Grammar GrammarBook.com |
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Kinship Names: To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize?

Posted on Sunday, July 29, 2012, at 4:16 pm

Several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc., are sometimes capitalized and sometimes not. Let’s have a closer look. Rule 1: Capitalize a kinship name when it immediately precedes a personal name or is used alone, in place of a personal name. Examples Andy and …

Read More

Into vs. In To (Expanded)

Posted on Sunday, July 29, 2012, at 1:08 pm

When Jane authored the first Grammar Tip on this subject in 2009, her intention was to provide simple, concise guidance on the most commonly encountered uses of the words into and in to. But she knew that at some point we would need to explore this topic in more depth. Since issuing that Grammar Tip, …

Read More

Proofreading Well

Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at 10:04 am

Research shows that written communications full of typos, misspellings, and usage errors leave readers with a poor impression of the writer and the organization. But proofreading well is challenging. Before you begin proofreading, make sure your document is reader-focused—with a clearly stated main point, clear organization, easy-to-read formatting, and concise language. Then follow these guidelines …

Read More

Its vs. It’s

Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2012, at 5:35 pm

Would you like to know the number one grammatical error? Hint: The word involved is small and it's contained in this sentence. That's right: its vs. it's Yet the two rules are actually quite easy to remember. Rule 1: When you mean it is or it has, use an apostrophe. Examples: It's a nice day. …

Read More

Hyphens with Common Prefixes, Part 2

Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2011, at 10:33 am

The current trend is to do away with unnecessary hyphens with common prefixes. Examples: noncompliance copayment semiconscious unending However, there are exceptions. Exception: Hyphenate all words beginning with the prefix self. Examples: self-assured self-respect self-addressed Exception: Use a hyphen with the prefix ex. Example: His ex-wife sued for nonsupport. Exception: Hyphenate prefixes when they come …

Read More

The Number vs. A Number

Posted on Thursday, December 9, 2010, at 9:01 am

The expression the number is followed by a singular verb while the expression a number is followed by a plural verb. Examples: The number of people we need to hire is thirteen. A number of people have written in about this subject. Pop Quiz Choose the correct word in each sentence. 1. The number of …

Read More

Spelling: -ce vs. -se

Posted on Tuesday, October 19, 2010, at 3:49 pm

It is easy to get confused between nouns and verbs that are spelled almost identically. However, here is a simple rule that will help you with two sound-alike pairs of words. Rule: Generally, the verb form will be spelled with the "s" and the noun with the "c." Examples: advise vs. advice devise vs. device …

Read More

When to Capitalize People’s Titles

Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2010, at 10:35 am

When should you capitalize someone's title? We get this question quite often so here are some rules and guidelines: Guideline: Though there is no established rule on writing titles in the complimentary closing of a letter, we recommend capitalizing a person's title when it follows the name on the address or signature line. However, you …

Read More

Paraprosdokian Sentences

Posted on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, at 11:28 am

This is from Dan, who offers us a new word and an idea worth understanding and enjoying. He suggests looking at Wikipedia's link for more paraprosdokians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader …

Read More

Hyphenating Between Words

Posted on Tuesday, August 17, 2010, at 1:47 pm

Many of us get confused about when to hyphenate between words. For example, should you write nearly-extinct wolves or nearly extinct wolves? Adverbs ending in -ly should not be hyphenated. In most cases it is compound adjectives–adjectives that act as one idea with other adjectives–that get hyphenated in front of nouns. Example: The crowd threw …

Read More

1 67 68 69 70 71 78