Hello there! Welcome to the beginning of what might become a new series at emhawkerblog.
I call it the beginning, but really, this is the second post (hence the ‘part II’ in the title). The first post went live about half an hour ago over at Maxabella loves, where Bron asked me to write a post about grammar for her Teach Me series.
Grammar is a big topic. Big. Huge. So I started with punctuation. I covered (the absolute basics of) full stops, commas, apostrophes, slashes, colons and semi-colons at Maxabella loves.
And here, I’ll cover (the absolute basics of) brackets, dashes (both em- and en-, with a side note on hyphens), ellipses, question marks and exclamation marks.
Now excuse me while I put my writer, editor and proofreader hat on. Just steadying the magnifying glass… there we go. Let’s hop to it. *high-fives self for putting in a bunny reference four days before Easter*
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( )
Ah, brackets. Parentheses. Most commonly used for asides (like this one), digressions (which rhymes with impressions), and to include text that is (arguably) optional.
The two most common errors I see made with brackets: forgetting to include the final bracket (seriously, it is amazing how often this happens [I’m tempted to leave this open to prove my point, but I just can’t do it]); and placing other punctuation on the wrong side of a bracket.
So keep this in mind. If the text in brackets is a fragment (like this one), the punctuation goes outside of it (like that comma did, and like this full stop will). If the text in brackets is a complete sentence, it goes inside. (Here’s an example sentence so you can see what I mean.)
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Dashes get a little more tricksy. So tricksy in fact that the font and word processing system I’m using for this blog won’t let me display them properly above, so you get a hyphen instead. (Note to Alanis: now THAT is ironic. Don’t you think?)
The en-dash is the shorter version. It should be used when specifying date ranges. The em-dash is longer. It has become the standard for separating text in a similar way to brackets and commas. So if you want to highlight something – or simply point out an alternative – em- is the way to go (and not just because it’s my name).
And all those dashes in my mentions of en-dash and em-dash? They’re actually hyphens. Hyphens join words and word fragments together to make new words. And hyphens are shorter than en-dashes, which are shorter than em-dashes. Are you still with me? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
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Those three dots? That’s an ellipsis. And that’s what it should always look like. Three dots. Not two. Not four. Not ten. Three little dots in a neat little row.
The ellipsis shows that a sentence is not complete. Sometimes it signals missing words: perhaps a superfluous word or two omitted from a quote in an article with a strict word limit. Sometimes it shows a complete lack of speech, most commonly in transcripts where someone doesn’t speak or refuses to answer a question.
Sometimes it just leaves you hanging. Perhaps someone is trailing off as they speak. Perhaps they are leaving something open to interpretation. The ellipsis can leave you hanging without resolve. Or it can do this…
… and then this. Quite the cliffhanger.
?
What’s that? Oh, hello there question mark! This one is pretty straightforward. You use a question mark to show that something is a question. Enter Captain Obvious, stage left.
It can become complicated when combined with other forms of punctuation. Where do you put a question mark when using brackets within a sentence (like this one)? At the end. What about a question mark when using brackets around a whole sentence? (What do you think you should do?) What about quotation marks? Well, I might dedicate a whole post to quotation marks, if you’re interested. But we’ll get to your grammatical queries at the end of the post. If you stick with me that long. Let’s move on.
!
Aha! The exclamation mark! Once used sparingly, you’ll see this little guy everywhere these days. Especially if you’re a fan of the music of P!nk.
You use the exclamation mark when you want to convey excitement! Fear! Anger! Outrage! Insane levels of weeping and hysteria! OMG ZAYN LEFT ONE DIRECTION WAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!! And sometimes you use it in conjunction with a question mark. Because doesn’t this look so exciting?!
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And that’s it! Well, that’s not it. That’s all I can fit into a single post on these particular punctuation marks. Phew.
I’m going to take my writer, editor and proofreader hat off. (If you’ve joined me from Maxabella loves, you’ll know there has been a lot of hat-swapping so far.) And I’m going to put my much more comfortable linguist hat on for one final message.
Language is constantly changing. Constantly evolving. And that includes the use of punctuation and what is deemed ‘correct’ or ‘appropriate’.
I might read this post in twenty years’ time and laugh. In fact, if I read some of the text messages and emails I have stored and then read this post, I’d probably laugh right now. We’re seeing punctuation become more important in forms of communication where intonation and body language don’t play a part (and this post that I shared yesterday alludes to that).
Don’t fret if you don’t understand how to use punctuation correctly. Just keep it simple. And know that it will probably all change one day anyway. Reassuring, isn’t it?
Linguist hat off. Writer, editor and proofreader hat back on. Remember: if you’re no good at using punctuation, you can always hire someone to edit your work. Someone who knows enough about grammar to write blog posts about it, for example. *high-fives self for including a very subtle, barely noticeable plug*
Writer, editor and proofreader hat off. Parent hat on. My children are asking me to read a book. The dictionary counts as a book, right?
Are you interested in seeing more posts on grammar? What would you like me to cover?
And if you’re a fellow editor, hit me with your best shot. How many typos made it through the final edit? There’s always at least one…
Loving this series, Em! You’re speaking directly to my English nerd heart. x
Thanks Sonia. I think it’ll keep going!
Ah the old en and em dash, eh?! Whose idea was it to create so many different sized dashes?! It makes everything complicated. Whenever I try to explain it to people at work, I’m met with glazed eyes. Another great post. Would LOVE to see more of this.
I know! Those cheeky dash creators – what where they thinking? (And what were WordPress thinking when they made it impossible to use them in the comments?!)
You are the Grammar Guru! You can never have too much grammar! More, please!
Thanks Sammie! More will be on its way later this month.
Is it ok to say that my brain hurts? It is such a good thing that most programs underline the bad sentence form these days, and at least give me the chance to correct my bad form! If the green line is absent, and the grey/red line is not visible, I am claiming all is good with the world! Currently burying my head in the sand!!
That’s okay! Although perhaps you should see a doctor. Squiggly lines are very helpful, but they miss things. And sometimes they squiggle perfectly valid things!
Gawd I love your guts! Nice work Em – you make punctuation fun!
Woohoo! Give me a P! Give me a U! Give me a… nah, forget it. The word is too long!
Not only am I paid up lifetime member of EMA!, I am also a member of Ellipses Overuse Anonymous… I really use them a lot… I think it’s my inability to commit to anything; I figure if I leave my comment trailing, it will seem like I’m JUST about to say something intelligent if you just wait a while… … … … … or not. x
Love it! I campaign against apostrophe abuse. The anti-apostrophe abuse administration. (However, I’m clearly pro-alliteration.)
Oh golly I am useless at this stuff. While everyone else was studying English, my brain was firmly in the land of advanced maths and science. Please write lots more of these posts. Also, I’m sorry, my punctuation in these comments is probably really quite shite.
I was right there with you in maths! But yeah, I think my head was in English-land when it should have been paying attention to science. I loathed science!
Lol. This is such a fun way to learn punctuation!
Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit
Thanks Leanne! I’m so glad my fellow word nerds like this series. I’m still waiting for people to point out all the things I’ve missed, or the mistakes I’ve made.
You are hilarious! And extremely clever to make a post about grammar hilarious AND interesting! I thought I was a bit of know-it-all when it came to the written word but I did NOT know that an ellipsis was called an ellipsis and is meant to be three dots!! I have been using at least four dots all this time and I now stand corrected! Looking forward to learning much more from you!
I’m seriously amazed that people find me hilarious! Hooray! And the easiest way to remember is to call the ellipsis a dot-dot-dot. (It’s totes legit: you’ll find it in the dictionary.)
I haven’t got much time here to write I have too many glaring errors to go fix 🙂
Thank you for all the tips.
You’re welcome! Glad to help. (And I hope it was a help rather than an annoyance.)
I’m a card carrying member of both EMA! and Ellipses Overuse Anonymous. I never realised that an ellipses was exactly three dots. I’ve always been partial to five dots but from now on, I’m going to do it properly… Thanks Em – what a handy and informative series! Your talents never cease to amaze me. Where exactly do you store all your hats?!
This comment made me giggle because I actually do have a lot of hats. Hats of the actually-a-hat variety, not the metaphorical-roles-of-Emily variety. I have a hatstand. And I have a constantly engaged brain with no off button.
I always had wondered about punctuation and brackets. Thank you also for differentiating the use of en-dashes and em-dashes! I hope I’ve used the right punctuation in my comment! I love these posts!
Thanks for your comment! Made me smile. And also made me feel like this was a totally worthwhile post to publish! More to come soon.
Thank you for these awesome posts and I loved how you started a sentence with an and. I think this beautifully sums up how things change. Once upon a time it was a no go, but now it’s a goer. The exclamation mark has won me over and I use it with abandon now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it x
It is absolutely 100%ly totally okay to start a sentence with an and. Or an or. Or even a but. But not a… nope, can’t think of a word you can’t start a sentence with! Maybe him?
Em, your overview is fantastic. So easy to understand. You are doing great things for those of us who twitch at the sight of misplaced or lost punctuation.
I’m a rule-follower. No doubt about it. That is why I love grammar and punctuation rules. (Even though I’m not perfect at it.) You even addressed a punctuation quandary I had been having for some time. Thanks x
Thank you Shannon! Glad to help. I’m curious about your punctuation quandary – would love to know what it is! And if you have any more. They could become future blog posts.
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I love how you write about punctuation in such an interesting way Em! I must admit I’m an exclamation mark over-user … Oh now I’m questioning to use of that dash!! Bah! Your voice will be in the back of my mind when I write blog posts from now on
You should do a post on emoji use! Lol!
Thank you, Lauren! I’m not anti-exclamation mark. I just think that when there are more sentences with exclamation marks than without, that perhaps it needs editing. (Diplomatic, yes?)
Emojis may make an appearance – I’ve already covered Oxford’s ‘word’ of the year though if you’re interested in an emoji-related read. x
This is great Em. I try so hard but as a 71 baby and hence the 70s primary system we were taught amazing spelling but nothing to do with grammar! My kids are learning more about punctuation than I know! Even things like different types of writing text.
Comma’s are my really big area of mystery! I honestly try not to use them because I am never sure when I should. So I am far more likely to have a short sentence than anything using a comma. Adverbs, Adjectives, Persuasive text, word placement in sentences urgh it all makes me dizzy with confusion!
Any help you can give an ageing writer will be much appreciated xoxo
That’s really interesting. I think I mainly picked it up from reading, reading, reading. Then grammar-related subjects simply solidified the knowledge. I’m from the generation that were taught neither grammar NOR spelling – participation awards for everyone!
Nothing wrong with short sentences. Definitely preferable to rogue commas. x