Originally, typewriters had monospaced fonts skinny letters and fat letters took up the same amount of space, so two spaces after ending punctuation marks such as the period were used to make the text more legible. This colon, according to the chicago manual of style, should. Grammar girl, is determined to wipe out bad punctuationbut shes also determined to make the process as painless as possible. In american english, colons are more often followed by capital letters. Next, lets look at the colon rules from the chicago manual of style.
Thats because the colon signals that what comes next is. Use a colon to lead into a bullet point list after a sentence fragment. How to use semicolons grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. When not to use a colon do not use a colon after a verb of being am, are, were, was, will be, shall be, etc. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon. Do not, however, use a colon when the listed items are incorporated into the flow of the sentence. Just remember that a colon isnt a comma, nor is it. Colons and semicolons should never be used interchangeably. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for students. If youre an expert english grammarian, mignon fogartys grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing isnt for you.
Another great resource for trying to decipher grammar rules is grammar girl. Semicolons, colons, and parentheses purdue writing lab. Buy a cheap copy of grammar girls quick and dirty tips for. Fourth grade teacher, las vegas public school system whether you are a grammarphobe seeking guidance, a parent looking for a tutorial that your kids will enjoy and therefore use or a writer seeking a fun reference manual for frustrating recurring questions, grammar girls quick and. From grammar and spelling to style and tone, grammarly helps you eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. A rule for using colons is to add one between a complete sentence and a list of items in the absence of introductory words. Because the training period was so long and arduous for all the players. Henry holt books are available for special promotions and premiums. Start here for quick tips to get punctuation on track for you or your students. To indicate a ratio o the ratio of cats to dogs was 4.
This book rates as two stars or four, depending on who you are. Outlined below are the functions of the colon and the semicolon. Detail of content to be introduced statutory requirement word regular plural noun suffixes s or es for example, dog, dogs. While you can also use a semicolon or a period between two independentyetrelated clauses, the colon is a little softer than the period, but a little harder than the semicolon. The best punctuation book, period by june casagrande. If you use colons in your writing, use them sparingly, and never use a colon more than once in any sentence. Part vi write an x on the line next to the sentence using the colon properly. Spacing after periods, colons, question marks, and exclamation marks. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading grammar.
A comma is used after the salutation in more informal correspondence. Grammar girl breaks down when and how to use colons, including when. A colon is also used between hours and minutes, titles and subtitles of books, city and publisher in bibliographies, in biblical citations between chapter and verse, and for salutations in business letters and other formal letter writing. Use a colon to introduce an item or list, if the list comes after a complete sentence or independent clause. Learn how to develop a powerful writing style with verbbased prose, subordinated structures, the art of parallel structure, and more. Like commas, semicolons indicate an audible pauseslightly longer than a commas, but short of a periods full stop.
Use a colon to introduce an item or a series of items. This only works if the second sentence states a logical consequence of whatever is. In a title or heading, a colon is often used to introduce a subdivision of a subject. Colons can be used to introduce a list, but they must follow a complete sentence independent clause. Mignot fogarty, better known as grammar girl provides the public with an accessible reference on punctuation. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Use a colon rather than a comma to follow the salutation in a business letter, even when addressing someone by his or her first name. Follow our five rules of colon usage and youll be a master in no time. Colons punctuation rules the blue book of grammar and. Unlike the use of commas to combine very short sentences, semicolons are used for combining relatively longer sentences.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. In grammar girls quick and dirty tips to clean up your writing, mignon fogarty, the woman behind the popular grammar girl podcast, tackles some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. A number of other punctuation marks are used less frequently, but still play important roles in english writing. The examples in the lefthand column lhc, below, are wrong. Use the colon after a complete sentence to introduce a list of items when introductory words such as namely, for example, or that is do not apply or are not appropriate. To expand on something already mentioned in the sentence. Previously published as part of grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing online sensation grammar girl makes punctuation fun and easy in grammar girls punctuation 911 mignon fogarty, a. Grammar girl, money girl, modern manners guy, and quick and dirty tips are trademarks of. The final use is before a quotation and sometimes before the direct speech. Fowlers a dictionary of modern english usage or karen elizabeth gordons the transitive vampire or both, really. The following students are to report to the deans office.
In sentences, only use colons after something that would be. Do not capitalize the first item after the colon unless its a proper noun. A colon can be used to separate two independent clauses when a the second clause is directly related to the first clause not just vaguely related and b when the emphasis is on the second clause. Grammar at a glance i bet you thought grammar couldnt get any more quick and dirty than it did in the previous pages, but heres the quickest grammar of all, culled from lengthier explanations found elsewhere in this book. The colon has primarily three grammatical uses and several nongrammatical uses. Its no accident that a semicolon is a period atop a comma. With over 200,000 copies sold, this is one of the most highly trusted english language resources available. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Looking for information about the correct way to use the colon.
English speakers do this, too see type 2, but the unmarked form of an english yesno question, like 1, requires rising intonation and a different word order from a statementone that inverts the subject and the operator. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids. There are five key rules for colon usage that should always be followed. In this example, the introductory words are such as, precluding the need for a colon. Semicolons punctuation rules the blue book of grammar. Use a colon instead after an introductory phrase or dependent clause, even if the phrase or clause is long. Chapter 1, rule 7, mcmillan, 1979, it is wrong to use a colon here. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a chapter on easily confused words from affecteffect to whetherif. After shopping for eight hours, i finally found them.
However, knowing how to use colons properly requires the knowledge of the following rules. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. Pdf style, usage, grammar, and punctuation ch 4 researchgate. It is also used in titles and subtitles of books, business or formal letters, to distinguish hours from minutes when specifying time, and in a number of other cases. In british english, it is unusual for a capital letter to follow a colon.
You can use a colon to introduce a single thing when you want to emphasize it. Whether you are a grammarphobe seeking guidance, a parent looking for a tutorial that your kids will enjoy and therefore use or a writer seeking a fun reference manual for frustrating recurring questions, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing will likely satisfy. Given its function, it should have been called a semifull stop or a semiperiod. All it takes is the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Rules on punctuation 53 pages learn the rules on the proper use of periods, commas, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, quotation marks. Mignon fogarty, author of grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing invaluable reference work for professional proofreaders, editors, and writers because it is the only book that presents chicago, ap, apa, and mla conventions side by side. Whether im figuring out a way to explain the use of a semicolon or working with. Grammarly is like a little superpower, especially when i need to be at. Often, its almost a definition of what came before. The blue book of grammar and punctuation jane straus.
To the delight of word nerds everywhere, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing came out yesterday. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing mad marvs place. Grammar girl breaks down when and how to use colons, including when formatting lists. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to reallife, entertaining examples.
Notice how there is an independent clause preceding the colon in. It a colon should not separate a verb from its complement or a preposition from its object. One of my favorite old grammar books, titled punctuate it right, has a wonderful name for the colon. Use a colon after an independent clause and before a list. Learn when to use a colon english grammar revolution. I can be a little annoyingly pedantic when it comes to grammar and usage.
Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation years 1 to 6 year 1. If so, youll fall head over nubucks for mignon fogartya. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list, quotation, definition, explanation, etc. According to the associated press stylebook, you capitalize the first letter. You can use a colon in a sentence fragment but bullet point lists are easier to read. Grammar girl book grammar girl s grammar girl ss grammar girl faq or faqs grammar girl apostrophe after z grammar girl grammar girl commas grammar girl quick and dirty tips for better writing pdf i am that girl book the senior girl s guide to girl scouting hidden girl book roller girl book dragon. Everyone can be a great writer grammarly allows me to get those communications out and feel confident that im putting my best foot forward.
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