Writing with Style Writing and Style Manual 
Poway Unified School District  

Writing with Style | Elements of Written Communication | The Writing Process |
Writing Modes| Forms of Writing | Organizing Your Writing  |
 Formal and Informal Style
The Basic Structure of an Academic Essay | Writing on Demand
The Research Process | MLA Format

SENTENCE PARTS AND TYPES

Parts of Speech

Parts of speech refer to the way that words are used in sentences.  There are eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

Noun

A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.  Nouns may be common or proper. Proper nouns are capitalized:

Common:       brother newspaper        beach     democracy      baseball

Proper:           Grand Canyon               Michael Johnson           Sea World        Paris    

Nouns may also be grouped as concrete, abstract, or collective:

Concrete nouns name a tangible thing, something that can be touched or seen:

guitar               White House                 soccer              ice-cream         friend

Abstract nouns name something that cannot be touched or seen, such as an idea, doctrine, thought, theory, concept, condition, or feeling:

joy       Christianity       illness   love      euphoria           excellence        prejudice

Collective nouns name a group or unit:

            faculty             audience           school               herd                 San Diego Chargers

Nouns may also be grouped by their function in a sentence: subject, object, complement, appositive, or modifier.

Pronoun

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. The noun or pronoun that the pronoun refers to or replaces is called its antecedent. (See the section on Pronoun Agreement for more about antecedents).

Personal pronouns change form to indicate case, gender, number, and person:

Reflexive pronouns refer back to (or modify) a noun or pronoun. They are formed by adding the suffix –self.

            Ryan loves himself more than anyone.

            I didn’t realize that she would bring the package herself.

            We decided to show ourselves out.

Relative pronouns relate an adjective clause back to the noun or pronoun it modifies. (See the section on Essential and Nonessential Clauses for more on using relative pronouns.)  Relative pronouns are:

            who      whose   whom    which   what     that

            My new jeans, which are fabulous, cost $75.00.

Musicians who practice regularly are most comfortable in front of an audience.

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a question:

who      whose   whom    which   what

What do you want?                   To whom am I speaking?

Whose notebook is this?            Which entrée did you order?

Demonstrative pronouns point out, or demonstrate, specific things:

this                   that                  these                those

That is my suitcase.                   Those don’t look ripe.

Indefinite pronouns refer to unknown people or things:

anyone              someone            either               everybody

nobody             many                 several             nothing

Adjective

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun:

            Little people peek through big steering wheels.

            The strongest man I ever saw wore silver shoes.

An adjective does not always come before the word it modifies:

            The dentist, daring and diligent, worked on his new patient’s cavities.

Remember that the articles a, an, and the are also adjectives.

Verb

A verb is a word that expresses an action or a state of being.

An action verb expresses mental or physical action:

speak    compose            drive                participate        catch

hope     believe             approve            understand       choose

A helping verb helps the main verb to express action or to make a statement. The main verb plus the helping verb together make a verb phrase.  The helping verb is italicized below:

            My dad will work late one or two nights a week when he should be sleeping in his bed.

Verbs of being include all the forms of the verb be:

                        Be        am       is          are       was      were     being    been

Verbs of being also include verb phrases ending in be, being, or been, such as could be, was being, and, could have been.

A linking verb connects the subject of the sentence with a word that describes or explains it. The most common linking very is be and its forms (above).  Other linking verbs include such verbs as smell, look, taste, remain, appear, sound, seem, become, and grow:

            In his new carriage, the baby felt cool.  He was a driver!  He looked more mature.

Verb Tenses

Verb tenses indicate time:  past, present, and future.  The six tenses are formed from the principal parts of the verb:

            Infinitive         Present Participle     Past                 Past Participle

            To march          marching                       marched           marched

Regular verbs follow rules when forming the six tenses.  Irregular verbs follow no fixed rules; you simply have to memorize them or consult a dictionary.  Regular verbs are formed as follows:

Present tense expresses action that is occurring at the present time or action that happens continually, regularly:

            I watch                        she talks                       The band marches every day.

Past tense expresses action that was completed at a particular time in the past. 

            I watched                     she talked                     The band marched yesterday.

Future tense expresses action that will occur in the future:

            I shall watch                she will talk                  The band will march tomorrow.

Present perfect tense expresses action that began in the past but continues in the present:

            I have watched             she has talked               The band has marched all fall.

Past perfect tense expresses action that began in the past and was completed in the past:

            I had watched              she had talked              The band had marched last week.

Future perfect tense expresses action that will be completed in the future before some other future action or event:

I have watched             she will have talked      The band will have marched 178

days by vacation.

Adverb

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.  An adverb tells how, when, where, why, how often, to what extent, and how much:

            Yesterday a fire completely destroyed the home of a family on Hill Street.

            Rarely does a fire last so long.

            The family looked totally grungy after hauling out their valuables all day. 

Preposition

A preposition is a word (or group of words) that shows the relationship between its object (a noun or a pronoun that follows the preposition) and another word in the sentence. 

Prepositions may be simple (at, in, of, to, for, with), compound (without, inside, alongside), or phrasal (in spite of, on top of, aside from, because of).

A preposition never stands alone in a sentence; it is always used in a prepositional phrase with the object of a preposition (a noun or pronoun) and the modifiers of the object:

            The pool shark leaned over the ball with a confident smirk on his face.

            Standing near the table, he consciously ignored the hisses of the crowd.

Conjuction

A conjunction connects individual words or groups of words:

            A puffer fish is short and fat.              A tiny bird cannot fly, nor can it feed itself.

There are three kinds of conjunctions:

Coordinating conjunctions:              and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

Correlative conjunctions:                 either… or                               neither… nor

                                                                        not only… but also                  both… and

                                                                        whether… or                           just… as

Subordinating conjunctions:            after, although, as, as much as, as though,

because, before, if, in order that, provided that, since, than, though, unless, until, when, where, whereas, while

Interjection

An interjection is a word or group of words that expresses strong emotion or surprise.  Punctuation (often a comma or exclamation point) is used to separate an interjection from the rest of the sentence:

            Cool, the boat’s leaking.                        Oh, no!  I can’t swim.

CLAUSES AND PHRASES

Clauses

A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb.

            My uncle looks and walks exactly like Groucho Marx.

                  subject       verbs

Some clauses can stand alone as sentences; others must be grouped with other clauses to create a complete sentence.

An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence:

Because he looks like Groucho Marx, he won five hundred dollars in a contest.

                                                                                                independent clause

A dependent clause has a subject and a predicate, but it would be an incomplete sentence by itself.  A dependent clause contains a subordinating conjunction (e.g., because) and must be joined to an independent clause:

            Because he looks like Groucho Marx, he won five hundred dollars in a contest. 

                          Dependent clause

Phrases

A phrase is a group of related words that work together as a single part of speech.  It is not a clause because it lacks a subject and/or predicate:

            Under the old refrigerator,…                 Running from the Energizer Bunny…

Essential and Nonessential Clauses and Phrases

Essential or “restrictive” clauses and phrases cannot be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning.  They usually begin with that or who. 

            Horses that are overly nervous are usually not good for trail riding.

            Carla Davis is the only senior who won scholarships to four colleges.

Nonessential or “nonrestrictive” clauses and phrases add information, but they are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence.  They are set off by commas and usually begin with which, whom, or whose:

            The new Stallone movie, which has a great soundtrack, starts this weekend.     

            Joe, whom I love like a brother, is moving away tomorrow.

CONSTRUCTING SENTENCES

Subject (Write for College 807-808)

Predicate

Sentence beginnings

Vary your sentence beginnings to add style to your writing.  Try writing some sentences beginning with each of the following:

Adjective:  word(s) that describe a noun:

            Small and green, the turtle stood looking at the audience.

            Exhausted, the rabbit fell across the finish line thirty minutes after the turtle. 

Adverb:  word(s) that describe a verb:

            Boisterously, the crowd yelled for David Bowie to get the show started.

            Indignantly and arrogantly, the tabby cat turned her back on the cat show. 

Prepositional phrase:  a phrase that contains a preposition (at, on, over, through, under, between, etc.) and the object of the preposition:

            During the summer my brother skateboards everyday.

            In another nine months, the dude will get his driver’s license. 

Participial phrase:  Since a participle is a verb that can function as an adjective (e.g., melting ice cream), a participial phrase is one that consists of a participle and its modifiers and complements:

Present:          Looking for his mother, the toddler scooted under the clothes rack. 

Remembering that she had a child, Bertha searched the store for her son. 

Past:                Exhausted from doing sit-ups, the flabby senior collapsed on the sofa.

Purchased just a few days ago, his gold class ring                     flashed in the sun. 

Adverb clause:  a dependent clause (subject and verb that can’t stand alone) that describes how, what, where, when, or why.  It always begins with a subordinating conjunction (after, although, as before, when, where, while, etc.):

            Before she could give her speech, Clara fell off the stage.

            While the paramedics came, they resuscitated her.

Appositive phrase:  a noun and its modifiers that stand beside another noun to explain or identify it:

            An innocent bystander, Martin gasped at the crime he witnessed.

            A red Mustang, my sister’s car was hit by a speeding vehicle of joy riders. 

SENTENCE TYPES

Use a variety of sentence types to add style to your writing.

Simple sentences contain just one independent clause: 

I hate spiders.

Compound sentences contain two or more independent clauses that are joined by a semicolon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction like and:

            I hate spiders; tarantulas are the worst.

            I hate spiders, but I do not mind snakes.

Complex sentences contain an independent clause (underlined) and one or more dependent clauses (italicized):

            Although I do not mind snakes, I hate spiders.

Compound-complex sentences contain two or more independent clauses (underlined) and one or more dependent clauses (italicized):

            Although I hate spiders, I do not mind snakes, and I like lizards. 

SOLVING WRITING PROBLEMS

Run-ons and Fragments

Avoid fragments and run-ons, including comma splices.

A fragment is a group of words written as a sentence but missing a subject, a verb, or some other essential part.  The missing element causes it to be an incomplete thought:

Fragment:      Mark Twain said that at the age of fourteen.  He was convinced that his parents were among the stupidest people on the face of the earth.  (This is a fragment followed by a sentence.  Correct it by combining the fragment with the sentence.)

Sentence:       Mark Twain said that at the age of fourteen he was convinced that his parents were among the stupidest people on the face of the earth. 

Fragment:      When he reached twenty-one.  (This clause does not convey a complete thought.  What happened when he was twenty-one?)

Sentence:       When he reached twenty-one, he was amazed at how much they had learned in only seven short years. 

A run-on sentence is the result of two sentences run together without adequate punctuation or a connecting word:

Run on:           Smoke started billowing from under a Rolls Royce in Beverly Hills then the driver doused the flames with a bottle of Evian water.

Correct:          Smoke started billowing from under a Rolls Royce in Beverly Hills; then the driver doused the flames with a bottle of Evian water.  (Semicolon has been added.)

A comma splice is a sophisticated kind of run-on sentence in which two sentences are connected (“spliced”) with only a comma.  A comma is not strong enough to connect two independent clauses; a period, semicolon, or conjunction is needed:

            Splice:             The two teams faced off, neither one could make any yardage.

            Correct:          The two teams faced off, but neither one could make any yardage. 

                                    (Conjunction has been added.)

Splice:             My brother just got his senior yearbook, he was voted “most likely to have his picture in the yearbook again next year.”

Correct:          My brother just got his senior yearbook.  He was voted “most likely to have his picture in the yearbook again next year.”

(Comma has been changed to a period.)

Splice:             Our Boy Scout leader said that if we get lost in the woods at night, we should get our bearings from the sky, a glow will indicate the nearest shopping center. 

Correct:          Our Boy Scout leader said that if we get lost in the woods at night, we should get our bearings from the sky; a glow will indicate the nearest shopping center. 

(Comma has been changed to a semicolon.)

VERB PROBLEMS

Shifts in Tense

Avoid unnecessary shifts in tense of verbs.  Switching back and forth between present, past, and/or future tense creates an awkward and confusing effect.  Stick to the tense you start with unless there is an excellent reason for changing:

            Wrong:            The disc jockey reads the dedication but failed to play the song. 

                                                                                present                                          past

            Right:              The disc jockey read the dedication but failed to play the song. 

                                                                                 past                                               past

Subject and Verb Agreement

Make sure that a verb agrees with its subject (singular or plural):

            A young woman lives next door.             Young women live next door.

                Singular subject and verb                                                  Plural subject and verb

	Hint:  Do not be confused by other words coming between the subject and the verb:   The student as well as her parents is invited to honors night.       singular subject                    singular verb

 

Use a plural verb with compound subjects connected with and: 

            Making the soccer team and keeping up my grades are my two highest priorities. 

Use a singular verb with these singular indefinite pronouns:  either, neither, one, everybody, another, anybody, everyone, nobody, everything, somebody, and someone:

            Everybody is going to the dance after the game.

            Either Joe or Sal is giving me a ride home at 11 p.m.

	Hint:  Do not be confused by other words coming between the pronoun and the verb:   Each of the three girls is planning to buy a new outfit for the dance.  singular pronoun               singular verb

 

Some other indefinite pronouns (all, any, half, most, none, and some) may be either singular or plural depending on the meaning of the sentence:

            Some of the show was hilarious.                        Some of the actors were hilarious.

            All of the homework seems simple.                     All of the exercises seem simple.

            Half of the popcorn was gone.                          Half of the cokes were gone.

When the subject follows the verb, as in questions and in sentences beginning with here and there, be careful to find the subject and make sure that the verb agrees with it:

            There are many hardworking students on the honor roll this semester. 

       plural verb                             plural subject

Active and Passive Voice

For a stronger writing style, use active verbs, whenever you can, rather than passive verbs.  With passive verbs the subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action; passive verbs make writing slow moving and impersonal. 

            Passive:          The island was deluged by a hurricane.

            Active:                        A hurricane deluged the island. 

Passive:          A dangerous rescue was made by volunteers after dark, but no sharks were encountered.

Active:            Volunteers made a dangerous rescue after dark but encountered no sharks. 

PRONOUN PROBLEMS

Pronoun Agreement

Make sure that a pronoun agrees with its antecedent.  The antecedent is the noun (or pronoun) that the pronoun refers to or replaces:

            When Matilda dances, she makes the whole dance floor sway and bounce.

                          antecedent          pronoun

Use a singular pronoun to refer to such antecedents as each, either, neither, one, anyone, anybody, everyone, everybody, somebody, another, and nobody:

            Everybody must learn how to turn his car alarm off.

            Either Sue or Jane needs to let me borrow her vocabulary book. 

Hint:  Often an error in pronoun agreement is made to avoid sexism.  When pronouns such as a person or everyone are used to refer to both sexes or either sex, you should either offer optional pronouns or rewrite the sentence in the plural form:               Optional pronouns:    Everybody must learn how to turn his or her car alarm off.             Plural form:                People must learn how to turn their car alarms off.

 

Nominative and Objective Cases of Pronouns

Use the nominative case when the pronoun describes the subject of a clause.  Usually the nominative pronoun describes who or what is doing the action.  The following are nominative:  I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, whoever. 

            I wish that he had a new glove.

            They need to get one for him before the next game.

Otherwise Steve and he are going to warm the bench. 

Who can pick out one without a hole in it?

Use the objective case when the pronoun describes the direct or indirect object of the sentence, in other words, when it describes who or what is receiving the action.  An objective pronoun should also be used within a prepositional phrase when the pronoun is the object of the preposition.  The following are objective pronouns:  me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom, whomever. 

            Throw the ball to her; she’s open.  (Her is the indirect object of the verb throw.)

My dad is taking my brother and me to practice. 

(Brother and me are direct objects of the verb is taking.)

Dwayne sat behind Norman and us. 

(Norman and us are the objects of the preposition behind.)

We did not hear whom the coach had named. 

(Whom is the direct object of the verb had named.)

Clear Pronoun Reference

Avoid ambiguous references that occur when the pronoun could refer to more than one antecedent:

            Joe is a big Bugs Bunny fan; he (?) taught me everything I know about comedy. 

            (Which one taught me about comedy, Bugs Bunny or Joe?)

Avoid confusing general references by always following such words as this or that with a noun:

Confusing:      The Padres won their game last night even though Tony Gwynn struck out.  That could be the turning point of the season. 

            Clear:              That game could be the turning point of the season. 

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Avoid misplacing modifiers by placing them next to the word they modify.  Misplaced modifiers have been placed incorrectly, making the meaning of the sentence unclear:

Misplaced:     They sold an assortment of exercise equipment for active people with a lifetime guarantee.

Correct:       For active people, they sold an assortment of exercise equipment with a lifetime guarantee. 

Misplaced:     The thief decided to run when he saw the police officer abandoning the stolen vehicle and dashing into the woods.

Correct:          When he saw the police officer, the thief decided to run, abandoning the stolen vehicle and dashing into the woods.  

Avoid dangling modifiers that appear to modify a word that isn’t in the sentence:

            Dangling:       Carrying a heavy stack of trays, her foot caught in the doorway.

Correct:          Carrying a heavy stack of trays, Jenny caught her foot in the doorway.

            Dangling:       Adjusting the binoculars, a dizzy-headed jay was finally spotted.

            Correct:          Adjusting the binoculars, Audrey finally spotted a dizzy-headed jay. 

Parallel Structure

Maintain parallel structure by expressing parallel ideas with the same tense or structure of words or phrases in a sentence:

            Wrong:            We learned how to change a tire, shift sixteen gears, and once

almost ran the truck off the road.

Correct:          We learned how to change a tire, shift sixteen gears, and keep the truck from running off the road. 

Wrong:            I have mowed the lawn, washed the dog, rescued our hamster, and went to the store all in one day. 

Correct:          I mowed the lawn, washed the dog, rescued our hamster, and went to the store all in one day. 

Wrong:            Water skiing no longer interests me as much as to go scuba diving.

Correct:          Water skiing no longer interests me as much as scuba diving.

USING THE RIGHT WORD 

For more information and examples, see Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style: http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk3.html

a lot:  a lot is always two words; however, a lot is a vague descriptive phrase that should be avoided in formal writing:

            Informal:         I have a lot of jelly beans in my lunch. 

            Formal:           I have many jelly beans in my lunch. 

accept/except:  accept means “to receive or take”; except means “to leave out”:

            I will happily accept your offer of a free lunch.

            Except for Joe, everyone has really cool purple shoes. 

affect/effect:  affect is a verb that means “to influence”; effect is most commonly seen as a noun that means “result,” but it is also used as a verb that means “to bring about”:

        The movie affected me so much that I cried.

            The love potion had a strange effect on Rosie.

            I ran for office to effect change in our school.

all right:  all right is always two words; there is no such word as alright:

            I’ll be all right once I catch my breath.

among/between:  among refers to three or more persons or things; between refers to only two persons or things:

        Among the three of us, we could not produce a single good idea.

            However, between you and me, we have enough money for lunch. 

amount/number:  amount refers to a quantity that cannot be counted; number refers to a quantity that can be counted: 

        A great amount of water flooded my bathroom when I left the tap on. 

            A large number of water drops splattered on my windshield. 

bad/badly:  bad is always an adjective; badly is always an adverb:

        The bad child was sent to his room.

            There he practiced badly on his tuba.

            I feel bad (ill).             I feel badly (have an inferior tactile sense).

beside/besides:  beside means “next to”; besides means “in addition to”:

            Besides Newt, everyone on the team got new tennis shoes.

            I stood beside Newt when he sunk the first shot. 

can/may:  can indicates ability; may indicates permission:                             

            I can solve algebra problems.

            You may go to the restroom. 

fewer/less:  fewer refers to quantities that can be counted; less refers to quantities that cannot be counted.  (Same rule as amount/number):

            I got less ice cream than she did.

further/farther:  further refers to a greater extent, time or degree; farther refers to a greater distance:

            We will discuss post modernism further tomorrow.

            I plan to go several inches farther on my next long-jump attempt. 

goes/went:  Do not use go or went when you mean say or said:

            Then she said (not goes), “No way!”

hanged/hung:  A person is hanged; everything else is hung.

            The outlaw was hanged at high noon in the sycamore gulch.

            The velvet Elvis painting hung prominently in the bathroom.

have (not of):  write could have, should have, would have, might have, etc.

            Wrong:            I could of won.

            Right:              I could have won; I just didn’t feel like it. 

i.e./e.g.:  The Latin abbreviation i.e. means “that is.”  The abbreviation e.g.  means “for example”:

            The country’s leader (i.e., the president) declared war.

            I love candy (e.g., chocolate truffles).

it’s/its:  Use its to describe something that it possesses; it’s is the contraction of it is: 

            Without its mother, the monster felt lonely and scared.

            It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.

lay/lie:  The transitive verb lay means “to put or place” (the subject does the action to something); the intransitive verb lie means “to rest or recline” (the subject does the action).

            Please lay your completed test on the table.

            After that scare, I needed to lie down.

Hint:  Memorizing the principal parts of these two verbs will help you use them correctly:               Infinitive                  Present Participle        Past                 Past Participle         Lie (to recline)           (is) lying                          lay                    (have) lain             Lay (to put)                (is) laying                                    laid                  (have) laid

 

past/passed:  Past is a noun that means “history,” an adverb (e.g., He rode past), or a preposition (e.g., Go past the store and turn left); passed is the past tense of the verb pass:

            In the past plagues wiped out vast populations.

            Marcus rode past her house every day.

            I passed Belinda in the hall.

real/really:  Real is an adjective; really is an adverb that describes the degree of an adjective:

            Her boyfriend bought her a real diamond.

            Because I’m really tired, I’ll go to bed now.

regardless:  Regardless means “without regard”; there is no such word as irregardless:

            Regardless of his natural talent, he did not make the team.

rise/raise:  Rise means “to move upward” (the subject does the action); raise means “to lift or make something go up” (the subject does the action to something else):

            I plan to rise early to go fishing.

            The Boy Scouts will raise the flag at the ceremony.

said/says:  Said is the past tense of the verb to say; says is the present tense:

            Yesterday he said he wanted to quit.

            My aunt always says, “Pretty is as pretty does.”

slow/slowly:  Slow is an adjective; slowly is an adverb:

            The slow tortoise never wins races.

            After spraining his ankle, he slowly crossed the finish line.

that/which:  Use that to introduce essential clauses not set off by commas; use which to introduce nonessential clauses. 

            The mirror that once hung in the front hall cracked.  (no commas)

            My car, which has a sunroof, gets good gas mileage.  (commas)

that/who:  Use who, whom, or whose to refer to people; use that or which to refer to things.

            Incorrect:     I enjoy spending time with people that have similar interests as me.

            Correct:           I enjoy spending time with people who have similar interests as me.

their/there/they’re:  To show possession, use their; there is a place; and there is a contraction for they are:

            Their matching outfits make them look like twins.

            I love the zoo; let’s go there.

            They’re as slow as molasses in January.

to/too/two:  To is a preposition that can mean “in the direction of” or it can form the infinitive of any verb.  Too means “also” or is an adverb indicating degree.  And two is a number:

            Let’s go to the mall.  (preposition)

            Jeff would like to go too.  (infinitive/ “also”)

            It will be too crowded.  (adverb showing degree)

            We will need to take two cars.  (infinitive/ number)

try to (not try and):  Try to means “attempt”; never use try and

            Try to avoid waking a sleeping alligator.

well/good:  Good is an adjective (modifies a noun); well is an adverb (modifies a verb) that means “capably” or an adjective that means “satisfactory” or “in good health”:

            The good boy got a sticker as a reward for doing his homework well.

            I feel well.

	Hint:  To test for who/whom, substitute he/him in the sentence.  If he fits, use who; if him fits, use whom.

 

who/whom:  Who does the action; whom receives the action:

            Who will feed the dragon?

            Whom will you take to the dance?

your/you’re:  To show possession, use your; you’re means “you are”:

            Thanks for letting me share your apartment.

            You’re going to love this next tune.

PUNCTUATION AND MECHANICS

For more information and practice exercises, see the Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/#punctuation

Comma

1. Use a comma to separate adjectives that equally modify the same noun:

A big, hairy monster ate my homework.

2. Use commas to separate words, phrases, or clauses in a series:

I need to pack my stamps, rocks, camera, weights, hair dryer, and hat.

I must remember to gas the car, check the map, and pack a sandwich.

I’ve never tried fried liver, and I never will.

However, do not separate verbs that are part of a compound predicate:

I also hate broccoli and despise lima beans.

4. Use a comma at the beginning of a sentence to set off introductory words, a participial phrase, or an adverb clause:

Introductory word:    Unfortunately, that is not my car.

Participial phrase:     Running late, I rushed out of the house without my shoes.

Adverb clause:           As soon as we left the house, the phone rang.

5. Generally, a comma is not used with short prepositional phrases at the beginning of a sentence (4 words or less):

Above my head floated a hot air balloon.

However, you must use a comma after a series of prepositional phrases or a single long one:

Before the office manager would hire me, I had to interview with the president of the firm.

6. Use commas to enclose nonessential phrases and clauses.  Nonessential phrases or clauses are NOT needed to understand the basic meaning of a sentence. Essential, also called restrictive, phrases or clauses are needed to understand the basic meaning of the sentence.

Nonessential:               The dragon, which had gleaming teeth, set the house ablaze.

Essential:          The man who is wearing the red jacket just dropped this umbrella.

Nonessential:               The article was about the Green Bay Packers, my favorite team.

Essential:          Anna is wearing the shirt she received for her birthday.

7. Use commas to separate the exact words of a speaker from the rest of a sentence:

“Off with her head,” the Queen of Hearts yodeled.  “In fact,” she bellowed on, “off with all their heads!”

8. Use a comma to separate items in an address or date:

1550 Hill Road, Poway, CA 92064.

Thursday, October 17, 2001.

Semicolon

1. Use a semicolon to join two or more independent clauses in place of a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so):

Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes; there’s too much fraternizing with the enemy.

                        On a dare I ate twenty-seven candy bars; I don’t think I’ll do that again.

2. Use a semicolon before a conjunctive adverb (i.e., an adverb that joins two independent clauses).  Note that a comma goes after the adverb because it is an introductory word.  Common conjunctive adverbs include also, besides, for example, however, in addition, instead, moreover, meanwhile, nevertheless, similarly, then, therefore, thus.

My brother was arrested at the zoo just for feeding the pigeons; however, he was feeding them to the lions.

I didn’t take my usual route to school; instead, I took a shortcut that took twice as long.

3. Use a semicolon to separate groups of words in a series that already contain commas:

Over vacation we visited Paris, France; Venice, Italy; Vienna, Austria; and Madrid, Spain.

Colon

1. Use a colon after the salutation of a business letter:

Dear Mr. President:

Dear Dr. Mehta:

2. Use a colon to introduce a list that follows an independent clause:

I cleaned out the garage and found the following items:  a giant bowling ball, a dead canary, one scuba flipper, and my math textbook.

Note that the list must follow an independent clause:

Wrong:            My favorite subjects are: math, physics, P.E., and

ceramics.

            Right:              The following subjects are my favorites: math, physics, P.E.,

and ceramics.

3. Use a colon after a complete sentence that introduces an illustration, explanation, or quotation:

There are three ways to get something done:  do it yourself, hire someone, or forbid your teenager to do it.

Home computers are being called upon to perform a new educational function:  the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.
Dash

1. Use a dash to show a sharp break or interruption in a sentence:

So I told Griswold I was going to—OUCH! That hurt!

2. Use a dash to divide an introductory series from the explanatory clause that follows it:

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—these are the rights of all Americans.

3. Use dashes to set off appositives that contain commas:

The makings of dinner—pasta, tomato sauce, vegetables, and garlic bread—were waiting on the counter when I arrived home.

Hyphen

1. Use a hyphen to make a compound word or to join coequal nouns:

mother-in-law               three-year-old              scholar-athlete

2. Use a hyphen to join words in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and with fractions:

twenty-nine                  forty-seven      

two-thirds                    five-eighths

3. Use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line, but only between syllables:

Wrong:   The bird peered at Mr. McGillacudy with a pu-

zzled expression.

Right:     The bird peered at Mr. McGillacudy with a puz-

zled expression.

4. Use a hyphen to join a capital letter to a noun or participle:

R-rated movie               T-bone steak                Y-shaped          U-turn

5. Use a hyphen to join two or more words that serve as a single adjective before a noun:

best-known novel          two-story building        awe-inspiring speech

6. In general, do not use a hyphen after a standard prefixes (e.g., anti-, co-, multi-, non-, over-, post-, pre-, re-, semi-, sub-, un-, under-):

multinational               postwar            antiestablishment        coworker

nonjudgmental             reinvent           prescheduled               unrelated

            For other prefixes, or when in doubt, consult the dictionary (http://www.m-w.com)

Quotations and Quotation Marks

1. Use quotation marks around text that is taken from another source, or to indicate a speaker’s exact words.  When quoting material from another source, you must always include the citation for that source (See the section on MLA Citation Format for details on how to cite sources).

2. To omit words from a quotation, use an ellipsis to represent the part of the text omitted.  An ellipsis is typed as three periods with a single space before and after each one ( . . . ).  When using an ellipsis at the end of a sentence, include a fourth period for the sentence’s end mark ( . . . .). You should never use an ellipsis to distort or change the meaning of the original text you are quoting.

“When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one

. . . had seen in at least ten years” (Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”).

3. Use brackets [like this] to enclose words you add or substitute to a quotation for the sake of clarity.  Brackets are often used to replace a pronoun with the name of a character, for instance:

“Strange energy was in [Mr. Rochester’s] voice, strange fire in his look” (Bronte 133).

4. To punctuate a quotation within a quotation, use single quotation marks to surround the inner quotation:

Steven said, “My favorite movie line is from Marlon Brando in The Godfather when he says, ‘I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.’”

5. Periods and commas are always placed inside quotation marks:

“I’ve heard that line,” said Albert, “but I never saw the movie.”

However, the period at the end of a citation goes outside the final parentheses, not inside the quotation marks:

Lady Macbeth foreshadows her future insanity when she tells her husband: “These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad” (2.2.45-46).

6. An exclamation point or a question mark is placed outside the quotation marks when it punctuates the main sentence:

What do you suppose it means when a cannibal says, “Well, of course, you’re welcome to stay for dinner”?

It is placed inside the quotation marks when it punctuates only the quotation. [Note that no additional end punctuation is needed.]:

I almost croaked when he asked, “That won’t be a problem for you will it?”

7. Semi-colons or colons are placed outside quotation marks:

Derek’s favorite Springsteen song is “Born to Run”; I prefer “Thunder Road.”

Punctuating Dialogue

1. For dialogue, use quotation marks before and after the exact words of a speaker; place the comma inside the quotation marks when the speaker attribution follows the quotation:

“Your driver’s license says you should be wearing glasses,” said the traffic officer to the speeder.

2. When the speaker attribution is given first, follow it with a comma.  The direct quotation following it begins with a capital letter:

The speeding driver explained, “But I have contacts.”

3. When a quoted sentence is divided into two parts by an interrupting expression or speaker attribution, begin the second part of the quotation with a lower case letter:

“I don’t care who you know,” the policeman replied, “because you’re getting a ticket anyway.”

4. When a question mark or exclamation point is used as an end mark of a quotation, place the end mark inside the quotation marks. (Note that the sentence continues without capitalizing the first word after the end of the quotation):

“Who comes up with these lame jokes, anyway?” asked the bewildered student.

5.      When you write dialogue with two or more persons conversing, begin a new paragraph every time the speaker changes:

“That guy is great on the field,” said a college football scout to the player’s coach. “But how’s his scholastic work?”

“Why, he makes straight A’s,” replied the high school coach as they watched the player make tackle after tackle.

“Wonderful!” said the scout.

“Yes,” agreed the coach, “but his B’s are a little crooked.”

Incorporating Quotations Into Your Writing

1.        Work a short quotation (up to four typed lines of your page) directly into the text of your paper and put quotation marks around it.  [Note that the period at the end of the quotation goes outside the final parentheses of the citation]:

“To be, or not to be, that is the question” (3.1.57). This familiar statement expresses the young prince’s moral dilemma in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

2.       For quotations that are longer than four typed lines of your page, use a block quotation format.  Indent the entire quotation one inch from the left margin. Do not change the right margin. Because you have indented the quoted material, you do NOT use quotation marks around it as well.

Based on rumors and gossip, the children of Maycomb speculate about Boo Radley’s appearance:

3.      Use a block quotation format when quoting dialogue between two or more speakers:

During the trial scene, Bob Ewell immediately shows his disrespect for both the court and his family:

“Are you the father of Mayella Ewell?” was the next question.

“Well, if I ain’t I can’t do nothing about it now, her ma’s dead,” was the answer.                       (Lee 172)

4.      Also use block quotation format when quoting dialogue between speakers in a play:

Mama compares her children to a beloved plant:

Mama (looking at her plant and sprinkling a little water on it): They spirited all right, my children.  Got to admit they got spirit—Bennie and Walter. Like this little old plant that ain’t never had enough sunshine or nothing—and look at it. . .

Ruth (trying to keep Mama from noticing): You . . . sure . . . loves that little old thing, don’t you?     (Hansberry 335)

Quoting Poetry

1.        When quoting two or three lines of poetry, use a forward slash [/] with one space on each side to show where each line ends.  Using the format for a short quotation (see previous section), work the lines directly into the text of your paper using quotation marks. [Note that the period at the end of the quotation goes outside the final parentheses of the citation]:

Juliet’s innocence soon turns to passion when she tells Romeo in the balcony scene, “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep; the more I give to thee, / The more I have, for both are infinite” (1.2.141-43).

2.      When quoting more than three lines of poetry, use a block quotation format. [Remember, no quotation marks!]:

Mercutio shows his sarcasm about love when he mocks Romeo’s lovesickness for Rosaline:

Romeo! humors! madman! passion! lover!

Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh;

Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied!

Cry but “Ay me!” pronounce but “love” and “dove.”   (2.1.9-12)

3.      When the quotation you are using begins in the middle of a line, position the partial line as it appears in the text:

When the exiled Romeo draws his dagger, Friar Lawrence scolds,

       Hold thy desperate hand.

Art thou a man? Thy form cries out thou art;

Thy tears are womanish, thy wild acts denote

The unreasonable fury of a beast.        (3.3.118-121)

Apostrophe

Contractions

1.      Use an apostrophe to signify letter(s) left out of a word to form a contraction:

don’t = do n[o]t             she’d = she [woul]d      

it’s = it [i]s

2.      Use an apostrophe to signify one or more numbers left out of numerals or words that are spelled as they are actually spoken:

class of ’02                  “Good mornin’!”

Possessives

1.      Add an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive of singular nouns, even if the noun ends in s:

Bob Dylan’s voice          the kiss’s meaning         Dickens’s novels

2.      Add only an apostrophe to form the possessive of plural nouns ending in s.  If the plural does not end in s, add ‘s to form the possessive:

the Joneses’ father       the Padres’ last game                children’s library

3.       For the possessive form of a compound noun or an indefinite pronoun, place an apostrophe and an s after the last word:

mother-in-law’s apartment         Secretary of State’s telephone

everybody’s                  someone else’s             anyone’s

4.       Possessive personal pronouns (his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs and the relative pronoun whose) do not require an apostrophe.

5. Remember that the word immediately before the apostrophe is the owner:

parent’s car = one parent owns              boss’ office = one boss owns

parents’ car = two parents own              bosses’ office = many bosses own

When ownership is shared, the apostrophe is also shared; use the possessive form only on the last item in a series to indicate shared ownership:

Caitlin, Chris, and Joshua’s house = the house is shared by all three

When ownership is individual, each noun in a series gets its own individual apostrophe and s:

Caitlin’s, Chris’s, and Joshua’s jackets = each has his or her own jacket

Capitalization

Sentences

1.      Capitalize the first word of a sentence.

Marco loves to slam dance.

2.      Capitalize the first word of a full-sentence direct quotation:

When Joe made it to first base, his coach screamed, “Run to second!”

Lady Macbeth foreshadows her future insanity when she tells her husband: “These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad” (2.2.45-46).

Proper Nouns

Capitalize all proper nouns (those which name a specific person, place, or thing), including:

1.      Names of people and official titles, either written before a name or used in place of the proper noun:

Keanu Reeves                President John Kennedy            Alexander the Great

“Mr. President, will you answer questions at the press conference?”

“Not if I can help it, Senator.”

2.      Geographical Names:

a.       towns, cities, states, capitals, countries, and continents:

Dallas               Australia          Russia               New York

b.      sections of the country or a continent:

the South          the Midwest      the Middle East

c.       streets, roads, highways:

Interstate 5                  Route 66           Park Avenue

d.      land forms and bodies of water:

Lake Havasu                 Iberian Peninsula          Sahara Desert

3.      Languages, races, nationalities, and religions:

French              Inuit                 European          Islam   

Also capitalize nouns referring to the Supreme Being and holy books:

                        God                  Allah                the Lord           the Bible           the Torah

4.      Days of the week, months, holidays, or holy days:

This year, Hanukkah begins on Friday, December 6, and Christmas is on a Monday.

5.      Historical time periods, events in history, and special events:

Renaissance      Vietnam War     Kentucky Derby            Senior Prom

6.      Names of organizations, associations, and teams:

San Diego Padres          Daughters of the American Revolution

Greenpeace                  Republican Party

7.      Capitalize the first, last, and all other words in titles except for articles, short prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions:

The Taming of the Shrew          Gone with the Wind

To Kill a Mockingbird               Los Angeles Times

Crime and Punishment                “Twist and Shout”

Punctuating Titles

Italicize or underline the titles of long works that are published or released by themselves, such as movies, books, record albums, CD’s, magazines, newspapers, full-length plays, operas, pamphlets, book-length poems, long musical compositions, legal cases, and the names of ships and aircraft:

Romeo and Juliet (play)           

Washington Post (newspaper)

Seventeen (magazine)              

Saving Private Ryan (movie)

Quit Smoking Now (pamphlet)  

Titanic (ship)

Law and Order (television program)     

The Four Seasons (musical composition)

Use quotation marks around the titles of short works that are likely to be published or released as part of a larger work, such as chapters of books; short stories; poems; songs; articles in a magazine, newspaper, and encyclopedia; and episodes of a radio or television program:

“To Build a Fire” (short story)

“Partners in Crime” (episode of The Cosby Show)

“Alien Triplets!” (article in the National Inquirer)

“Rocky Raccoon” (song on the Beatles’ White Album)

Other Uses for Italics

1.      Use italics to indicate a number, letter, or word that is being discussed or used in a special way. You may also use quotation marks:

Is there an e or an a at the end of cemetery?

2.      Use italics for foreign words or phrases that are not part of everyday speech.

The Cavalier poets lived by the motto “Carpe diem!”, or “Seize the day!”

Dates and Time

1.      Capitalize the days of the week and months. Each of the following formats is acceptable:

December 31, 1999       31 December 1999

2.      When writing a date within a sentence, place a comma after the day of the week, the date, and the year:

On Wednesday, January 1, 2000, I will be eighteen years old!

3.      When only the month and day or only the month and year are given, no punctuation is necessary:

We began rehearsals on December 10 but performed in January 1997.

4.      When writing out times, use the numeral and a colon between the hour and minutes. Write only the hour if there are no minutes.  Indicate morning or evening with the abbreviations a.m. and p.m.  Note that both abbreviations are lower case and that a period is place after each letter:

Meet me at the subway station at 7 p.m. because the movie starts at 8:10.

Numbers

1.      Spell out numbers of one or two words; numbers of more than two words are usually written as numerals.

ten       twenty-five       fifty thousand              3 ½       101       2,020

2.      Use numerals to express numbers in the following forms: dates, pages, chapters, decimals, percents, addresses, time, identification numbers, and statistics.

June 8, 1996                44 BC               AD 79                           3:30 p.m.

pages 29-37                 chapter 7          Interstate 5                  Spanish 7

27.6                             2 percent          a vote of 23 to 4          

1388 County Road         35 m.p.h.           5 milliliters

3.      When a number begins a sentence, always spell it out:

Two hundred thirty people claimed to have seen UFOs in Alaska in 1996.

Nineteen ninety-two was an incredible year for tracking paranormal behavior.

However, if this creates awkward sentence structure, change the sentence:

Eight hundred and ninety-five people say they have talked to aliens within the last five years.

Within the last five years, 895 people say they have talked to aliens.

4.      When numbers are used frequently in a document, such as in scientific and technical writing, you may express all measurements as numerals:

In 4 experiments of psychic phenomenon, 79 percent of the couples could predict the correct sum of money 2 out of 3 times.

5.      When a mixture of numbers—some one or two words, some longer—are used together, they should be kept in the same style:

How could a team of 5 couples discover what an association of 2,250 scientists and economists could not?

6.      You may use a combination of words and numerals for very large numbers:

1.5 million         3 billion to 3.2 billion               25 million dollars

updated 01/07/03 D.Hogan