According to most style guides, when listing names and titles in a sentence, you have two options: Listing the person’s name first, followed by their title, separated by a comma Listing the person’s title first, then their name, separated by a comma Which option you choose is determined by whether the title or the name …
How to List Names and Titles in A Sentence (Punctuation Guide) Read More »
A strangely hot-button debate in the world of grammar is over a very small punctuation choice: the Oxford comma, or the comma that appears before the final item in a list. In most cases, unless you are following a set style guide, the use of a comma before the final item in a list is …
Should You Use a Comma Before the Last Item in a List? Read More »
In almost every circumstance, you should insert a comma following the word “otherwise.” It is an example of an adverb used in the conjunctive role, which connects two clauses with each other. When connecting two separate clauses, it functions most effectively. Otherwise, the placement of a comma before the word “otherwise” is never appropriate. When …
When you address someone with the salutation “Hi John” at the beginning of a letter or an email, you should put a comma in between the words “hi” and “John.” To properly address John, the greeting should be “Hi, John.” This is an exception to the customary practice of including a comma after the word …
You might need to use a comma before using the word ‘while,’ depending on the context that you are using it in. The word ‘while’ has two definitions. One means during the same time as something else. Used in this context, you would not use a comma before the word ‘while.’ However, if you are …
You can use either James’s house or James’ house. Both are acceptable depending on what style guide you follow. “James’s house” is correct if you are following the Chicago Manuel of Style and “James’ house” is correct if you are following the Associated Press Stylebook. James’s/James’ House Examples I went over to James’s house last …
Is it James’s house or James’ house? Which is correct? Read More »
The only time “decision maker” will need a hyphen is when you use it as an adjective. If you’re going to use it as a noun phrase or a title of status, then you do not use the hyphen. This means if you are uncertain in any given sentence, you will have to check how …
When you want to abbreviate the word for “professor,” you can use: Prof. or prof. The only difference between the two is the capitalization of the letter “P.” You would capitalize when it comes before a name and lowercase is only for those instances of note-taking or wanting to conserve space. Remembering this will be …
There are times when you hyphenate “10-year-old” and times when “10 year old” is unhyphenated. To know when to do which, the solution is as simple as finding where the phrase is, relative to the noun it describes. When the Noun Follows the Age When the noun follows the described age, you hyphenate the phrase …
Commas in compound sentences serve to assist the joining word in connecting two different ideas in a way that makes sense visually. They go before the joining word to cause a visual break. Here’s how commas work in compound and other complicated sentences. Sentence Clauses and Types Sentences are made of groups of words called …
