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The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Category: Commas

The Power of Punctuation

Posted on Saturday, August 9, 2008, at 7:59 pm

If you question the necessity of punctuation, here is a story that should illustrate its power. A professor wrote on the chalkboard: A woman without her man is nothing. He asked students to correct any punctuation errors. While most of the male students saw nothing wrong with the sentence, most of the females rewrote the …

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Capitalization After Colons

Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007, at 6:46 pm

Have you run across the situation where one sentence ending with a colon is followed by another sentence? Do you capitalize the first word of that second sentence? Why would you use a colon between the two sentences rather than a period or a semicolon? Rule for colons between sentences: Use a colon instead of …

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Commas with Appositives

Posted on Sunday, September 2, 2007, at 7:11 pm

The definition of an appositive is a word or word group that defines or further identifies the noun or noun phrase preceding it. Rule: When an appositive is essential to the meaning of the noun it belongs to, don’t use commas. When the noun preceding the appositive provides sufficient identification on its own, use commas …

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Quotations Within Quotations

Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007, at 1:18 am

Almost all of us have found ourselves confused with double and single quotation marks. When do we use single quotation marks? Where does the punctuation go with single quotation marks? With just a few rules and examples, you will feel surer about your decisions. How to Quote a Quote Rule: Use single quotation marks inside …

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Commas Before and in a Series

Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007, at 8:58 pm

In American English usage, many writers and editors feel that a comma should precede and with three or more items in a series. Example: I would like to order a salad, a sandwich, and dessert. Newspapers and magazines do not generally use this rule as print space is too valuable to use on what might …

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Using Commas, Semicolons, and Colons Within Sentences

Posted on Sunday, October 1, 2006, at 10:15 pm

Punctuation within sentences can be tricky; however, if you know just a few of the following rules, you will be well on your way to becoming a polished writer and proofreader. Rule: Use a comma between two long independent clauses when conjunctions such as and, or, but, for, nor connect them. Example: I have painted …

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