Sometimes we get grammar questions in the WriteShop mailbag.

Q: How is it determined when commas are needed or not needed between adjectives in a series? In WriteShop’s Copying and Dictation Exercises, Lesson 5, there’s a phrase I’m confused about. “Bright, fresh lemon flavor” has a comma between the adjectives bright and fresh, but not between the adjectives fresh and lemon. Further on in the paragraph, the words “special fresh flavor” have no commas between adjectives. Can you help?

A: This is a great question, and one that many families would love to understand. I find Jane Straus’s rule easy to apply.

Use the “and” test

According to Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, it’s actually pretty simple:

Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the word and can be inserted between them.

Examples: He is a strong, healthy man. 
                The man is strong and healthy; hence a comma.

    We stayed at an expensive summer resort.
    You would not say expensive and summer resort, so
    no comma.

Going back to your example, we could say “bright and fresh lemon flavor.” That’s why there’s a comma between the first two adjectives. But we wouldn’t say “fresh and lemon flavor,” so no comma.

Reverse the adjectives

Another test: Can you reverse the adjectives and maintain the meaning?

Examples: He is a healthy, strong man still works, as does
                fresh, bright lemon flavor.

                Summer expensive resort and bright, lemon, fresh
                flavor do not pass the reversal test.

Note: You could correctly say “bright, lemon-fresh flavor,” but that places a different meaning on the sentence altogether!

One last example

The word “special” refers to the “fresh flavor” as a whole. It’s not a “special flavor,” nor is it simply a “fresh flavor.” It’s a “special fresh flavor.” Since it’s not likely one would say “special and fresh flavor,” the “and” rule applies.

Not only that, the phrase “special fresh flavor” means something different from “fresh special flavor.” The reversal rule works well here as well to demonstrate that no comma is needed.

. . . . . 

We love The Blue Book so much that we’ve been carrying it for years in the WriteShop store. We also include it in the WriteShop Starter Pack. It’s a combination reference book and workbook, oh so easy to use, and handy for home or office. Jane’s examples are short, simple, and practical. We know you’ll love it too! Want to read some reviews? Just click here. And to read some of Jane’s Grammar Nuggets, type “Jane” in the search box above.

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog.

Today, Jane covers more ground as she helps us make sense of three more grammar bugs!

Jane says many people have been taught incorrectly, so hopefully she can help us unlearn our bad grammar habits!

Plural or possessive titles?

Is it Mother’s Club? Mothers’ Club? Mothers’ Club?

In a title, you may think of the noun as a plural or as a plural possessive. So Mothers Club or Mothers’ Club would both be correct.

Apostrophes with words ending in s

Is it class’ opinion or class’s opinion or classes’ opinion?

If you mean one class, it should be class’s opinion. If you mean more than one class, it should be classes’ opinion(s).

Rule 2 of Apostrophes from The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation says: Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.

Examples: one class’s opinion; one girl’s opinion; Ms. Jones’s opinion; Mr. Cross’s opinion.

Rule 3 says: To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then use the apostrophe.

Example: The classes’ opinions were predicatable according to their grade levels.
Example: The girls’ opinions differed.
Example: The Joneses’ house survived the flood.
Example: The Crosses’ house survived the flood.

Quoting a Question within a Question

When quoting a question within a question, where does the question mark go? Is the following correct?

Didn’t she say, “How did you do that?”?

In The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, Rule 3 of Quotation Marks says: When you have a question outside quoted material AND inside quoted material, use only one question mark and place it inside the quotation mark.

Example: Did she say, “May I go?”
Example: Didn’t she say, “How did you do that?”

Reprinted by permission of Jane Straus, author of the bestselling The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, from her free Grammarbook.com e-newsletters and blogs.

From Kim

Thanks again to Jane for sharing from her wealth of knowledge!

We love The Blue Book so much that we’ve been carrying it for years in the WriteShop store. We also include it in the WriteShop Starter Pack. It’s a combination reference book and workbook, oh so easy to use, and handy for home or office. Jane’s examples are short, simple, and practical. We know you’ll love it too! Want to read some reviews? Just click here. And to read more of Jane’s Grammar Nuggets, type “Jane” in the search box above.

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog. Today, Jane has stopped in to help us modernize Grandma’s grammar! Jane says:

“As if it isn’t enough that computers have influenced just about every area of our lives, you’d think that something as sacred as the English language would remain immune to technology’s pressures. Not so. You may not need to learn new rules of grammar as often as you need to update your computer’s RAM, but tweaking your grammar skills will make you look more professional, and you can impress your friends and colleagues with some cutting-edge reasoning.”

Spaced Out

One or two spaces between sentences after a period?

Professional printers who set material in proportional fonts have always used only one space after ending punctuation marks such as the period. However, original typewriters had monospaced fonts, so two spaces were used to make the text more legible. Most computer fonts present no difficulty with proportion or legibility, so use just ONE space after a period, colon, or any other ending punctuation mark. You will not be struck by lightning, I promise!

Questionable Marks

Quotation marks and punctuation

In Grandma’s day, a period used with quotation marks followed logic:

Example: Myrtle said the word “snarfblatt”.

The period went outside the quote because only the last word was in quotation marks, not the entire sentence.

Example: Myrtle said, “I would never say that.”

The period went inside the quotation mark because the entire sentence is a quote.

Today (actually for the last 30 years or so), the period always goes inside the quotation mark in American English.

Example: Myrtle said the word “snarfblatt.”

This does not follow logic, but it makes life easier for professional editors and for the rest of us who have enough to think about besides punctuation.

Warning: If you write a quotation in England, ignore this advice. Logic is still followed on that side of “the Pond.”

We’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe

Since Grandma’s day, we have shortened some words and dropped the former plural form. Memo and memos used to be memorandum and memoranda. Yet other words still retain their original length, spelling, and plural form: curriculum and curricula.

With the word data, we no longer see the singular datum used at all. Data is now normally used in both the singular and plural form.

Examples: The data are being tabulated. The data is useful to the scientists.

Just Because

In Grandma’s day, you would be scolded if you started a sentence with but or because. But you wouldn’t have deserved that scolding then or now. Just make sure that if you start a sentence with either of these two words, you are following them with complete thoughts.

Good Examples: But she would never say such a thing. Because of this bee sting, my arm is swollen.

Bad Examples: But I can’t. Because I said so.

These are incomplete thoughts, and you will get your knuckles rapped with a ruler for writing them.

Reprinted by permission of Jane Straus, author of the bestselling The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, from her free Grammarbook.com e-newsletters and blogs.

From Kim

Thanks again to Jane for sharing from her wealth of knowledge!

We love The Blue Book so much that we’ve been carrying it for years in the WriteShop store. We also include it in the WriteShop Starter Pack. It’s a combination reference book and workbook, oh so easy to use, and handy for home or office. Jane’s examples are short, simple, and practical. We know you’ll love it too! Want to read some reviews? Just click here. And to read more of Jane’s Grammar Nuggets, type “Jane” in the search box above.

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog. Today, Jane has stopped in to give us some practical writing tips. Jane says:

“Let’s see if we can help you become a more effective writer by learning some tricks of the trade. These are stylistic ideas that can turn a dull letter or report into an intriguing one.” Continue reading →

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog with another helpful grammar nugget. Jane promises:

“You will impress your family and friends with your grammar skills if you can distinguish between lie and lay. However, these words confuse even the best editors, so you pretty much have to memorize a chart and then practice to build your confidence.” Continue reading →

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog, bringing you yet another grammar nugget. This week, Jane helps us crack the code of who vs. whom.

Jane promises, “It is easier than you might imagine, which will give you the confidence that you can master this distinction. I will also give you a trick for learning when to use whoever and whomever.”

The following are Jane’s Rules, meaning that they are informal but foolproof. Continue reading →

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog, bringing you another grammar nugget to help ease your pain.

Jane says: Many of you have been asking for help with punctuating between sentences. You want to know when you should use a comma and when you need a semicolon. Here are a few rules with examples that I hope you find very helpful.

Commas

Rule: Use a comma between two complete, long clauses (two subject and verb pairs) when conjunctions such as and, or, but, for, nor connect them.

Example: I have painted the entire house, but she is still working on sanding the floors.

Rule: If the clauses are short (your call), then leave out the comma.

Example: I painted and he sanded.

Rule: If you have only one clause (one subject and verb pair), do not use a comma in front of the conjunction.

Example: I have painted the house but still need to sand the floors.
(This sentence has two verbs but only one subject, so it has only one clause.)

Semicolons So when does the semicolon get to have its time in the spotlight?

Rule: Use the semicolon if you have two clauses you are connecting without a conjunction.

Example: I have painted the house; I still need to sand the floors.

Rule: Also, use the semicolon when you have commas for smaller separations, and you need the semicolon to show a bigger separation.

Example: We had a reunion with family from Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, California; and Albany, New York.

Reprinted by permission of Jane Straus, author of the bestselling The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, from her free Grammarbook.com e-newsletters and blogs.

From Kim: We love The Blue Book so much that we’ve been carrying it for years in the WriteShop store. We also include it in the WriteShop Starter Pack. It’s a combination reference book and workbook, oh so easy to use, and handy for home or office. Jane’s examples are short, simple, and practical. We know you’ll love it too! Want to read some reviews? Just click here.

Do you get confused about punctuating titles? When should I underline a title? When should I use quotations? How about italics?

Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, has come to your rescue! From time to time, she will “appear” as a guest at our blog, bringing you a grammar nugget to help set the world right again.

We love The Blue Book so much that we’ve been carrying it for years in the WriteShop store. We also include it in the WriteShop Starter Pack. It’s a combination reference book and workbook, oh so easy to use, and handy for home or office. Jane’s examples are short, simple, and practical. We know you’ll love it too!

Now, about punctuating titles, Jane says: 

In the past, i.e., before computers, we were taught to underline titles of books and plays and to surround chapters, articles, songs, and other shorter works in quotation marks. However, here is what The Chicago Manual of Style says: Continue reading →