Tag Archives: punctuation
Stringing Sentences Together in English Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 3, 2022
Every good writer in English knows how to string sentences together. But sometimes, it can be overdone. Let’s take a look at the fine art of stringing sentences together. Breaking Up Is Easy, Staying Together is Hard When we write a sentence in English, we all understand that it must have a subject and a…
The Highly Versatile Em Dash Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 7, 2021
I’ve often remarked on this page that punctuation is a very important and often neglected part of learning English. Of all the little squiggles and lines that make up the world of punctuation, perhaps the most versatile and popular is what we call the em dash. Let’s take a look at what it is, how…
Using Parenthesis (In English) Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 2, 2020
In my capacity as an editor, I often find that the parenthetical statement is overused and misunderstood. And the use of parenthesis as a form of punctuation seems to perplex even the best writer. Let’s see if we can fix that, shall we? What is a Parenthetical Statement? A parenthetical statement, often called a parenthetical…
Consider the Semicolon Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 4, 2018
It sits on our keyboards next to the L, below the colon, and beside the apostrophe and quotation marks. Neither a comma nor a period, the semicolon is a tool for connecting thoughts, erasing confusion, and adding style to any piece of writing. I’ve never understood the confusion over how to use a semicolon, yet…
Linking English Sentences Together Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 26, 2017
As you begin to learn a language, you start small. Words have one syllable. Sentences are short and basic. There is nothing wrong with keeping your words and phrases simple. People will understand you. However, you know that people don’t really speak in short sentences all the time. It just isn’t easy to know…
Punctuation Makes the Difference! Posted by Gabriele on Apr 5, 2012
I recently saw the above joke floating around* Facebook and it of course got me thinking about punctuation. In a previous post I addressed the names of punctuation marks in English, but I did not discuss their usage. So, that is what we will be covering today! Punctuation marks constitute the system of symbols that…
Differences Between the US and UK Computer Keyboard Posted by heather on Jan 21, 2012
Yesterday Erin took you through the signs and symbols that you will find on your computer keyboard. She even explained the name for each symbol. Another element she mentioned is that there are different keyboards for different countries. If you have ever sat down at a computer whilst in the United Kingdom and tried to…