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When an adverb clause -- it has a subject and verb and a word out in front of it that is part of the clause and is used to answer when, where, why, how -- starts a sentence, it is always followed b...

This was a FB question: ...It is a "Don't worry. It's okay. I understand" situation... It is okay to have the periods in the middle of the quoted material that is an adjective. Commas don't work...

Unless a fraction, which should be written out in words when it stands alone, is a direct adjective, it is NOT hyphenated. ...three-fourths vote... ...two-thirds majority... ...two thirds of the ...

Much of my time is being consumed these days with my efforts to write my new book -- Word Pares, Pears, Pairs. I am determined to have it out by the end of January! Apropos of my new book, there w...

When certain adverbs are pulled out to the front of a sentence and are used to form a bridge -- that is, show a relationship -- between two sentences, they become conjunctions which we call conjunc...

Remember that but needs an independent subject and verb after it in order to have a comma in front of it. ...didn't really see him, but she tried to get him on the phone. ...didn't really see him ...

Remember that a number or word that denotes an item in a list must be surrounded by punctuation. Sometimes that punctuation is something other than commas. ...in Indiana; two, in California; three...

When a word represents one of the parties to the lawsuit, it should be capped. ...People will prove that... ...showing that the Union witness said... ...insist that the Government state that... H...

The use of ellipses to show trailing off has gained favor in many segments of the court reporting community. Many reporters express a desire to distinguish between a speaker who trails off and a s...