A “conjunctive adverb” is a word that is usually an adverb that has been pulled out to the front of the sentence to connect the sentence it is in to the one in front of it. It has a semicolon in front of it and a comma after it if it is more than one syllable. …He had been on …
“That Is…” and Others
This is an abbreviated version of what is in my book on these eight parentheticals. PARENTHETICAL TO INTRODUCE AN APPOSITIVE Sometimes, when a person wants to explain, reiterate, rename, or restate something — that is, he wants to use an appositive — he uses a parenthetical before the appositive. These are the expressions most commonly used as parentheticals before an …
Compound Question
When someone asks two questions and uses “or” in between, there are two options: Put a comma/semicolon before the “or” that separates the two sentences and a question mark at the end; or make it into two questions. When the questions are lengthy or there is a lot of other punctuation, it is probably best to break them into two …
A Little-Known Dash Rule
Besides using the dash for interruptions (broken sentence structure), there are some grammar rules that govern the use of the dash. When a pronoun refers back to one noun, use a comma in front of the pronoun; when a pronoun refers back to several nouns, use a dash in front of the pronoun. …We received several letters, each of which …
The Idea of “Essential”
As I have stated on other occasions, there is widespread confusion or perhaps lack of understanding of what the terms “essential” and “nonessential” mean in punctuation. I would say again: Putting a pair of commas around an element does not always mean that you can take it out of the sentence and have the sentence make sense. In other words, …
The Word “Then”
When “then” means “at that time,” it does not take a comma as it is an adverb. …He was then on his way to becoming successful. …I saw them and then began to wonder what would happen. If “then” is at the beginning of a sentence, it starts a new sentence and needs a semicolon or a period in front …
“My Question Is…”
This construction always causes consternation and no end of disagreement. This is my understanding of the way English grammar works. It is never correct to use a single separating comma between the verb and the predicate nominative. Surely no one wants a comma in the following examples. …My name is Margie. …Her response is that she was not home. …My …
Punctuate What Is Really There…
I have been on “hiatus” for a while. Actually I have been swamped for a while!! So I am back — still swamped but back. There is a question on FB about the word “but” and whether it should have a comma before it when it ends the sentence. Remember that we punctuate what is really there. This sentence just …
A Comma After a Prepositional Phrase at the Beginning of a Sentence
In the “olden” days, the rule was to put a comma after ANY element that came at the beginning of the sentence. Ah, the good old days! The rule today that many people get confused about is the rule about putting a comma after a prepositional phrase at the beginning of the sentence. It is often stated as something like …
“I Believe” — Subject and Verb or Parenthetical?
When words like “I believe” and “I think” begin a sentence, they are functioning as the subject and verb in the sentence and take no punctuation. …I believe he called in a little before 3:00. …I think he was with us for ten years. When they are in the middle of the sentence, they are parentheticals and need commas around …