Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
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Latest Posts : Punctuation and Mechanics
Can you use an ellipse thingu to sort of draw something out? Like if you were to say, “I think there was a turkey somewhere, but I’m not sure...” It’s bugged me, since there’s nothing about that in Wikipedia or on Websters online. ._.
I have a question on the following excerpt:
And that means taking some time to effectively communicate the “vision” throughout the organization and to train all members to “view for improvement through cooperative effort” rather than “hunker down and protect turf.”
Does the last period of the sentence belong inside or outside of the quotation mark? The sentence “hunker down and protect turf” isn’t complete, so...what do you think? This is on the website of the company I work for.
What I’m asking isn’t really multiple periods but the use of “...” Is this grammatically correct for replacing commas? I’m currently writing a journal entry for a school assignment and the use of “...” to replace commas might not be grammatically correct.
For those who might not understand what I’m asking this is an example sentence. “I watched the whole thing happen... and yet... I did nothing.”
Would the use of “...” here be correct?
I’ve been editing my sister’s med school app, and she includes a series sentences as follows.
I know she resorted to this style of structuring the sentence in the interest of space (there are character limits for the app), but this makes me feel awkward with its semicolon usage, which I usually take as a sign that there may be a grammatical error....any thoughts?
A young woman faced the birth of her first baby; I gave support and comfort. She was filled with questions; I provided education. She struggled physically and emotionally; I gave reassurance and encouragement. During this extraordinary time of life, I built with her a relationship based on trust.
How would one punctuate the following sentence?
We walk with you every step of the way from initial conceptual design, through case illustration, document drafting, and implementation.
(I feel like there should be something between ‘every step of the way’ and ‘from initial conceptual design...”)
I have a question about punctuation in a manuscript. We are writing a manuscript about research that was carried out in the Mojave National Preserve.
Here’s what we write “Our investigation occurred between 2001 and 2003 in Mojave National Preserve. The preserve was established in 1994…” The question is whether the preserve, in the second sentence should be capitalized.
Thanks for your help!
Is it acceptable in your opinion to use “s/he” in official documents instead of “she/he” or “she or he”?
When you replace the first two numbers of a year with an apostrophe (or single quote), do you use a left or right curly quote? Would it be ‘05 or ’05? I have found it both ways online, even both ways in the same paragraph.
(Bob Rusk and Tina Rusk are a married couple and have the same advisor)
Which is correct:
Bob and Tina Rusk’s advisor suggests... or Bob and Tina Rusks’ advisor suggests...
Is there someplace I can find the rule that dictates this? (I need to present proof to settle an argument)
Thank You, Gregg Nagel
I would like to know if you could tell me where the apostrophe “s” would go in the following statement. Assuming that the primary name is the name of the facility and the information contained within the parenthesis is the corporation in which the entity falls under.
Bobby Thompson (Rutter)’s officials have agreed to waive a formal exit conference.
Thank you!
