The study and practice of writing english (1914)

The exclamation point is sometimes used, within parentheses, forthesakeofanironical orastonished mentary on whathas been said.. The semicolon maybe used to separate the two or more parts

OMEK.AMDASHMUN

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

yfi

THE STUDY AND PRACTICE

BY

GERHARD R LOMER, M.A., PH.D.

Instructor in English in the School ofJournalism

ColumbiaUniversity in the City ofNewYork

AND

MARGARET ASHMUN, M.A.

FormerlyInstructor in English in

The University of Wisconsin

ALL RIGHTSRESERVED

1937

CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS

U S A

9. Rulesfor Spelling 45

II. GRAMMATICAL REQUIREMENTS

1. TheStudyofLanguage Ill

2. SomeSuggestionsfortheStudyofWords . 120

3. The Useofthe Dictionary . 121

iv CONTENTS

9. TheIdiomaticUseofPrepositions . 138

10. ForeignWordscommonlyusedinEnglish . 140

11. Phrasesfrom Foreign Languages 142

15. Words commonlymispronounced 165

4. Marksforthe Correctionof Themes 202

THE STUDY AND PKACTICE

ESTABLISHED USAGES

i. PUNCTUATION

indicating or assuring the unity, the coherence, or theemphasis implied in the written expression of thought.Punctuationisnotan endinitself;it merelyhelps to sug-

gest pauses,inflections,andintonationsthatin oral sion are of greatvaluein makingathought clear Intheuseofpunctuation, the studentmust mastercertain recog-

expres-nized conventions that depend upon a few underlying

principles The moreimportantgeneral rulesadmitoflittle

latitude for personal opinion in their application, since

they are tacitlyaccepted by all whoaspire to be careful

writers Otherrules, thoughlessbinding, are indicative of

whatis consideredgood formin writingand area proofof

literary training and experience. In minor matters, adegree of personal freedom in punctuation is permitted

On the whole, until awriterhas become thoroughly

in-formedas to the best practice, he will do well to allow

himselfvery littlelicense inthe use ofthemarksof

punc-tuation He should carefully apply the rules that have been agreed upon by students of language as the most

efficientin supplementing the writtenword

(6) Givemetherifle.

EXCEPTION Therulegiven aboveisextremely important,

anditshould, in general,be strictlyadhered to; nevertheless,

good usage furnishes an exception: Twoor more sentencesthat are closelyconnectedinthoughtmaybe separated merely

bycommas,if these sentencesare veryshort,andareparallelin

construction

(a) Shelaughed, shesang, shedanced

(6)It rained,ithailed,itsnowed,anditblewgreat guns.N.B For a further note on this point, see under the

2 A fragment or a subordinate part of a sentenceshouldnotbefollowed by aperiod, unless thereisnothingpresentforthepartialsentencetoadhereto,andunlessthe

senseis clearly and completely understood.

Bad:Hewasvery inadequately prepared. Whichfactsoon

became

PUNCTUATION 3

soonbecame apparent.

Bad:I hadnotreckoned withmyenemy AsIwas

after-wardto learn.

Correct:Ihadnot reckoned withmyenemy,asIwas

after-wardtolearn.

NOTE:Sometimes afragmentofasentenceisacceptedasa

complete thought Theexpressions Yes,Notso,Ofcourse,etc.,

are reallycondensed sentences, andmayproperlybefollowed

by periods In conversation, a fragment of a sentence may

often,withgoodreason,befollowedbyaperiodasif itwerea

complete sentence

"Didyoufinditonthefloor?"

"Onthe floor. Whathave youtosay?"

3 An abbreviationshouldbefollowedby aperiod.M.D.;e.g.;Assoc.; Bros.;ibid.;R.S.V.P

The QuestionMark

1 Thequestionmarkshouldfollowa direct question

Haveyouheard thenews?

CAUTION:The questionmarkshouldnotbeusedafteran

indirectquestionunlessthemamsentenceinwhichtheindirect

questionisembeddedisalso interrogative in character

Wrong: HeaskedmewhetherIhadheard thenews?

Right: HeaskedmewhetherIhadheard the news

Right: Didhe askyou whether you hadheard thenews?

2 Thequestionmarkisusedto indicatedoubtas tothe

truth ofanassertion

Correct:GeorgeChapmanwas bornin 1559(?)

3 Thequestionmarkshould not be usedto calltiontoan ironicalexpression.

atten-Undesirable: Hecertainlyisabrilliant (?)youngperson

Better: Hecertainlyisabrilliantyoungperson

4 ESTABLISHED USAGES

The Exclamation Point

1 The exclamation point is used after interjections,

exclamatory sentences, and words or names pronounced

withemotional emphasis

Listen! Listen! Doyouhear?

Thereare horsesmany! Nowtheystop!

Ah, now

Feetonthethreshold!

MAETERLINCK.

2 Theexclamation point should notbe used wherethe

commawill doaswell

(a) Oh,dear, no Ineverthoughtofsuchathing

(6)"Forthelandsake,Susannah,"cried Arietta, inguponher,"whatareyoudoin'?"

advanc-3 The exclamation point is sometimes used, within

parentheses, forthesakeofanironical orastonished mentary on whathas been said Thispracticeisnottobe recommended.

com-Undesirable:Hepraisedmy meekness (!)and said it was

anobleexampleto hissisters.

exampletohis sisters.

TheColon

I The colon is used as a formal introduction to an important wordor expression, alist, aseriesofstatements

or questions, or a quotationof somelength.

(a)He sent in an order for the following books: George

Meredith's TheEgoist;Mrs.GaskelTsTheLife oflotteBronte; JohnFiske's The BeginningsofNew Eng-

Char-land;and Hawthorne's Mosses from anOldManse

(6) Not content with this, Hawthorne adds a few ments attheend, exactly aswould bedoneina formal

com-sermon: "Woe for the high-souled youth, with his

dream Hisnameand

PUNCTUATION 5

utterlyunknown;hishistory,hiswayoflife,hisplans,a

mystery never to be solved; his death and existence

equally a doubt!" C A SMITH: The American ShortStory

(c) There weretwo things that I lookedupon with equalabhorrence: theslatternlyhousekeeperandtheslaveto

adomesticroutine

2 The colonis sometimes used tointroduce a series of

thoughts which are an illustrationor an elaboration of apreceding general thought In such a case, the material

following the colon is in a sense in apposition with that

preceding This useofthe colonisnottobe recommended

tothe unskilledwriter

Permissible: Everywhere the signs ofthe gentle faith

ap-pear: itsideographs and symbols are chiseledupon the

facesof therocks; itsicons smileuponyou from every

shadowy recess by the way; even the very landscapebetimeswouldseemtohave beenmouldedbythesoul of

it, where the hills rise softly as a prayer. LAFCADIO

HEARN: Glimpsesof UnfamiliarJapan.

The Semicolon

The semicolon occupies, theoretically, a position way betweenthe periodandthecomma. Itcanbe madeto

mid-show,at thesametime, logicalconnection and

grammati-calseparation. Itis amostexpressivemark, andtheability

to use it effectively is one of the characteristics of the

trainedwriter

I. The semicolon maybe used to separate the two or

more partsofacompoundsentencein whichthe

conjunc-tion is expressedor understood

(a)TheanimalwasapparentlyasexhaustedasIwas; that

wasonecomfort

(&)Inhis desiretobe particular, Gissing describesa man

ononepageasa lawyerand onanotherasadentist;but

6 ESTABLISHED USAGES

Insuchasentenceas that given above, thequality ofthe

secondclauseseemstodemandamorepositivemarkthanthe

comma Thesemicolongives justthe rightshadeofsuspense

betweenthetwopartsofthesentence, shows, asitwere, a

pause for consideration and conclusion There are many

similarcases inwhichthesemicoloncanbemade equally

sig-nificant asadivisionbetweenthe parts ofthecompoundtence

sen-2 The semicolon may be used to separate a series of

long subordinate sentence elements

The semicolon is especially valuable if the phrases orclauses combined in a sentence have commas within them-

selves, oriftheyare solongas topresent aconfusingora

for-midableappearance. Evenwherethesubordinateelementsare

not long, they are often given an individual value through

being separatedbythe semicolon

ThereIlearned that the strangerhadarrived lateonedark

rainy night, afterthe landlord andhis family had gone

tobed; that hehad remainedthreedaysinhisroom, turing out onlyinthe evening and theearly morning;andthathehad departed atlastasmysteriously as he

ven-hadcome

3 Itis customaryto place a semicolon beforethe

con-junctive adverbs therefore, hence, accordingly, however,

nevertheless, also, otherwise, moreover, and others of a like

nature

This rule should, in general,beverystrictlyapplied.

(a)She wasawoman;thereforeshemadeexcusesforhimin

herheart

(6) My cousin had lived the greater part of his life in

France; thusithappenedthat,when hearrived atour

housethat day, notoneofthe family recognized him.(c) Idonot think thatheisathome;however,I willmake

inquiries at once

4 Thesemicolonshouldusuallyprecedeas,namely, and

thus when they are used to introduce examples and

illus-PUNCTUATION 7

Theplaintiff solemnly deniedtwoofthe charges;namely,breaking into the desk, and destroying the memoran- dumof his father'sliabilities.

5. A semicolonmaybeusedto separatethe partsofany

sentence when a comma would be misleading or cient

stood watchinghimin fascinated horror

Better:Hekilledtheduck and thechicken;andthe child

stood watchinghimin fascinated horror

EXERCISEPunctuatethefollowing sentences:

1. Theproblems that confront usnowaretwo oughtwetogoand oughtwetopublish our reasons

2. Hesentme homefor hisheavyovercoathenceIwasnotat

mydeskwhenthe secretary called to seeme

3. The walls were covered with vines and brilliant flowers

noddedatthewindows

4. You gave me no peaceuntil Imade apromisetherefore Icapitulatedthemorereadily

5. To make this clear we must distinguish three classes who

standinacertain relation toeducationinmodernEngland

first the schoolmasters who nominally manage the schools

secondly themassofthe publicwhosendtheir sonstothe

schools thirdlythe educationaltheoristswhowritebooks

6. Hewascourteousnotcringing to superiors affablenot

famil-iartoequalsandkindbutnot condescendingor supercilious

toinferiors

7. Ididnotbelievehisstory neverthelessIpretendedtoputall

confidence inthetale

8. ThuspressedIgavethem mymostsufficientreasonswhereat

they burstintoimmoderateroars oflaughter

9. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men arecreated equal thattheyare endowedbytheir Creator with

certain inalienable rights that amongthese are lifeliberty

andthepursuit ofhappiness

10. Threestateshavealready passed such lawsnamelyMontana

ColoradoandCalifornia

8 ESTABLISHED USAGES

11. Thefollowinggroupsofmenaredissatisfiedthosewhooutoftheirown meanscontributedtothe cause thosewhoinone

wayoranotherassistedwith theactual laborandthosewho

whether throughpovertyor indifferencedid nothingatall

12. The man who thus exquisitely repainted these pictures in

wordshad three greatgiftsvividmemories ofchildhoodperiencesthe heartofachildto interpretthemandawonder-

ex-fulpowerofverbalexpression

13. Richardson with perfectlyunconscious humor divided hischaracters into threeclassesmen womenand Italians

14. Kiplingfeelsthe presenceofromanceinshotandshellas well

as in buff jerkins in existing superstitions as well astheold in

the lightning express as in the stage-coach in the fishingschooneras inthe vikingship intheloves ofMulvaneyand

Dinahas inIvanhoe andRowenainthehugepythonas inthe

fire-breathingdragon

15. Like the sonnet theshort-storymust beaunitgivingsiontoone emotionoraseries ofemotionspossessingaunity

expres-oftone itscharactersmustbefewitsactionmust be simple

it tellssomething butitsuggestsmore

16. Thiswasthe wayithappened fouryears agomy company

sent me out to Montana to investigate the titles of some

ranches that they intended tobuy

17. Thecaptainwasbythistunereadyto lookintothematter

moreover hefeltthat hehadreallymadeamistake

The Comma

1 The commaisusedtoset offparentheticmaterial,

that is, material thrown into a sentence for purposes ofexplanation

(a)Thequestion, Iown,puzzledme

(6) He, however, waslikely to ride his hobby in his own

way f

(c) Hewouldarrive, itwastrue,somewhatafterdark

2 The comma should be used to inclose a noun inapposition

(a) Onthe doorstep stoodBillGray, the widow'seldestson

Mr wasmuch

PUNCTUATION 9

(c) AtVerona, thecountyseat,westoppedfordinner

EXCEPTION:Thisruleisto bedisregarded,

(a)Whentheappositiveisatitlethathasbecomea partof

aname

Peter the Hermit; PhiliptheFair; John the

Evan-gelist.

(6) When the appositive is so closely connected with the

nounitmodifies that a separationis illogical.

Thefirsttospeakwas hisfriend Charles

(c) Whenawordora phraseisspokenof insuchawaythat

attentioniscalledtoitforitsownsake

(1) Thewordswell isnotingooduse

(2) The expression "Cheese it" was once a popular

(6) I believe,Mr Farley,thatwehavemadea mistake

4 The commashouldbeused to inclosea geographicalnameusedafteranother toshowrelative location

(a) Ourtrainstopped atHope,Idaho

(6) Mybrother wholives inRouen, France, is comingto

Americanextyear.

5 The commashouldbeusedtoseparate theclauses of

littleornointeriorpunctuation

Iftheclausesarelongoriftheyhavecommaswithin

them-selves, the semicolonmaybe usedtoseparate them.

(a)Hiswetfeetwerefreezing,andhisexposedfingerswere

growingnumb.

(6) Hewasawarm-whiskered man, butthehaironhisface

didnotprotectthe high cheek-bonesandthe eager nosethat

ESTABLISHED USAGES

6 The comma should be used to set off a dependent

clausepreceding its independent clause

(a) WhenIlooked atmywatchagain, Ifoundthatithad

(a) Theballoonrosehigherintotheclear,cold,bracingair.

(6) He wasa stubbylittlemanwitharedfaceand a tling, close-cropped mustache

bris-NOTE:Therearemanyoccasionson whichthisruleistobe

disregarded Iftheadjective nearest thenoun seems tobe a

partof theidea expressed by the noun, it is likely that theother adjectives modify the whole ensuing combination of

nounandadjective; insuch acase,nocommaneed beplacedbetweenthelastandthe nexttothelastadjective

Heworeashortblack alpaca coatandalargewhitecravat

Shortseemstomodifyblackalpacacoat,whichcombination

ofwords maybe consideredas aunit No comma isneededbetween shortand black. Large, modifyingwhite cravat, need

not be followed by a comma. It is not always easy to tell

whether the commais desirableor not Astudy of thebest

usagewillbehelpful. Onthe whole, themoderntendencyistolessenratherthantoincreasetheamountofpunctuation used

inordinary prosediscourse

8 A commashould precede and,or, ornor,used tonect thelasttwolinks of asequenceofthreeormore:

con-(a) Me*rimeVsstoriesarehard,ironical, and cynical.

(6) Yououghttowrite, telegraph, ortelephoneyourfamily

NOTE: A notion exists thata comma should not be usedbefore and This ideaisillogical. The above rule should be

strictlyapplied

9 Absolute phrases should beset offby commas Thehousebeinginastate of disorder,wedecidedtogotoa

PUNCTUATION 11

10 The commashouldfollow any expressionequivalent

to hesaid, introducing adirect quotation

Stepping closeto thelittle oldwoman, he shoutedinher

ear, "Thattrainleftan hourago."

11 A comma may be used to set off an introductory

phraseof considerablelengthor ofcomplicatedstructure

With the kindestintentionsand the most unimpeachable

motives, Iwasmade toappear adetestable seeker

notoriety-NOTE: Veryshort introductory phrases should notbeset

offbyanymarkofpunctuation

In thelateafternoonItooka walkalong theriver.

12. A comma may beinsertedwhereapauseisneededin

a sentenceand no othermark ofpunctuation issuitable

13 A comma may be used where it will remove any

obscurity in a sentence.

Into the envelopes filed there, goes awealth of material

clippedfromthe magazinesofthe day

14 A comma should set off a nonrestrictive phrase or

clause

Afulldiscussion ofthe punctuationofrestrictiveand

non-restrictivephrasesand clausesisgiven below

Theomissionofthe commawithrestrictivephrases and

clauses

Arestrictiveadjectivalphraseor clauseisonethat

modi-fies a noun orpronounin such awayastobeessential to

the completeness of the sentence in which the phrase orclause occurs Itcannotbe omitted without changingthe

sense, since it is so closely attached to the substantive it

modifiesthatitrestrictsorlimitsthemeaningofthat

sub-stantive in a clear and definite manner The restrictive

phrase or clauseisnot separatedby any markof from noun

punctua-12 ESTABLISHED USAGES

Restrictivephrase:Theglassfilledwith theclearwaterwas

placed upon the table; that filled with the brownish

liquidwas putaway inthe cupboard

The phrases filled with the clear water and filled with the

brownishliquid arerestrictive; ineachcasethey point out the

glassintended, thatis, restrictor narrow downthe

applica-tion ofthewordglass. Theycouldnotbeomittedwithout

des-troying thesense ofthesentence.

Restrictive clause:Thestudentwhoignorestheregulations

willnotbepermittedtotake partintheplay

The clausewho ignores theregulationstellsdefinitelywhat

studentismeant Itrestrictsornarrowstheapplication ofthe

sense thatisintended No commashould precede theclause.

Correct:Shelosttheringthathermotherhadgivenher.

Correct:Agentlemanhasbeendefined asaman whohasno

visiblemeansof support.

Theuseofthe commawithnonrestrictivephrases and

clauses

A nonrestrictive adjectival phrase or clause modifies,

though very loosely, a nounor pronoun;the information

that itgivesisnot essentialto thegrammatical

complete-ness orthesense ofthesentence Since it ismerely

paren-thetic in character, a nonrestrictive phrase or clause can

be omitted withoutseriousdamagetothesentence Sucha

clauseshouldbeseparatedfromitssubstantiveby commas.

Nonrestrictive phrase: Her basket, filledwith berriesthatshehadgatheredinthe woods,was founduponthegrass.

Heretheidentity ofthebasketis clear,whetherthe phrase

beomittedor not Thephrase does notrestricttheapplication

ofthe noun basket; it simply givesparenthetical information

aboutthebasketinquestion It is nonrestrictive,and should

besetofffromtherestofthe sentencebycommas

Nonrestrictiveclause:ArthurDoulton, whohadignoredalltheregulations,wasforbiddentotake partinthe play.

Herethemiscreant theclausewho

hadignoredall theregulationsdoes not pointhimout,butmerelyaddsacomment uponhim Theclauseisnonrestrictive,andisproperlysetoffbycommas

Correct: IaskedMr.Jaffrey,whohadgivenmuchattention

tosuch matters, but he wasforced to confesshisrance

igno-Coned:This book,whichIhadonce regardedasatoryofchemical secrets,nowbegantoseem quitecom-

reposi-monplace

Thetestfarrestrictiveandnonrestrictive phrasesand

clauses

From the foregoing remarks upon restrictive and

non-restrictivephrasesandclauses,itwill beseen thatthereisa

ascertained, andwith it the necessity for the use of

com-mas Thistest ismerely leaving the phrase or clauseout

of the sentence and then judging whether the sense

in-tendedisimpaired:

(a) Ifthephraseorclausecannotbeomittedwithout destroying

thesense ofthe sentence, it is restrictive Itshould notbe set

offfromtheworditmodifies

(6) //thephraseorclausecan beomitted withoutdamage to

theintendedmeaning ofthe sentence, it is nonrestrictive.

It should be separatedfrom the rest of the sentence by

commas

NOTE:Theremaybeafewcases inwhichtheapplication of

this test will stillleavedoubt;insuchcases,onemustdecideby

reference to the context, or content himself with remainingunenlightened

Thefollowing tablemaybehelpfulinthe studyof

restric-tiveandnonrestrictive clauses:

14 ESTABLISHED USAGES

PUNCTUATION 15

10. Thearchaeologistgave a longlectureon astatue thatbody hadlately discoveredinGreece

some-11. HewenttoJacksonwhichisamountaintowninKentucky

12. HewaswritingaLife ofNapoleonwhohadalwaysbeenhis

favoritehero

13. The change thathad taken place inMr O'Rourke's

affec-tionsshoweditselfinoccasionalfitsof sullenness

meabookthathadonce belongedtomygrandfather

15. The paragraph which produced this singular effect on the

aged couple occurred at the end of a column of telegraph

dispatches givingthedetails ofan unimportant engagement

that had just taken place between one of the blockading

squadron anda Confederatecruiser.

16. Thedoctor's oldhorsewhich growslaziereverydaywillsoon

befitonlytowork onthe farm

17. Alaskawhich wasonceaRussian provinceisnowan canpossession

Ameri-18. The last-named college which is attended by students of

manydifferentfaithsdoesnothave achapel.

19. Thattallstudentwhoisagreat favoritewithhisclassmateshasjustbeenelected president oftheAthletic Association

20 Ishingledthesides ofmyhousewhich werealready

impervi-ous to rain with imperfect and sappy shingles made ofthefirst slicesofthelog.

21 Wheneverastormwhichthey wishedtoavertwasingtheywould runoutandfireattherisingcloudwhooping

threaten-yellingwhistlingand beatingtheirdrum

22 Iusually carriedmydinnerofbreadandbutterandread the

newspaperinwhichitwas wrappedatnoonsittingamongthegreen pineboughs whichIhad cutoff.

23. Therewasonly hereandthereaboard which wouldnot bearremoval

Cautionsto beobservedinusingthecomma

I Do not separate complete sentences by the comma;use the semicolon, the period, the question mark, or theexclamationpoint.

EXCEPTION:Veryshort sentencesthatare closelyconnected

16 ESTABLISHED USAGES

in thought and parallel in constructionmay be separated by

commas See ThePeriod, Rule 1,page2 (Exception).

Incorrect: The animal was depressed by the tremendous

Correct:Theanimalwasdepressedbythetremendouscold.

Itknewthatthiswas notimefor traveling

Incorrect: The pay is twelve dollars a month and your

rations furnished, you campinatentontheprairiewith

Bad: Onatablestood alarge,ugly, red, vase.

Better: Onatablestood alarge,ugly,redvase

3 Do not use a comma before the first member of a

seriesunlessitwould berequiredif theserieswerereduced

Forinclosinginterpolated material,thedashis slightly less

formalthanparentheses.

It was one of those fine rains I am not praising it

which wetyoutotheskin inaboutfour seconds

2 The dash isused to indicateincoherenceorthe

sud-denbreaking off of a sentence form that has been begun.

(a) Icould onlygasp, "Sixo'clock train Green Lodge

man "

of Sylvia, anyway?

3 The dash, with orwithout the comma, may be used

beforearepetition or an elaboration of a thought

preced-ing it.

There were noisesthatwedid not understand, ouswindspassing overhead,tree-trunks grinding against

mysteri-eachother,undefinablestirsanduneasinesses

4 The dash may be used before a word that sums up whathas precededinthesentence In such acase,thedash

isusuallypreceded bythe comma.

The hammeringofthe infrequent woodpecker, the callof

thelonelybird,thedrummingof thesolitary partridge,allthesesoundsdo butemphasize the lonesomenessofnature C.D.WARNER: CampingOut

5 The dash may beused,withorwithout thecomma,toindicate aslightpauseforemphasis

(a) I liketohavethishappen on aninclementChristmasor

Thanksgiving Eve anditalwaysdoes

(6) "Ishallbeproudtoshowyoumywife,"hesaid, "and

thebaby and Goliath." T B.ALDRICH:Goliath.

6 The dash sometimes follows the colon, after very

formal introductory material

AidedbyPatience,thespiritofProgressisenabledto close

thedialogueandthepoemthus:

[Herefollowafewstanzasofthe poem.]

7 Thedash should notbeusedindiscriminatelyinstead

ofothermarks ofpunctuation

Incorrect: Iwasvery gladtohearfromhome Ihad begun

to get low-spirited atnot receivingany news andtoentertain indefinite fears that something was wrong

Youdonot say anythingabout yourownhealth butI

hopeyou arewell.

Correct: Iwasveryglad tohearfromhome Ihad begunto

enter-18 ESTABLISHED USAGES

tain indefinite fearsthatsomething waswrong You do

not say anythingabout yourownhealth,butIhopeyou

arewell.

TheApostrophe

1 Forthe useof the apostrophe to form the possessive

of singularandpluralnouns, seepages 43-45

2 Forthe use of the apostrophe to form the plural of

letters, symbols, and words spoken of as words, see page

43, underPlurals

the apostrophe:

spokenof as a word; see page 43) by adding an

apostrophe, oran apostrophewiths.

Incorrect:TherestoodallthelittleSmith'sina row

Correct:TherestoodallthelittleSmithsina row (Seethe rule for the plural of proper nouns: Rule 15,page43.)

pro-nounsits, ours, hers, yours, theirs.

Incorrect:The wordlethas changedit's meaning

Correct:The word lethas changeditsmeaning

(c) Informing thepossessive of anoun that endsin

s,neverinsertanapostrophebeforethats.

Incorrect:Heread Collin's OdetoEvening

Correct:Heread Collins's[or Collins']OdetoEvening

(d) Inwriting the contraction of aword (seeRule1,page35),be sure to insert the apostropheatthe

right place

Incorrect:Icould'ntreachhim bytelephone

Correct: Icouldn'treachhim bytelephone

Correct:IheardJohntellthetrampthathehadbetter go.

2 A single continuous speech should have quotationmarks only at the beginning and at the end, unless it is

broken bythe author's commentary When the speechis

thus interrupted, an extraset of quotation marksshould

beintroduced

Incorrect:"

Yes,"saidhismother,dolefully,Johnny'sbeen

fighting again." "That horrid Barnabee boy (who is

eightyearsold, ifheisa day) "won'tletthechildalone."

"Well,saidI,IhopeJohnny gavethatBarnabee boy

athrashing."

"Didn't Ithough? cries Johnny fromthesofa. You

bet."

Correct: "Yes,"saidhismother dolefully,"Johnny'sbeen

fightingagain ThathorridBarnabee boy (whoiseight

yearsoldifheis a day) won'tletthechildalone."

"Well," said I, "I hope Johnny gavethat Barnabeeboyathrashing."

"Didn't I, though?" cries Johnny, from the sofa.

"Youbet!"

3 Ifa speechissolong thatitextendsto several

para-graphs, each paragraph shouldhave a quotationmark at

the beginning; only the last should have the quotation

4 When a quotation mark anda question mark or an

exclamation point comeafterthesame the

ques-20 ESTABLISHED USAGES

tionmarkorthe exclamation point shouldcomefirst if it is

apart ofthe quotation, butnot of the mainsentence; (6)

the question markor exclamation point should comelast,

if it applies to the main sentence, and not to the mere

quotation

Incorrect: I said, "Areyougoingaway"?

Correct: Isaid, "Areyougoingaway?"

Incorrect:Didheactually say, "Youareathief?"Correct:Didhe actually say, "Youareathief"?

5 Aquotation within a quotation shouldbeinclosedby

single quotation marks; a third quotation, within thesecond, should beinclosed by double marks,and so on, inindefinite alternation

I have often heard my grandfather say, "You can't do

betterthantotake the adviceoftheoldproverb,'

Early

tobedandearly to rise/"

Incorrect: "The next day," the stranger continued, "my

foremancametomeandsaid,"Ifyoudon't lookout,you

will loseyourjob."

Correct:"Thenext day," thestrangercontinued,"my

will loseyourjob.'"

6 Itissometimespermissible touse quotationmarkstoinclose atechnical term, ora word that isunusual orless

dignified thanthe rest of a discourse This rule must be

appliedwithgreatcaution (See Rule7.)

Permissible:

(a) Thestreetgaminlooked anxiously about, to seeif a

"flatty" [policeman] wereinsight.

(6) It has already been said that Irving . rated adistinctivetypeofshort story,theshort story

inaugu-oflocal color. This has been called,since 1870, the

"garden-patch" type of story, because in it each

writer may be said to cultivate his own garden, or

ratherhis own "patch" in the national garden C.

ALPHONSO

PUNCTUATION 21

7 Quotation marks should not be used loosely for

apologyor irony Theyshouldneverbe employed without

goodreason Whenoneisindoubt whethertouse

dia-logue, he isusuallysafein omittingthem.

Better:MydogTobyfollowedmeto thegate.

Bad:Ihope youarenot goingto"go backon"us Better: Ihope youarenot goingtogoback onus.

Bad: Hisisa "noble" soulindeed!

Better:Hisisa noblesoulindeed!

8 Quotation marks should not be used to inclose the

and well-knownquotations may be usedas titleswithoutbeing inclosedby quotation marks

9 Quotation marks may be used to inclose titles

em-bedded inany sort of discourse; however, italics are

Permissible: Judged by the strict demands of structure,

as outlinedbyPoe, both"Rip Van Winkle" and "The

Legend of Sleepy Hollow" are tales rather than short

stories.

EXERCISE IN PUNCTUATING CONVERSATION

Why asforbeing honest master said the man laughing and

thingI have donewhenI was younger however whatis doneis

doneIhavelivedlongenoughto learnthegrandpointofwisdom what isthat said I that honesty is thebest policy master you

appeartobe asailorsaidIlookingathisdressIwasnotbreda

sailorsaidthemanthoughwhen myfootisonsaltwaterI canplay the partandplayitwelltooI am nowfroma longvoyagefrom AmericaI askedfartherthanthatsaidthe manhave youanyobjection totellingmesaidIfromNewSouthWalessaidthe

man mefull inthefacedear mesaidI whydo you

22 ESTABLISHED USAGES

dearmesaid theman it is avery longwayoff saidI was that

yourreasonforsayingso saidtheman notexactly saidI nosaid

themanwith a ratherbittersmileitwas somethingelsethatmade

yousaysoyou werethinkingoftheconvicts well saidIwhatthen

youarenoconvicthowdo youknowyou donot looklikeonethank

youmastersaid themancheerfully to a certainextent you areright bygonesare bygonesIamnolongerwhatI wasthe truth

howeveristhe truthaconvictIhave beena convictatSydney

Cove

EXERCISEPunctuate thefollowing sentences:

1. IthinkMr.Morganthat themanyou werespeakingofisnow

inLas VegasNewMexico

2. The house after it had been inspected proved to be less

remarkable thanwehad beenledtosuppose.

3. Idid notseehimanywhere and Billrefused totell me what

had becomeofhim

4. The narrowdusty white roadlayshininginthe moonlight

5. In San Francisco California there is a memorial to Robert

LouisStevenson thecelebratedScotchnovelist

6. When we mountedthehillour longshadowsstretchedupits

slope before usasif eager torun aheadof usandtaste the

mysteryofthenewlifethat laybeyond

7. Thetheaterthechurch theschoolandthehomeareall

edu-cational institutions.

8. Hesworebyallthesaints inthe calendarofRouenandthesearemanythat hewouldnotforgetthisinsultthathewouldavengeitatanycost.

9. Presentlyinaquiet voicehesaid tothe servant takethis

let-ter toyour master and donotletany oneseeyougiveitto

ofanunruffledcontemplativenature

12. Anironfoundrya desertedcollegeaclock factoryandaflour

millto-day standasmonumentstothe energyofthe"boom"

andthe potentinfluence ofthe organizedscoffers.

He not eminently that to not

PUNCTUATION 23

rancorous notobtrusivebutdull dull as a woolen nightcap

overeyesandearsand mouth

14. Awittywomanisatreasurea wittybeautyisa power

15. Thegathering darkness withits,fewlarge liquid starswhich a

apprehension

16. By the time the hawk was ready to fly he had consumed

twenty-one chipmunks fourteen red squirrels sixteen miceandtwelve English sparrowsbesidesalotofbutchers meat

Parentheses

material, that is, material thrown into a sentence or a

group of sentences forexplanatorypurposes.

The book proved a great success, passing speedily into

Millar ultimately purchased thecopyright

NOTE: The commaor thedouble dashes may be used in

thesame way, andinmanycasesare tobepreferred to

lated into other material forpurposes of explanation

Bad:Isaid (who)andnot (which).

Correct:Isaidwho, andnotwhich

Bad:Hewas criticizedforhisincorrectuseof(guess).Correct: Hewascriticized for hisincorrectuseofguess.

Bad:Ontheboxwasalarge figure (4).

Correct:Onthe boxwasalarge figure4.

CAUTION:Parentheses should never be usedto indicatetheomissionofincorrectorundesiredmaterial

24 ESTABLISHED USAGES

Bad:IspokeofthemattertoMr (Jones) Evans

Better: IspokeofthemattertoMr.-Jeees-Evans

4 Interpolated materialinclosed in parentheses should

not beplaced beforethe expressionit ismeant to explain.

Bad: Iaminclosing (10) tendollarsin cash

Better:Iaminclosingtendollars ($10) in cash

Square Brackets

X Squarebrackets are usedto inclosematerial inserted

in aquotationand representing thecomment ofsome one

otherthantheauthor of the quotationitself. SeeRule3,underQuotations, page215

Not long after they reached Ryde, he wrote to his

half-brother andsuccessor John (afterward Sir John) ing: "I beg that on the Day you receive this, Mrs

Field-Daniel [his mother-in-law] may know that we are just

risen'fromBreakfast in HealthandSpirits [theitalicsareours] thistwelfth instantat9inthe morning." AUSTIN

DOBSON:Eighteenth CenturyVignettes.

2 Square brackets are sometimes used to indicate

material inserted by an editor or commentator when the

textunderconsiderationisillegibleorotherwiseuncertain

Icould not find anymanforwhose name thisbookwas

moreagreableforhope[of]protection ROGER ASCHAM:

TheSchoolmaster, ed. byEdwardArber

3 Asinglesquare bracketisusedattheleftofawordor

words set abovetheendof aline, whento save space theextra materialisnot carried over

[here,

Poor,shiningdove, Iwouldnot hold thee

The Hyphen

I Whenawordisbroken and carriedoverfromtheend

of one lineto the beginning ofthe next, a hyphenshould

NOTE: Ahyphenshould never be usedatthe beginning of

aline.

2 Authoritiesdifferas tothe useofthehyphenin

The tendencyofthe untrainedwriteristohyphenate too

tendency

NOTE-.^To-day, to-night, and to-morroware usuallywrittenwith the hyphen

MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE IN PUNCTUATION

1 Itwashardworkforthefishwasalarge one.

2. Childrenhave youeverheardofCinderellathebeautifulgirl

whowastreatedunkindlybyhercruelstep-motherandwho

wasrescuedbyafairy god-mother andaprince

3. Ethelwasit istrueflightyandunreliablebutherauntliked

herandher cousinfoundher extremely amusing

4. ThisfactandIcantrulysayIhave proved thatit isafact

intereststhescientistsgreatly.

5. Hesettledatlast inHelenaMontanawhichissituated attne

mouthofLastChanceGulch

6 Iwasgoingtotellyou butafter all IthinkIwon't

7 Iremember a sea-captainonce sayingtoa young ladywho

had used the term commonsailor Madam thereis nosuchthingasa commonsailorasailor isanuncommonman

8. You arevery kind very kind responded DrHendersonthat

wouldindeed bedelightful.

9. Alittle fatredhenwassittingonthedoorstep.

10 Itwasasgoodasmoneybetter in factbecausemoneycouldnotbuyfoodinthatplace.

11. Oneofthemonmyappearingraisedhertallbonyfigurefrom

herchairnotasiftowelcomemeforshe threwmenomore

thanabriefglanceofsurprisebut simplytosetabout

prepar-ingthemeal whichherson'sabsencehaddelayed.

12. She directed the letter to Copenhagen Denmarkin care of

Mr Edward HoughtonAmericanconsulforthatcity.

13. Heprovided the ticketsfor hismother and hisauntandhis

brother paid the traveling expenses of the two younger

26 ESTABLISHED USAGES

14. Irecorded thedeedatthe county-seatwhich wasonlythree

milesfrommyclaim

15. Tuitionfees fallterm$20.00 winterterm$23.00springterm

$23.00seepages45 and 48ofcatalogue

16. Therearetwokindsofdebatingoralandwritten

17. HewenttoAfricatoshootlionsandhisfriendsdidnot hear

fromhimformorethan ayear.

18. Itis n'tveryearlynow MaryshesaidIwasuphoursago and

I'mterriblyhungry

19. A tamecrow heconsideredwould bean ornamenttohis

vari-ous possessionsitwouldatthesametimefill all his friends

withenvy.

20 Andindeed thematterwhenitwasdiscussed atthe table began to assume proportions of which he had never

dinner-dreamed

21 He madeno complaintshe stated the simple factshe was

reticentconcerninghiswife's departure

22 I oncesawatouristparty hurriedthrough theLouvre with

animpatient cryonthe partoftheconductornowladies andgentlemen you have nt time tostop and look at anything

justwalkonas fast as you canthisgalleryisaneighthofa.

milelong

23 Thetravelerwasold bentand gray-hairedhis clothes were

fadedandwornhewalkedfeeblyhelping himself with astout

staff.

24 Before his ownfirehe puzzled over theproblem something

mustbedone butwhat

25 Itwasa highserenenight with agrowingmoonanda

scat-teredcompanyofmajorstarsandifnochoir of nightingales

sangtherewasatleasta veryactivewhippoorwill

26 If Idogoaroundtheworldsaid Zoraalittlewhilelaterwhen

theyhadsettled on whichsideof South AmericaValparaiso

wassituatedandhow manyniceand clever people could tell

youpositivelyoff-handif I goaround the world you and

27 The antiquefurniture the richdarkrugs the cheerful open

firesthemassesof flowersall thesegavethe house anairof

eleganceandrefinement

28 There wasonlyonethinglacking tocompletehissatisfaction

a companion towhomhe couldrelatethestory ofhis

won-PUNCTUATION 27

29. Skepsey would haveexplained butthe casewas overandhe

washustledout

30.-Hewasmuchadmiredfor his cleverwit thatisforhisrudepersonalremarksthat passedinhis circle forwit

31. AfterallsaidSypherthegreatthingistohave a purposein

lifenot every one canhavemypurposehe apologizedfor

hu-manitybut they canhave someguidingprinciplewhatsyours

32 I had some difficultywith the janitorand the landlordgested that Ifindanother apartment

sug-33 Iamgoingtobuya houseinthe country thatistosay I am

goingtoif Icangetthemoney

34 Pleasesendmethefollowingarticles a spadeawatering-pot

atrowelarakeandalawn-mower

35 Ithas alwaysseemed tomeMr Chairmanthatthe persons

whohave charge of this matter should be more explicit intheiraccountof theirproceedingsneverthelessIamwilling to

accept their spoken word with regardto the subject of

ex-penditures

36. Mr Milwick the proprietor of the shop stood glaring

apo-plectically athisneighborDrGalloway.

37. This strange personage had just arrived from Hong Kong

Chinahiscostume wasuniquehismannerswereatrociousand

his conversationwasappalling in itsunnecessaryfrankness

38. The order did not reach him till late in the week henceit

remainedunfilled.

39. He answered angrily no I did nt forget but its as dark as

Egyptoutdoorsiftheresamoon wemightgoto-morrowshedidnotreply directlybut muttered somethingthatsounded

likepoorexcuses

40. Robbinswhowas anexpert tool-makerfound employmentat

oncebuthisfriend Bardwell did not succeedin gettingany

sort ofwork

41 While I wassitting there a limp bedraggled whiteman

ap-pearedfrombehind thehedge andshoutedsomeunintelligiblewordsatthe negro

42. The farmer regarded all unexplained wayfarers with cion therefore hewas notparticularly cordialwhenthe two

suspi-boys appearedathisdoor

43 Ihave beentoldalthoughIamloath to believetheassertion

thattwoof hispersonalfriendswerevictimsof hisdishonesty

28 ESTABLISHED USAGES

44 Carlyledeclined toworkinthesame roomwithanyoneelse

and he therefore deliberately gaveup the idea of using theaccessiblematerial thatlay athisdisposalinotherwords he

did notshow the greatest possible diligence instudying all

accessiblematerialandavoidedthevastmassofinformation

on his subject which existed in the library of the British

Museumbecausehis requestforpersonal privacy could not

begranted.

45 Igotmyopera-glassesandread andpleasant readingitwas

thefoliowhiginscription

46 Ihad arranged that thegirlJennywhowaswearingan

out-rageousbonnetshouldaccompanyusas faras thestation

47. Hewasinthe news-room and havingquestioned him about

the saddle I said by theway whatis thisstory about your

swearingatoneofthewaiters

48 Ihadtorepeatsardineontoasttwiceandinstead ofingyessirasifmyselection of sardineontoastwasa personal

answer-gratification tohimwhichisthemannerthatoneexpectsofawaiterhe glancedatthe clockthen outof thewindowand

startingasked didyousaysardineontoastsir.

49 Shot cried thecolonel angrilyby heavenif Ithought there

wasavillainonearth capableofshooting thatpooroffensive

dogIdwhyshould they shoothimLillian.

50. TherewasRiggssbillforhaythatwassevendollars.

51. Thegreat literaryandphilosophicalbooktowhichIalludea

book which deserves tohold a permanent place in English

literatureand whichhas profoundlyinfluencedthemindsof

politicalwritersbutwhichinfringesallthecanonslaiddown

by the modern scientific historianis thefamous work that

52. She gavehim alist ofthematerials thatshewantedtwelveyards of silk two yards of chiffon fiveyards of lace a vast

number of hooksandeyes spools ofthread and thelikehe

was appalled I can never suityou Im sure he groaned

de-spondently

53. But mygoodsiryouquotemeyourEnglish LatinImustbeg

of you to writeit down it is orally incomprehensible to usContinentals

54 It isandIsaidnotor.

55. Hishealthwasnowfirmly establishedhehadacommanding

was and muscular and