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A prepositional phrase beginning with "of" that represents where a person works or where he is from and that follows a proper noun takes commas around it. Other prepositional phrases do not take th...

Most of us know the rule "Do not hyphenate an '-ly' word." This rule perhaps need a little more definition. Do not hyphenate an adverb that ends in "-ly" to the word after it. ...recently built h...

...We were there, know what I mean, with them, know what I mean, when one of them drew a gun, know what I mean, and began to threaten everyone. Happy punctuating! Margie

The terms "essential/nonessential" NEVER apply to a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases that are adjectives tend to be right after the word they modify; prepositional phrases that are adver...

The dictionary shows full-time hyphenated as an adverb. ...He works full-time. ...She was there full-time. As an adjective, it follows the rules: Hyphenate it as a direct adjective; do not hyphen...

Hyphenate a fraction as a direct adjective; otherwise, it is not hyphenated. ...two-thirds cup... ...two thirds of a cup... ...three fourths of the vote... ...three-fourths vote... Regular fract...

This is an email question from yesterday. ...…Okay. Now, you told us, Ms. Ryan -- right? -- at one point you got up you left the room and you went to the bathroom. Is that right? Amid all the o...

When there is a quantity, measurement, distance, value, amount that is expressed as a direct adjective (right in front of a noun) AND there is an "s" on the adjective, use an apostrophe "s" when it...

If someone's age is being described and there is no noun that is being modified, there are no hyphens. ...He is five years old. ...She is 55 years old. When the combination becomes a direct adjec...