I wrote this article for Sam Diener’s “Stuff for Success” blog. I cover common errors and tips on how to get them write (umm… I mean right). Check it out here: Can You Right Write?
Posts Tagged ‘Writing Tips’
The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks
Last week I wrote an article about quotation marks, and I did not cover the topic of their overuse. Quotation marks are often used to “emphasize” a word when they are grammatically unnecessary or incorrect. Thankfully, another blogger has taken on the gallant task of locating errant quotation marks so that I can take a rest on this one. I just had to share! the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks
Also note: Using ‘single’ quotation marks is also not grammatically correct, unless you are quoting something within a quote. For instance: Grandma always used to say, “I live every day by the words, ‘A stitch in time saves nine.’” Single quotation marks simply don’t belong anywhere else.
And thus concludes Part 2 of the Quotation Mark Quandary.
Loose Connections – Times Topics from the NYT
I absolutely love this column. This week, the main topic is “ambiguous antecedents and dangling modifiers.” Writers make these errors frequently. In fact, I’m inspired by this article and think I will write my next blog about a similar subject! Loose Connections – Times Topics
The Quandary of Quotation Marks (” “)
Quotation marks (“ “) are a beloved form of punctuation in the English language, used to indicate a verbatim report on what someone said, and used in a great deal of business writing. They are often misused. This article will clear up some misconceptions held by many about proper usage of these marks.
Where to Place Periods (.) and Commas (,) – The United States
In the United States, commas and periods ALWAYS go INSIDE the quotation marks, whether or not the comma is actually part of the quotation.
Here are some examples from some recent discussions on LinkedIn. Don’t expect this rule to be logical:
- Correct (in US): E.g. stands for “exempli gratia.”
- Correct (in US): As for [the phrase] “graduating college,” I’m not sure when it became correct.
- Incorrect (in US): You are my “go to person”.
- Incorrect (in US): I was unaware of the difference [between initialisms and acronyms] until I heard it on the NPR program “A Way With Words”.
- Incorrect (in US): “Its” is the possessive form of “it”, and is rare among possessives…
Where to Place Periods (.) and Commas (,) – The UK & Australia
Leave logic to the Brits. In the UK and Australia, they keep punctuation inside the quotation marks only when it is part of the quotation. For example:
- Correct (in UK): I was unaware of the difference [between initialisms and acronyms] until I heard it on the NPR program “A Way With Words”.
- Correct (in UK): You are my “go to person”.
- Correct (in UK): “Its” is the possessive form of “it”, and is rare among possessives…
- Incorrect (In UK): E.g. stands for “exempli gratia.”
- Incorrect (in UK): As for [the phrase] “graduating college,” I’m not sure when it became correct…
Punctuating Letter Names
Some grammarians say we should use the logical way of punctuating in the case of letters. For example:
- The eighth letter of the alphabet is “h”.
- Name three words that start with an “e”, and three that start with a “k”.
I prefer to avoid this issue by italicizing the names of letters:
- The ninth letter of the alphabet is h.
- Name three words that start with an e, and three that start with a k.
Exclamation Points (!) & Question Marks (?)
When it comes to exclamation points and question marks, we all get to be logical. If the quote is a question or exclamation, include the punctuation inside the quotation marks. If it’s not, don’t.
- She asked, “Which way is it to the theater?”
- Did she say, “I absolutely love the theater, darling”?
- I’m so excited to see “In the Heights”!
- I get chills every time I hear King Richard declare, “Off with his head!”
Semicolons (;) and Colons (:)
Here’s some more good news: We get to be logical with semicolons and colons too!
- The following items go in the bin labeled “Paper Recycling”: magazines, newspapers, envelopes, and clean cardboard.
- Put magazines, newspapers, and envelopes in the bin labeled “Paper Recycling”; do not put paper towels, tissues, or greasy pizza boxes in there!
(It’s so much fun to sneak a public service announcement into a grammar blog!)
What if I’m Canadian?
All bets are off (or on, as the case may be), in Canada. Do it the way you think your readers will expect you to do it. As far as I can tell, you get to choose.
There are many more subtleties to the use of quotation marks, and if you have questions, please ask. I’m happy to provide my most educated answer.
Can you spot the errors? More Trouble with ‘Only’ – from Times Topics
I always love a challenge, and this article from Times Topics presents a great one. Can you spot the grammatical errors in the examples provided? More Trouble with ‘Only’
Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday words we use every day.
When we put two words together into one word, we create a “compound” word. It is common for the compound word to have a different meaning than the words have by themselves. We all know, for instance, that when we take the preposition “under” and combine it with the verb “stand,” we end up with a compound verb “understand” that has a new meaning (“understand” has nothing to do with standing under anything). Likewise, when we take the noun “baby” and combine it with the verb “sit,” we get a compound verb “babysit;” clearly babysitting does not actually entail sitting on a baby.
I’ve noticed a tendency in many writers to combine certain 2-word phrases into single words, perhaps thinking that the meaning doesn’t change. For instance, “stand out” becomes “standout” (the 2-word verb phrase changes to a 1-word adjective). One of the most common pairs of words I have seen people put together ungrammatically are “every” and “day.” Please note: “Every day” does NOT mean the same thing as “everyday.” Be careful when you choose to create this compound word about what you really mean to say.
First I will lay out the basics: What do these words mean? “Every day” (2 words) means “happening or occurring every day.” Technically it’s an adverb modifying a verb. In contrast, the compound word “everyday” is an adjective meaning “of or pertaining to every day;” “of or pertaining to regular days (as opposed to holidays); ”commonplace” or “regular.”
Let’s look at some examples of proper use:
- I walk to work every day. (2-word adverb modifying “walk”)
- I wear my everyday shoes to walk to work; I change to my Manolo Blahniks upon arrival. (1-word adjective modifying “shoes”)
- It has snowed every day for the past week. (2-word adverb modifying “snow”)
- Snow is an everyday event during Wisconsin winters. (1-word adjective modifying “event”)
- I wish I could eat chocolate all day every day! (2-word adverb modifying “eat”)
- Some chocolate sure would spice up this everyday chili. (1-word adjective modifying “chili” – and yes, cocoa powder adds just the right verve!)
How will you remember the difference between “every day” and “everyday”? My simple trick is to add the word “single” between “every” and “day;” if it makes sense to insert this word, then the words must be separated by a space in place of the word “single.” If inserting “single” does not work, you’re in the land of the adjective “everyday.” Let’s try it with the examples here:
- I walk to work every single day. (Makes sense so it’s 2 words)
- I wear my every single day shoes to walk to work. (Doesn’t make sense so it’s 1 word)
- It has snowed every single day for the past week. (Makes sense so it’s 2 words)
- Snow is an every single day event during Wisconsin winters. (Doesn’t make sense so it’s 1 word)
I’ll leave you to test the chocolate chili examples. I promise they work.
Now let’s take a look at some common ways people misuse the word “everyday.” I’ll use 3 examples from LinkedIn.
1. In an email I received from a LinkedIn marketing expert, the following phrase appeared: “Great discussions and tips are taking place everyday with over 10,000 members.”
There are actually two problems with this sentence. One is that tips do not take place, only discussions do; you would not say “Great tips are taking place.” The other is that everyday is the adjective meaning commonplace. The author meant that discussions are taking place every single day. Therefore the correct usage would be “every day” (2 words).
2. A LinkedIn discussion title came across one of my groups: “Fast way to make money everyday.”
Again, this writer means “every single day” so the correct way to express his idea would be “Fast way to make money every day.”
3. Here’s an example from a comment on one of my postings: “You learn something new everyday.”
Do you see the error? I hope you are now highly trained in the distinction between “every day” and “everyday”! I also hope my article has been your new piece of learning for the day. Please pass the learning on to someone who will benefit from it today and every day.
Need writing help? Contact The Essay Expert
Common Grammatical Errors: The Difference Between “i.e.” and “e.g.”
Unless you have studied Latin or the intricacies of the English language, you might be surprised to learn that the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. mean different things. Many people use them interchangeably – and they are not, in fact, interchangeable.
As I set out to write this blog, I found agreement about the following:
e.g. means “for example” and comes from the Latin exempli gratia; whereas i.e. means “that is” and comes from the Latin id est.
Grammar Girl has some great tricks to remember these definitions, as recounted in her article http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ie-eg-oh-my.aspx She suggests thinking “egg” for e.g., as in “eggsample” or just remembering that it starts with an e for “example.” For i.e. she suggests thinking “in essence” or just remembering that it starts with i for “in other words.”
In terms of usage, here are some examples:
i.e.
There are 7 colors in the rainbow, i.e., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (complete list)
e.g.
There are 7 colors in the rainbow, e.g., red, orange and yellow. (an incomplete list)
(Use i.e. when you are stating the 7 colors in another way; use e.g. when you are giving examples of them.)
i.e.
Sweets are her Achilles’ heel, i.e., her weak spot.
e.g.
Sweets are her Achilles’ heel, e.g., she eats a pint of ice cream if it’s in front of her.
(Use i.e. when you are defining the first part of the sentence in another way; use e.g. when you are giving an example of the first part of the sentence.)
i.e.
The soldier went AWOL, i.e., Absent Without Official Leave.
e.g.
Acronyms are words where each letter stands for a word, e.g., AWOL which means “Absent Without Official Leave.”
(Use i.e. when you are explaining the definition; use e.g. when giving an example.)
There are a few things that grammar gurus do NOT agree upon. One is whether i.e. and e.g. need to be italicized, as most Latin abbreviations are. Most agree, however, that because these abbreviations are so common there is no need to italicize them.
[Note: I am italicizing i.e. and e.g. in sentences such as this as an alternative to using quotation marks; in my examples they are not italicized.]
There is disagreement as well as to whether i.e. and e.g. can ever be capitalized, i.e., I.e. or E.g. I would capitalize them if they started a sentence, but not everyone says that’s acceptable.
Should there be a comma after the second period in i.e. and e.g.? Once again there is no agreement on this point. Most sources but not all recommend a comma; in British English a comma is less often used.
Technicalities aside, I recommend that you take a moment to think the next time you write an e.g. or i.e. in a document. You’re more likely to say what you mean.
Questions? I’m happy to answer.
For more grammar tips see http://theessayexpert.com/blog/category/tips-tricks/writing-tips/ and http://www.theessayexpert.com/writing_tips.html
(Well Written) Content is King: 5 Tips for Evaluating Writing Quality – from High-Tech Communicator
I’m always thrilled to post a blog article by someone else committed to high quality writing. This one is geared toward writing in the business world. If you are a business owner, read (and write) carefully! (Well Written) Content is King
8 Tips to Help You Master “Affect” and “Effect” – from PoynterOnline
Did you know that you “affect” an outcome but you “effect” change? Yet once you affect that outcome there’s an “effect”? And that look on your face is an “affect.” Roy Peter Clark explains the ins and outs of these homonyms on PoynterOnline. 8 Tips to Help You Master “Affect” and “Effect”
Do you spell “Free Reign” with a G?
Do “correct” spellings change over time? This clip, and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), assert that they do. Usage does dictate what authorities such as the OED report as correct spellings of words, such as “free reign” and “vocal chords.” As much as I would like to think things like spellings do not change, I am forced to admit that they do. National Dictionary Day: do you spell “free reign” with a G?
