Punctuation Situation

Sometimes I’m embarrassed to write about subjects that seem sort of “English as a second language” because I’m afraid I’m insulting your intelligence. In the past I’ve written about how ellipses aren’t commas and commas aren’t semicolons and colons aren’t dashes. But things seem to be getting worse. Punctuation, while in some cases subjective, is in most cases not subjective at all. You don’t get to choose; the choice has been made for you by history. Here, then, are the basics (bearing in mind that entire books have been written about commas alone). Comma: Though I could go on and on and on about the use and misuse of commas (don’t try this at cocktail parties), in short, use commas to 1) separate elements in a series, 2) separate adjectives, 3) indicate a pause (after introductions, before conjunctions, or to set off a brief aside). Jeepers, don’t use a comma to separate a compound predicate, after a coordinating conjunction, or before the first item in a series (I see that a lot). Semicolon: Not a complete stop like a period or a colon, but more of a stop than a comma, the semicolon is used to connect two major and closely related elements of a sentence in lieu of a conjunction like “but” or “and.” Take out the semicolon and each part of the sentence could stand alone as a sentence itself. “Barack Obama may become president of the United States; Hillary Clinton has a good chance of it, too.” Similarly, both clauses could stand alone – "Barack Obama may become president of the United States. Hillary Clinton has a good chance of it, too" – or they could be connected by a conjunction: "Barack Obama may become president of the United States, but Hillary Clinton has a good chance of it, too." Puh-leeze don’t treat semicolons as in all cases interchangeable with commas; only substitute semicolons for commas when an item in a series contains its own comma, as in “I like Hillary, though I could do without Bill; Barack, who’s so inspirational; and John Edwards, for whom my mother, bless her heart, voted.” Colon: Colons introduce things (like the colon introducing this definition of a colon), usually lists or an announcement of some sort, and only after independent clauses (“Ariel only wanted three things in life: a man, a house, and a pair of Jimmy Choos”). Heavens to Betsy, don’t use colons willy-nilly after verbs or prepositions, as in sentences like “Ariel bought: a snake and patent sandal, a glossy flat, and a suede boot” or “Ariel went to: Prada, Tory Burch, and the new Marc Jacobs.”  Dash: Bookending the beginning and end of parenthetical information – sort of like commas but visually a stronger statement – dashes enclose information that could be deleted from the sentence and yet leave the essential meaning of the sentence intact. Dashes are also used at the end of sentences to emphasize a piece of information – to emphasize a point, as I’m doing here, or when what comes before in the sentence leads up to something, as in “I ate pie, a croissant, and a scone – and did I feel fat!” For Pete’s sake, don’t use a dash as if it was the last comma in a series: “I ate pie, a croissant – and a scone.” Ellipse: These little dots are a sign that words have been omitted in a sentence (use three dots) or at the end of a sentence (use three dots and a period). Oy vey, as with dashes, don’t use ellipses as the last comma in a series (“De Telegraaf, Le Monde … and The People’s Daily”). Apostrophe: It’s not that peeps don’t know that apostrophes create a possessive (Clementine’s clementine) or indicate missing letters (he’ll, wouldn’t, shan’t), but that in certain situations they’re unsure whether it’s “its” or “it’s,” “you’re” or “your,” or “Luis’s” or “Luis.’” This is stuff you just have to learn and memorize. For the love of God, don’t use apostrophes when making pronouns possessive, as in “it is your’s” or “it’s teddy bear.”

Comments

[Ragdoll]

So, what is the rule when it comes to last names that end in "s"?

I learned in high school that it's apostrophe-s no matter what the name ends with. In print, however, I almost always see it as just an apostrophe.

(And then I heard that it's always an apostrophe-s with the exception of six names, none of which I remember, except for Jesus and Charles. This sounds really strange, but it's not like grammar has never had arbitrary rules.)

[Dan Santow]

If the word is a proper noun and ends in an s, just add the apostrophe. Charles’ book, the Harris’ lake house, Dickens’ novel. AP says Jesus is no different than Charles when it comes to grammar (the great leveler); one (hilarious) exception: when referring to the London palace commissioned by Henry VIII known as St. James’s Palace.

[Martin Szugat (paid content is back.)]

Please continue with "English as a second language", because for me it is second language :) And I'll really appreciate your blog postings! Thanks a lot!

Martin (from Germany)