Be Wary of That Dependent Clause

Margie Wakeman WellsThe Comma, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

You all know this rule: Cardinal Rule No. 1: Put a comma before a coordinate conjunction when it is followed by an independent subject and verb. But be careful of the dependent clause that LOOKS LIKE an independent clause. …You have to be careful that you have checked out all the details and you know the pitfalls of the deal. …She …

Punctuation Precision

Margie Wakeman WellsUncategorized Leave a Comment

Punctuation Precision A 20-hour course   It’s BACK! You have been asking for a repeat of this class since we gave it last year. So here it is.   This course is offered as an alternative to the “hit and miss” hour or two that we tend to get during conventions. Though there is value in any time spent on …

How Verbatim Do You Want to Be?

Margie Wakeman WellsGeneral, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Number form in some instances depends upon the answer to the question “How verbatim do you want to be?” If the witness says “…a hundred fifteen…,” whether you put the number into words or figures depends upon what you are going to do with “a” hundred. If the witness says “…three and three quarters…,” whether you put the number into words or figures depends …

More on the Word “So” — Even If We Don’t Even Want to Go There Again

Margie Wakeman WellsGeneral, The Period, The Semicolon, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Facebook had a couple of interesting questions/examples on “so.” SO I thought it would be good to take a look at them. This is my answer to the questions about the word “so” in the FB sentence below. …If, after a question has been posed to you, you have any question relating to what is being inquired about, please tell …

The “Summary” Dash

Margie Wakeman WellsThe Dash, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

There is a little-known dash rule that is called the “summary dash.” It is used when a sentence has concluded and a clause refers back to the subject of that sentence. The clause is really an appositive to the subject of the sentence. (There are other instances of a summary dash that we will save for another day.) …It was something I never …

Interesting Rule from the “Chicago Manual of Style”

Margie Wakeman WellsGeneral, The Comma, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Another take on the word “so”: In 5.210 of CMOS, “Interjections and functional variations”: “… most parts of speech may be used as interjections. A word that is classified as some other part of speech but used with the force of an interjection is called an exclamatory noun, exclamatory adjective, and so forth.” And the word “so” is used as an …

That Pesky Word “So”

Margie Wakeman WellsGeneral, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

One more time… The word so is normally an adverb. …I was so very tired that night. …He was so cranky at the end of the day.   It can also be a conjunction.   It can be the kind of conjunction that starts a dependent clause and is then a subordinate conjunction (like “because,” “since,” “as,” “before,” “unless.”) There …

The Word “Number”

Margie Wakeman WellsNumbers, Uncategorized 6 Comments

When the word “number” is said and is followed by a figure, it is abbreviated except when it begins a sentence since it would look like hte word “no.” …It refers to Section No. 123. …I am on page No. 15. …Number 84 is not included here. The plural of the abbreviation is “Nos.” …I have read Nos. 15 and …

Margie Wakeman WellsThe Comma, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

An independent clause and a sentence are the same thing. And the first rule of all punctuation is that a comma goes before a coordinate conjunction that connects independent clauses. The fact that there are words in an independent clause that refer back to the first clause makes no difference. There is, however, a very sophisticated rule that not a …

That Pesky Word “So”

Margie Wakeman WellsGeneral, Uncategorized 4 Comments

The rules for “so”: When it means “so that” and implies the reason for doing something, it begins a dependent clause which, at the end of the sentence, gets no punctuation. …I sent it to her so I could get her opinion on the content. …He called so he could verify the information. When it means “therefore,” it starts a …