosses), children, teachers, and friends.
Click here to view.

Valuable Link
Click here to read excerpts from Jane’s other wonderful book, Enough Is Enough! Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life and listen to her podcasts. Learn more about Jane’s personal coaching work, speaking engagements, and articles that will inspire you to thrive.

Colons (Continued)

Jane — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:56:34 +0000

In a blog first published on August 11, 2007, I helped you understand how to use colons with lists. In this blog, I’d like to help you with other uses of the colon.

Rule 4: Use a colon instead of a semicolon between two sentences when the second sentence explains or illustrates the first sentence and no coordinating conjunction is being used to connect the sentences. If only one sentence follows the colon, do not capitalize the first word of the new sentence. If two or more sentences follow the colon, capitalize the first word of each sentence following.

Examples:
I enjoy reading: novels by Kurt Vonnegut are among my favorites.

Garlic is used in Italian cooking: It greatly enhances the flavor of pasta dishes. It also enhances the flavor of eggplant.

Rule 5: Use the colon to introduce a direct quotation that is more than three lines in length. In this situation, leave a blank line above and below the quoted material. Single space the long quotation. Some style manuals say to indent one-half inch on both the left and right margins; others say to indent only on the left margin. Quotation marks are not used.

Example:

The author of Touched, Jane Straus, wrote in the first chapter:

Georgia went back to her bed and stared at the intricate patterns of burned moth wings in the translucent glass of the overhead light. Her father was in “hyper mode” again. Nothing could calm him down.

He’d been talking nonstop for a week about remodeling projects, following her around the house as she tried to escape his chatter. He was just about to crash, she knew.

Rule 6: Use the colon to follow the salutation of a business letter even when addressing someone by his/her first name. Never use a semicolon after a salutation. A comma is used after the salutation for personal correspondence.

Example: Dear Ms. Rodriguez:

Quiz
1A. Dear Mr. Ang;

1B. Dear Mr. Ang:

2A. The noise from the car collision suggested injuries: One of the drivers was taken to the emergency room with a broken arm. The other driver walked away from the accident scene with just a few scratches.

2B. The noise from the car collision suggested injuries: one of the drivers was taken to the emergency room with a broken arm. The other driver walked away from the accident scene with just a few scratches.

Answers
1B.
2A.

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Wordplay
Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here, I’ll go on ahead.”

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How to Reference Books and Articles in Text

Jane — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:41:16 +0000

Before computers, we used our typewriters to underline book titles and we placed quotation marks around article titles. Some organizations still prefer this method. However, current style manuals recommend
italicizing book titles and magazine names (impossible to do on a typewriter) and using quotation marks around articles.

Example: I read Lord of the Flies in high school.

Example: I enjoyed reading “Become Your Own Best Friend” in Newsweek.

Pop Quiz
Choose the correct sentence.

1. A. My brother thought the “New York Times” article Homeless Team Roots for a New Life Through Soccer was fascinating.

1. B. My brother thought the New York Times article “Homeless Team Roots for a New Life Through Soccer” was fascinating.

2. A. “Light Meals for Nibblers” is a chapter in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks.

2. B. Light Meals for Nibblers is a chapter in “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest,” one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks.

3. A. I remember reading “The Catcher in the Rye” when I was a teenager.

3. B. I remember reading The Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager.

Answers
1. B.
2. A.
3. B.

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Wordplay
Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft, and I’ll show you A-flat miner.

If I Would Have… vs. If I Had…

Jane — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:25:58 +0000

Reprinted with permission by Editor Laura Lawless, http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/.

When talking about something that didn’t happen in the past, many English speakers use the conditional perfect (if I would have done) when they should be using the past perfect (if I had done).

For example, you find out that your brother saw a movie yesterday. You would have liked to see it too, but you hadn’t known he was going. To express this, you can use an if - then clause. The correct way to say this is with the past perfect in the “if” clause, and the conditional perfect in the “then” clause:

Correct: If I had known you were going to the movies, [then] I would have gone too.

The conditional perfect can only go in the “then” clause — it is grammatically incorrect to use the conditional perfect in the “if” clause:

Incorrect: If I would have known you were going to the movies, I would have gone too.

More examples:

Correct: If I had gotten paid, we could have traveled together.

Incorrect: If I would have gotten paid, we could have traveled together.

Correct: If you had asked me, I could have helped you.

Incorrect: If you would have asked me, I could have helped you.

The same mistake occurs with the verb “wish.” You can’t use the conditional perfect when wishing something had happened; you again need the past perfect.

Correct: I wish I had known.

Incorrect: I wish I would have known.

Correct: I wish you had told me.

Incorrect: I wish you would have told me.

Correct: We wish they had been honest.

Incorrect: We wish they would have been honest.

Pop Quiz

Choose A or B.

1.A. If I would have known you were sick, I could have brought you some meals.
1.B. If I had known you were sick, I could have brought you some meals.

2.A. If you had explained the objective, I could have completed the assignment sooner.
2.B. If you would have explained the objective, I could have completed the assignment sooner.

3.A. I wish it would have gone differently.
3.B. I wish it had gone differently.

4.A. We wish the team had scored more goals.
4.B. We wish the team would have scored more goals.

Answers

1.B.
2.A.
3.B.
4.A.

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- Writing Numbers
- Punctuation Marks including Commas, Semicolons, Quotation Marks, Hyphens, and Dashes
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Wordplay

English Is Easy? (Part 3 of 4)

Thanks to Ken H. for sending these in.

Let’s face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England or french fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted.
But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?

Capitalization of Academic Degrees

Jane — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:16:31 +0000

Perhaps you’ve wondered if and when academic degrees (bachelor’s, master’s, etc.) should be capitalized.

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) recommends writing academic degrees in lower case, except when using the degree as a title.

Examples:

Orlando is pursuing a bachelor of science in civil engineering.

He introduced Jennifer Miller, master of fine arts.

He introduced Master of Fine Arts Jennifer Miller.

However, CMS advises that academic degrees be capitalized when used in lists.

Example:

We are proud to announce our project team:

Jennifer Miller, Master of Fine Arts

Orlando Cruz, Bachelor of Science

Pierre Bettencourt, Bachelor of Arts

The Associated Press Stylebook recommends using lower case when referring to degrees in general but capitalizing when they follow a name.

Examples:

Orlando is thinking about getting a bachelor of science degree.

He introduced Orlando Cruz, Bachelor of Science.

My recommendation is to pick your resource and then be consistent.

Where there is agreement, however, is that abbreviations of academic degrees are to be capitalized. CMS recommends omitting periods unless required for tradition or consistency.

Examples: BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD

Pop Quiz

The keynote speaker tonight will be Juris Doctor/juris doctor Michael Abercrombie.
The keynote speaker tonight will be Michael Abercrombie, Juris Doctor/juris doctor.
The textbook was authored by Azizah Bakar, Master of Science/master of science.
Eleanor is finally reaching the end of her studies for her Doctorate in History/doctorate in history.
After studying hard for so many years, I definitely feel that I’ve earned my MS/ms.

Answers

Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor OR juris doctor (Either choice is correct.)
Master of Science OR master of science
If you picked Juris Doctor in No. 2, then Master of Science is correct for No. 3.
Similarly, if you picked juris doctor in No. 2, then master of science is correct for this one.
doctorate in history
MS

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- Subject/Verb Agreement
- Problems with Prepositions
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- Adjectives and Adverbs including Good vs. Well
- Capitalization
- Writing Numbers
- Punctuation Marks including Commas, Semicolons, Quotation Marks, Hyphens, and Dashes
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Wordplay

English Is Easy? (Part 2)

Thanks to Ken H. for sending these in.

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into the sewer line.
To help with the planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Numbers as Adjectives

Jane — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:07:29 +0000

A subscriber recently wrote in with a question that’s a good followup to last week’s Tip of the Week, Writing Numbers:
“When are hyphens used with numbers? Is it 13 feet or 13-feet; 12 hours or 12-hours?”

Rule: Generally, hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a single idea.

This rule can also be applied when a number and a measurement unit taken together form an adjective, that is, when they describe another object.

Examples:
A 22-inch monitor is too big for my desk.
Nurses work 12-hour shifts.
Anthony swung his five-pound hammer.
In the previous sentences, the measurements, such as 22-inch, describe specific objects, such as monitor.

When measurements are not acting as adjectives, hyphens are not needed.

Examples:
Suzanne won the race by 25 yards.
Twelve hours later, she was exhausted.
Anthony’s hammer weighs five pounds.

Pop Quiz: Choose A or B.

1. A. I can’t believe she wrote a 33-page treatise on how to screw in a light bulb.
1. B. I can’t believe she wrote a 33 page treatise on how to screw in a light bulb.

2. A. I can’t believe she wrote 33-pages on how to screw in a light bulb.
2. B. I can’t believe she wrote 33 pages on how to screw in a light bulb.

3. A. Harold found a 110-year-old book at the flea market.
3. B. Harold found a 110 year old book at the flea market.

4. A. Harold found a book that must have been 110-years-old at the flea market.
4. B. Harold found a book that must have been 110 years old at the flea market.

Answers

1. A.
2. B.
3. A.
4. B.

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Wordplay

A bicycle can’t stand alone; it’s two tired.

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- corporate trainers
- students

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