Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In English writing, quotation marks or inverted commas, also known informally as quotes, talking marks, [1] [2] speech marks, [3] quote marks, quotemarks or speechmarks, are punctuation marks placed on either side of a word or phrase in order to identify it as a quotation, direct speech or a literal title or name.
"A comma goes before 'and' or 'or' in a series of three or more: Sn, K, Na, and Li lines are invisible." Plain English Handbook, Revised Edition (McCormick-Mathers Publishing Co., 1959), § 483, p. 78 "Use commas to separate the items in a series of words, phrases, or short clauses: The farmer sold corn, hay, oats, potatoes, and wheat."
The Gregg Reference Manual: A Manual of Style, Grammar, Usage, and Formatting is a guide to English grammar and style, written by William A. Sabin [1] and published by McGraw-Hill. The book is named after John Robert Gregg. The eleventh (“Tribute”) edition was published in 2010.
Do not follow quoted words or fragments with commas inside the quotation marks, except where a longer quotation has been broken up and the comma is part of the full quotation. Correct: "I began to change, opening the way to confidence and courage", said Turner. Correct: "I began to change," said Turner, "opening the way to confidence and courage."
Commas are placed between items in lists, as in They own a cat, a dog, two rabbits, and seven mice. Whether the final conjunction, most frequently and, should be preceded by a comma, called the serial comma, is one of the most disputed linguistic or stylistic questions in English: They served apples, peaches, and bananas. (serial comma used)
Exclamation points (!) should usually only be used in direct quotes and titles of creative works. Bold type is reserved for certain uses. Quotation marks for emphasis of a single word or phrase are incorrect, and "scare quotes" are discouraged. Quotation marks are to show that you are using the correct word as quoted from the original source.
Punctuation in the English language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. [1] English punctuation has two complementary aspects: phonological punctuation, linked to how the sentence can be read aloud, particularly to pausing; [2] and grammatical punctuation, linked to the structure of the sentence. [3]
The question comma has a comma instead of the dot at the bottom of a question mark, while the exclamation comma has a comma in place of the point at the bottom of an exclamation mark. These were intended for use as question and exclamation marks within a sentence, a function for which normal question and exclamation marks can also be used, but ...