Copyright N?_ COFKRIGHT DEPOSIT. PRACTICAL ENGLISH PUNCTUATION J PRACTICAL ENGLISH PUNCTUATION M. LYLE SPENCER, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LAWRENCE COLLEGE aty* (EalUgtat? ^reaa GEORGE BANTA PUBLISHING COMPANY MENASHA, WISCONSIN 1914 Co V COPYRIGHT, I914, BY THE GEORGE BANTA PUBLISHING COMPANY Published May, 1914 AUG 26 1914 )CI,A379549 {L~^ Sin Flournoy Poindexter Spencer \ PREFACE The purpose of the present volume is twofold. First, it is designed as a guide for students who wish to learn, under the direction of a teacher, to write correctly punc- tuated sentences and paragraphs. Second, it is intended as a practical reference book for writers, business men, professional men, and any other persons who may wish occasional help in matters connected with the punctua- tion of written manuscript. In either case the governing idea of it is practicalness. Because the book is written from the standpoint of practicalness, it is not only incomplete, — in that not every rule of punctuation is included, — but often dogmatic in statement. If the author had been writing with a view to exhaustiveness of treatment, there are many rules which, though of service only on rare occasions and by a very limited few, could not have been omitted. Like- wise, there are many other rules the inclusion of which would have relieved the book of its dogmatic state- ments — because such rules, in giving the different ways of punctuating the same kind of phrase or clause, would have obviated the necessity of presenting only a single viewpoint. But at the same time, all this additional matter would have merely added to the amount of ma- terial that the student must learn, without giving him a corresponding increase of serviceable knowledge. In those places, therefore, where the inclusion of several rules governing the same kind of phrase would result in little more than an enumeration of precepts for the sake of completeness, — thereby proving an actual hin- drance rather than a help, — the author has deliberately viii Practical English Punctuation chosen what seemed to him the best of the different ways and has said, this shall be so. Further, in an effort to make the book practical, us- able, the author has employed the term punctuation in its broadest sense. Not only has hyphenation been treated, but compound words as well ; not only the capitalization of proper names in general, but the specific kinds of proper names that are to be capitalized; not only the punctuation of abbreviations, but the prevailing usage governing the writing of abbreviations ; — so that the book as a whole, with its rules governing the use of quotations, foot-notes, letters and letter writing, and the general sub- ject of the preparation of manuscripts, may be found to be a compact, convenient, and reasonably full compend- ium of rules for the guidance of all persons who have need to write. One other matter connected with the preparation of the book deserves especial mention. The rules herein set down have not been made from the waitings of Thack- eray, Scott, Dickens, and authors of their time or earlier. If one is frank, one must admit that the punctuation as well as the style of such writers is a bit antiquated now, that it is not entirely modern. Consequently, the models used in this guide-book have been, as far as possible, con- servative modern authors, such as William Dean Howells, Henry James, Robert Herrick, recognized contributors to present-day standard magazines, and other writers like these. As far as possible, let it be emphasized, these authors have been followed ; for the present writer would not be altogether positive that the rules given in this volume have Preface ix been devised wholly from the writings of these men. Try as one will, one cannot by dint of mere resolution rid him- self of the influences of teachers under whom one has studied or of authors whose textbooks he has taught. And it may be that the present writer is more indebted than he knows to such writers as Professor Alphonso G. Newcomer, Professor John Duncan Quackenbos, Pro- fessor Edwin C. Woolley, the late Professor J. Scott Clark, and others for interpretations of rules that are included in this volume. If so, of whatever is their in- fluence in this book he is deeply appreciative. This opportunity is taken to make acknowledgment to Miss Ella Klumb, of Lawrence College, and to Mr. Roy H. Jones, of Appleton, Wisconsin, for valuable correc- tions of errors in the first draft of the book. M. L. S. Lawrence College, April, 1913. CONTENTS Page I Punctuation 1 II The Manuscript 2 III Capital Letters . 11 IV The Period 24 V The Colon 26 VI The Semicolon ........ 29 VII The Comma . 33 VIII The Interrogation-Point 48 IX The Exclamation-Point 49 X The Dash 51 XI Parentheses 56 XII Brackets 59 XIII Quotation-Marks 60 XIV Italics . 72 XV The Apostrophe 76 XVI The Hyphen 78 XVII Ellipses 87 XVIII Foot-notes 89 XIX Bibliographies 91 XX Abbreviations 92 XXI Numbers 96 XXII Letter Writing 99 XXIII Marks Used in Correcting Themes . . 113 XXIV Specimen Corrected Proof Sheet . . 114 XXV Exercises 117 SYNOPSIS OF THE RULES I. PUNCTUATION 1. Definition of the term punctuation II. THE MANUSCRIPT 2. Carelessly prepared manuscripts 3. Neatness and legibility of the manuscript 4. Choice of paper 5. Legibility 6. Black ink 7. Space between title and subject-matter 8. Introductory pronouns 9. Margins 10. Crowded lines 11. Pagination 12. Space at the top of each page 13. Spelling 14. Paragraph indentation 15. Consolidation of paragraphs 16. Leaving parts of lines blank 17. Beginning lines with punctuation marks 18. Insertion of words 19. Erasures 20. Restoration of erased words 21. Transposition of words 22. Underscoring 23. Folding and endorsing the manuscript III. CAPITAL LETTERS 24. First word of a sentence 25. Verse and formal quotations 26. Proper nouns and adjectives 27. Difficulty in recognizing proper names 28. Class names 29. Titles of books, etc. 30. Common nouns joined with proper names 31. Names and titles of the Diety 32. Names of the Bible 33. Titles of honor, respect, office, or profession 34. Names distinguishing nationality or locality 35. Cardinal points 36. Names of festivals, etc. 37. Historical documents, epochs, etc. 38. Expositions, conventions, etc. xiv Practical English Punctuation 39. Clubs, corporations, political parties, etc. 40. Governmental departments, etc. 41. Ordinal numbers 42. Names of buildings, squares, parks, etc. 43. Solar bodies 44. Proper names in general 45. Personified objects 46. Independent sentences introduced by colons 47. First word of tabular items 48. Pronoun / and interjection O 49. Prefixes von, de, etc. 50. German nouns 51. Abbreviations of academic degrees and honorary titles 52. Sir and Madam in salutations 53. Broken lines 54. After Whereas and Resolved in resolutions 55. In botany and zoology 56. Nouns followed by capitalized roman numerals 57. Excessive capitalization IV. THE PERIOD 58. Imperative, exclamatory, and declarative sentences 59. Abbreviations 60. Roman numerals 61. Decimal numbers 62. Time tables 63. After side-heads 64. In headings and inside addresses of letters V. THE COLON 65. Between independent clauses 66. Formal quotations 67. Formal enumerations 68. Before namely, viz, etc. 69. After formal salutations 70. In biblical references and time indications 71. To separate place of publication from name of publisher 72. General usage VI. THE SEMICOLON 73. Between independent clauses 74. In formal enumerations of particulars 75. In biblical references 76. Instead of commas 77. In a long series of clauses ' Synopsis of the Rules xv 78. After yes and no 79. Not in simple or complex sentences VII. THE COMMA 80. Between independent clauses 81. Interrogative sentence following a declarative 82. Transposed words, phrases, and clauses 83. Words, phrases, and clauses in a series 84. Modifying adjectives 85. Before the conjunction in a series 86. Omitted before conjunctions in a series 87. Not after a series when used as a subject 88. In a formal enumeration of particulars 89. Non-restrictive modifiers 90. Relative clauses 91. Dependent adverbial clauses 92. Adverbial modifiers in general 93. Adjective and participial modifiers 94. Parenthetic expressions 95. Appositives 96. After namely, that is, i.e., etc. 97. Contrasted words and phrases 98. Adverbs and adverbial phrases 99. Modifying words in separate phrases or clauses 100. Vocatives 101. Explanatory dates and geographical names 102. Phrases indicating residence, position, or title 103. Volume, page, and line numbers 104. Academic and honorary titles 105. Surname followed by initials 106. Absolute construction 107. After yes, no, well, why, etc. 108. After interjections 109. Before short quotations and maxims 110. Words repeated for emphasis 111. To indicate the omission of words 112. Between name of author and title of book 113. After the subject of a sentence 114. In a compound predicate 115. To set off certain adverbs, conjunctions, etc. 116. In large numbers 117. After the salutation in personal letters 118. Broken lines 119. In headings and addresses of letters 120. After Resolved and Whereas in resolutions 121. General usage 122. Close punctuation xvi Practical English Punctuation VIII. THE INTERROGATION-POINT 123. After questions 124. After an interrogative part of a sentence 125. In parentheses IX. THE EXCLAMATION-POINT 126. After interjections and exclamatory phrases and clauses 127. To express doubt or sarcasm 128. After imperative and declarative sentences X. THE DASH 129. To mark a sudden break in the thought 130. Parenthetic expressions 131. Parenthetic expressions within parenthetic expres- sions 132. To indicate informal apposition 133. Before explanatory phrases 134. Before a formal quotation 135. When introducing formally a separate sentence element 136. Before summarizing words 137. Before namely, viz., etc. 138. Between a quotation and its author 139. In dialogue 140. To produce a rhetorical effect of pause 141. Between extreme dates and numbers 142. After the period following a side-head 143. To indicate the omission of letters in a name XI. PARENTHESES 144. Parenthetic phrases and clauses 145. Punctuation before and after parentheses 146. Interchangeable with dashes 147. Abbreviations of political parties 148. In titles of newspapers and magazines 149. Figures and letters in enumerations 150. About interrogation-points expressing doubt XII. BRACKETS 151. Interpolations in direct quotations 152. To correct mistakes in quotations 153. Parentheses within parentheses 154. To enclose notes and explanations Synopsis of the Rules xvii XIII. QUOTATION-MARKS 155. Direct quotations 156. Verse 157. Quotations of more than one stanza 158. Grouping lines of verse 159. Long prose quotations 160. Paragraph indentations in quotations 161. Informal quotations 162. Dialogue or conversation 163. Quotations within quotations 164. Verse within a prose quotation 165. Interpolated expressions in quotations 166. Relative position of quotation-marks 167. Indented lines in quotations 168. Quotation-marks at the end of quotations 169. Exactness necessary in quotations 170. Indirect quotations 171. Titles of books, plays, poems, etc. 172. Technical terms 173. In translations 174. Words in definition 175. Slang, colloquial, and coined words 176. Nicknames 177. Titles of themes XIV. ITALICS 178. Magazines, newspapers, and ships 179. Side-heads and paragraph titles 180. Foreign words 181. For emphasis 182. Whereas and Resolved in resolutions 183. To be Continued, Concluded, etc. 184. Reference words and abbreviations 185. In responsive readings 186. . Letters of the alphabet 187. Titles after signatures XV. THE APOSTROPHE 188. Possessive case 189. Possessive case singular 190. Possessive case plural 191. Possessive case of appositive nouns 192. Double possessive 193. Other possessives xviii Practical English Punctuation 194. Possessive pronouns 195. Omission of letters or figures 196. Plurals of figures, letters, and words 197. Past tense of coined verbs XVI. THE HYPHEN 198. Compound words 199. Compound numbers spelt out 200. Ordinal numbers 201. Fractional adjectives 202. Compound adjectives 203. Time indications 204. Compound nouns 205. Hyphenated prefixes 206. Prefixes written solid 207. Hyphenated suffixes 208. Suffixes written solid 209. Varying suffixes 210. Compounds of abnormally associated words 211. General usage concerning compounds 212. Hyphenated words 213. Words written solid 214. Words written separately 215. Omission of part of a compound word 216. Word division 217. To indicate s}dlables 218. To mark roots, prefixes, and suffixes 219. To indicate stammered words XVII. ELLIPSES 220. In quotations XVIII. FOOT-NOTES 221. References XIX. BIBLIOGRAPHIES 222. Usage XX. ABBREVIATIONS 223. Abbreviations to be avoided 224. Permissible abbreviations 225. Personal titles 226. Foot-notes and bibliographical matter Synopsis of the Rules xix 227. Business correspondence 228. Caution XXI. NUMBERS 229. Street numbers, dates, etc. 230. Ordinal numbers 231. Cardinal numbers 232. Large and small numbers in same sentence 233. Sums of money 234. Caution XXII. LETTER WRITING A. Letters in the First Person 235. Order of the heading 236. House numbers 237. Omission of Street, Avenue, etc. 238. The date 239. Punctuation of the heading 240. Place of the inside address 241. Order of the inside address 242. Omission of titles in the inside address 243. Punctuation of the inside address 244. Place of the salutation 245. Proper salutations 246. Improper salutations 247. Beginning of the body of the letter 248. Common errors 249. Place of the complimentary close 250. Proper complimentary closes 251. Improper complimentary closes 252. The signature 253. The envelop 254. Order of the outside address 255. Punctuation of the outside address 256. Abbreviations in the outside address B. Letters in the Third Person 257. Form of notes in the third person 258. Abbreviations 259. Pronouns of the first and second person wrong 260. Future tense wrong in notes of acceptance and regret 261. The paper 262. The envelop Practical English Punctuation I. PUNCTUATION 1. Definition. — Punctuation is usually defined as the use of points and marks for the sake of emphasizing and making clear sentences and parts of sentences. Such a definition, however, is incomplete. It does not, for ex- ample, note the fact that correct punctuation, like good English words, must be national, present, and reputable. In like manner, it does not note that many words, phrases, clauses, and sentences are emphasized or made clear, not only by points and marks, but also by their position on the written or printed page, or by the form in which they ap- pear. Long, formal quotations, for instance, are punc- tuated not only by points and marks, but by their position and arrangement on the page; foot-notes are placed at the bottom of the page and numbered ; words at the end of a line may be divided only between syllables ; figures are not permissible at the beginning of sentences ; the first lines of new paragraphs are indented; margins are necessary at the left side of the page; and so on in- definitely. It seems fair to say, therefore, that, in its broadest sense, punctuation may concern itself with any of the mechanical processes connected with the prepara- tion of written or printed manuscript. And it is in this broader, looser sense that the term is interpreted and used in this volume. 2 Practical English Punctuation II. THE MANUSCRIPT 2. Carelessly Prepared Manuscripts. — It is un- fortunate, but nevertheless true, that too many of us are careless to the point of slovenliness and inaccuracy about the purely mechanical features of our manuscripts. Yet a composition's plainness and legibility are as important to a reader as a speaker's delivery and articulation are to his audience. If one's hearers are continually puzzling over what one is saying, and straining attention to catch what one may say next, it is obvious that they cannot enjoy one's remarks to the fullest extent, no matter how good such remarks may be. In like manner, if an in- structor, or any reader for that matter, is compelled to puzzle over misshapen and illegible letters and words in an essay, it stands to reason that any enjoyment or fair criticism of the composition will be an impossibility. On this point Herbert Spencer's testimony should not fail of careful perusal by every writer : A reader or listener has, at each moment, but a limited amount of mental power available. To recognize and interpret the symbols presented to him requires part of this power; to arrange and combine the images presented requires a farther part; and only that part which remains can be used for realizing the thought conveyed. Hence, the more time and attention it lakes to receive and understand each sentence, the less time and attention can be given to the contained idea, and the less vividly will that idea be conceived. 1 3. Neatness and Legibility. — It is only wisdom on the part of a writer, therefore, to pay particular atten- tion to the neatness and legibility, and the various other 1. Philosophy of Style, p. 5. The Manuscript 3 mechanical details of his manuscript. And since almost any writer can, with due care, present a neat, clear, read- able manuscript, it seems worth while to offer a few practical suggestions for the guidance of writers. 4. Choice of Paper. — Unless there are specific reasons for not doing so, write on unruled letter paper of about 8 x 10 or 8J x 11 inches in size. Choose paper that is of a neutral tint — grey, yellow, or manila brown — and not sufficiently glazed to present a glossy surface. 5. Legibility. — Write with painstaking care for legibility. a. Avoid angularity (inclining too far forward) in the formation of letters. The vertical system is the most legible. b. Leave a liberal space between the horizontal lines of the manuscript; and do not let the sub-linear strokes of fs, g's, fs, p's, q's, y's, and z's in one line descend below the general level of the Vs, d's, fs, tis, k's, Vs, p's, and fs in the line below. c. Leave a liberal space between consecutive words in the same line. Two separate words should never be run together. d. Do not leave extra space between letters in the same word. Avoid especially a gap between a capital letter and the letter that follows. e. Leave a double space after a period, a colon, a semicolon, an exclamation-point, or a question-mark, and before initial and after final quotation-marks. f. Do not fail to dot all is and fs and to cross all fs and x's. And be careful that the dots are directly above the i's and fs and that the ^-strokes are horizontally across the fs, and not across adjacent Vs or Vs. g. Do not write and on an oblique line. h. Avoid conspicuous shading and all flourishes that are not necessary to identify a letter. 4 Practical English Punctuation 6. Black Ink. — Write with black ink, or on a type- writer, and on only one side of the paper. 7. Space between Title and Subject-Matter. — Leave not less than a half-inch of clear space between the title of the essay and the subject-matter. 8. Introductory Pronouns. — Do not begin an es- say with a pronoun the antecedent of which is to be found only in the title. Bad Beginning for a Theme. — Sherman's march to the sea In September, 1865, with sixty-five thousand men, he began his famous march to the sea, which he reached the following December. Right. — Sherman's march to the sea In September, 1865, with sixty-five thousand men, William Tecumseh Sherman began his famous march to the sea, which he reached the following December. 9. Margins. — Leave a blank margin of at least an inch at the left side of each page. a. If the margin is ruled on the paper, the lines of writing should begin at the ruled margin. No margin should be left at the right of the page unless a marginal line is ruled there. If the margins are ruled all about the paper and there is a difference in the width of the margins at the top and the bottom of the sheet, the broader margin should be kept at the bottom of the page, as it may be of most use for foot-notes there. 10. Crowded Lines. — Do not crowd the lines at the bottom of the page ; take a new sheet of paper. 11. Pagination. — Number the pages of the manu- script at the top, in arabic, not in roman, numerals. The Manuscript 12. Space at the Top of Each Page.— Write the first line of each page not less than an inch from the top of the page. 13. Spelling. — Scrutinize carefully the spelling of every word. a. Many students complain that they cannot tell, even by a careful perusal of their themes, when a word is incorrectly spelled. Here is an infallible preventive for mispelled words, — one that must be followed by every student when in the slightest doubt : Every word in the manuscript is to be regarded by the writer as mis- spelled until the dictionary has been consulted and the word is seen to be spelled correctly. b. The following commonly misspelled words should be carefully studied by every student who has trouble with his spelling : (1) accept (v). Not to be confused with except {prep). (2) accommodate. (3) achieve. (4) acknowledgment. (5) advice (n). (6) 1 advise (v). (7) 1 affect (v). How did it affect you? (8) all right. There is no such word as "alright." (9) allusion. Not to be con- fused with illusion. (10) altar (n). An altar in the church. (11) alter (v). The tailor will alter the suit. (12) angel. An angel in Heaven. (13) angle. He views it from a different angle. (14) appearance. (15) appertain (v) . (16) appurtenance (n). (17) assassin. (18) ! assistance. (19) athlete, athletic. No e between the h and the /. (20) believe. (21) benefit. (22) berth. Not to be con- fused with birth. (23) borne. Different from born. (24) burglar. (25) business. Note that the i comes after the s. (26) calendar. (27) capitol. Not to be con- fused with capital. (28) ceiling. (29) choose (present tense). (30) chose (past tense). (31) Christian. (32) clothes. Different mean- ing from cloths. (33) coming. Practical English Punctuation (66) •) comparative. (67) exaggerate. )) conceive. (68) excellent. >) concur. (69) existence. )' concurred. (70) fascinate. >) confectionery. (71 ) : finally. Two l's in fi- ) continually. nally, and only one i. )) control. (72) 1 forty. Not "fourty." ) controlled. (73) grammar. ) corps. A squad of men. (74) grievous. No i after ) ; corpse. A dead body. the v. -) councilor. A member of (75) guard. a council. (76) height. There is no ) counselor. An adviser. such word as"heighth." >) current (adj). (77) hindrance. ) deceased. Burial of the (78) illusion. Not to be con- deceased warrior took fused with allusion. place today. (79)' imagine. Only one m. )' definite. (80) immigrant. One who descent (n). comes into a country ) describe. There is only is an immigrant. Not one i in describe. to be confused with ) description. emigrant. 1) desert. A dry, sandy, (81) imminent. Not to be uninhabitable region. confused with eminent. ) dessert. The last course (82) independent. at a dinner. (83) Indians. Spelled with a )' develop. No e after the capital letter. P. (84) indispensable. ) difference. (85) inferred. ) different. (86) infinite. ) dining-room. (87) inoculate. )' disease. Afflicted with a (88)' inquisitive. grievous disease. (89) irrelevant. Not "irre- ) divine. velant." ) drowned. There is no (90) irresistible. such word as "drown- (91) its. There is no apos- ded." trophe in the pronoun ) dying. its; it's is an abbrevia- ) effect. Not to be con- tion for it is. fused with affect. (92) itself. One word, not ) Eliot, George. two. ) embarrass. (93) judgment. )' emigrant. Not to be (94) kindergarten. confused with immi- (95) laid. Not "layed." grant. (96) later. Later in the day. ) etc. Abbreviation for (97) latter. The latter of et cetera. Not "ect." two. The Manuscript (98) led. Not like the tense of read. past (99) lightning. Not an e after the t. (100) loose (adj) 1 . (101) lose (v) 1 . (102) luxurious. (103) Macaulay. (104) maintenance. (105) manifold. (106) mantle. Distinguish be- tween this word and mantel. (107) maybe (adv). (108) mischievous. No i i the v. ifter (109) misspell. No hypher tween the two si's. i be- (110) mortgage. (111) mountainous. (112)' movable. (113) murmur. The second syllable is spelled ex- actly like the first. (114) negroes. (115) nervous. (116) Niagara. (117) nickel. The e comes fore the /. be- (118) ninth. (119) noticeable. (120) obedience. (121) occasion. Two c's only one j. and (122) occur. One r only. (123) occurred. Two r's. (124) omission. (125) omit. (126)' one's. Note the apos- trophe in the possess- ive case. (127) oneself. One word; "one's self." not (128) opportunity. (129) parallel. (130) partner. (131)' perform. Not "preform." (132) picnic. (133) picnicking. (134) precede. (135) preference. (136) preferred. (137) preparation. (138) principal (adj)l The principal personage. (139) principal («)'. The prin- cipal of the school. (140) principle («). A man of good principl es. (141) privilege. (142) procedure. (143) proceed. (144) 1 professor. Only in the word. one / (145) pursue. (146) quantity. Not " ity." quan- (147) quiet {ad]). A afternoon. quiet (148) quite (adv). Not sold out. quite (149) quizzes. (150) receive. (151) recommend. (152) reference. (153) referred. (154) relieve. (155) remembrance. (156) repetition. (157) resistance. (158) rhythm. (159) salary. (160) seize. (161) separate. (162) serviceable. (163) siege. (164) similar. Not an i the /. after (165) speech. (166) Spencer, Herbert. (167) Spenser, Edmund. (168) stationary (adj). (169) stationery (n). 8 Practical English Punctuation (170) statue. Do not confuse (184) too (adv). with stature. (185) two {adj). (171)' studying. (186) tremendous. No i after (172) sufficient. the d. (173) suffrage. No e between (187) truly. the / and the r. (188) tyranny. (174) summary. (189) until. Only one / in the (175) superintendent. word. (176) surprise. (190) valleys. (177) systematic. ( 191)' vegetable. (178) tendency. (192) vengeance. (179) Thackeray. (193) village. (180) their (pron). Not to be (194) villain. confused with there (195) Wednesday. {adv). (196) weird. (181) therein. (197) wield. (182) thoroughly. Not (198) withal. ''throughly." (199) woman {singular). (183) to {prep). (200) yield. 14. Paragraph Indentation. — When beginning a new paragraph, indent at least three quarters of an inch, irrespective of where the preceding paragraph has ended. a. No exception is made to this rule because the paragraphs are numbered. The first words of the first lines of all paragraphs should begin at the same distance from the margin. No other lines than the first lines of paragraphs (verse of course excepted [see 156]) should be indented in the least. b. The present stenographer's fad of leaving a wider space between paragraphs and beginning the first lines of all paragraphs flush with the left margin of the page, is not good usage. 15. Consolidation of Paragraphs. — When it is necessary to consolidate two paragraphs, draw a line from the end of the first to the beginning of the second and mark "No fl" in the margin opposite where the con- solidation is to be made. Likewise, when it is necessary to separate one paragraph into two, insert the paragraph The Manuscript 9 symbol (fl) immediately before the word that is to begin the new paragraph. 16. Leaving Parts of Lines Blank. — Do not leave part of a line blank after the end of a sentence, unless that sentence ends the paragraph. If there is room, begin the next sentence on the same line. 17. Beginning Lines with Punctuation Marks. — A line should never be begun with any other mark of punc- tuation than a dash, quotation-mark, or the first of a pair of parentheses or brackets. Wrong. — If the men who favor the motion will make a care -ful study of the problem, they will see that the city will be a big loser by such an ordinance. Right. — If the men who favor the motion will make a care- ful study of the problem, they will see that the city will be a big loser by such an ordinance. 18. Insertion of Words. — When it is necessary to insert a word or a phrase in a sentence, write the word or phrase above the line and indicate with a caret ( /\ ) below the line the proper place for the insertion. 19. Erasures. — Make erasures by drawing a single heavy line through the word or words to be canceled. a. Do not use parentheses to indicate erasures, as they have other very different uses. (See paragraphs 144 to 150.) A printer will not omit, but will set up in type, parentheses and everything found within them. 20. Restoration of Erased Words. — Indicate the restoration of an erased word or phrase by a line of dots beneath it. 21. Transposition of Words. — Indicate the trans- position of two words or phrases by drawing a continuous line over the first and under the second. 10 Practical English Punctuation 22. Underscoring. — Underscore once for italics, twice for small capitals, and three times for CAPITALS. Use wave-line underscoring to indicate heavy-face type. 23. The Manuscript. — Do not under any circum- stances roll a manuscript. And unless the number of pages makes the essay too bulky to fold, do not fasten the sheets together. Where short themes of not more than eight or ten pages are presented, fold only once — transversely across the middle, bringing the top of the theme to the bottom. Then, holding the folded theme in this position, with the top brought to the bottom, endorse with name, class-section, and date on the upper right-hand corner of the paper. Such a way of folding and endors- ing enables the instructor to file any number of essays with accuracy and to find any theme with a minimum amount of trouble. a. Manuscripts intended for publication should al- ways be mailed flat. Capital Letters 11 III. CAPITAL LETTERS 24. First Word of a Sentence. — Begin the first word of every complete sentence with a capital letter, unless the sentence follows one to which it is so closely related in thought that the two are separated by a colon or a minor mark of punctuation. Right. — Toward the south were the railway station and the business section of the town; toward the north extended the residence district and the churches. a. Exception 1. — When a compound interrogative sentence is made up of questions that are closely related in thought, the question or questions following the first may be begun without a capital letter. (See 123 a.) Right. — But what of his employer? what of the building in which he worked? what of the town that will permit such buildings ? b. Exception 2. — A parenthetic sentence enclosed in parentheses or dashes and interpolated in another sent- ence, is not begun with a capital letter. Right. — When he comes in June (we may expect him this time), some sort of special entertainment must be given him. Right. — If you will come with us, — and I hope you will finally decide to come, — we shall then lack only one of having the party complete. c. Care should be taken not to capitalize and begin as a new sentence a group of w T ords that is not an independ- ent statement, but the concluding member of a preceding phrase or clause. Wrong. — The course afforded him ample leisure for study and investigation. At the same time giving him an opportunity to support himself. Right. — The course afforded him ample leisure for study and investigation, at the same time giving him an opportunity to support himself. 12 Practical English Punctuation d. For the capitalization or non-capitalization of the first word of a sentence following an exclamatory word, phrase, or clause, see 126 b. 25. Verse and Formal Quotations. — Capitalize the first word of every direct formal quotation and of every line of verse. a. Verse, unless only a fragment of a line, should be quoted in verse form, with a capital at the beginning of each line. But when fragmentary quotations and frag- ments of lines of verse, even though quoted exactly, are used as grammatical elements in a sentence, the first word is not usually capitalized. (For the punctuation of direct quotations, see 66, 109, 155-169.) Right. — He cited the following lines from Beattie's Minstrel: Far to the west the long, long vale withdrawn, Where twilight loves to linger for a while. Right. — It was Mrs. Browning who said, "Every age appears to souls who live in it, most unheroic.' , Right. — Fletcher has said somewhere that nothing is "so dainty sweet as lovely melancholy." 26. Proper Nouns and Adjectives. — Capitalize proper names and adjectives derived from proper names. Exception 1. — The names of the seasons are not capitalized : as, spring, niidsummer, autumn, etc. Exception 2. — When a proper noun or adjective has been used so long that it has lost its primary significance of reference to the name from which it took its meaning, it is not capitalized. Such words are cologne, morocco, platonic, stoical, india (rubber), castile (soap), levant, etc. Exception 3. — In zoology the names of species, even though derived from proper names, are not capitalized : as, Corvus americanus, Ursus himalayanus, etc. Exception 4. — See 32 a. Capital Letters 13 27. Difficulty in Recognizing Proper Names. — It would seem an easy enough matter to say that every proper name should be capitalized, and to capitalize such words when one has occasion to use them ; but in reality it is often difficult for one to determine precisely when one is using a proper noun. For this reason it seems advisable to make the following subrules in explanation of the general rule for the capitalization of proper names : — 28. (1) Class Names. — Capitalize a class name when it is used as a generally recognized distinguishing title: as, the Union, the United Kingdom, Heaven (but heavens), God (but gods), etc. (See 26, Exception 2.) a. For this reason one should capitalize such words as father, mother, sister, etc., when they are used as dis- tinguishing titles and without any idea of class refer- ence. But when such nouns are made to serve the double purpose of naming both an individual and a class, they are usually regarded as common nouns and are written with small letters, even though they may unquestionably distinguish individual persons or ob- jects. Right. — It is Father's belief that stubborn men are often wrong, but seldom dishonest. Not Good. — My Father says that stubborn men are often wrong, but seldom dishonest. Right. — My father says that stubborn men are often wrong, but seldom dishonest. b. Names of college classes, unless referring to a specific class of a certain year in a definite college, are not capitalized. Wrong. — He will be a Freshman at Kentucky Wesleyan next year. Right. — He will be a freshman at Kentucky Wesleyan next year. 14 Practical English Punctuation Wrong. — A meeting of the freshman class [meaning a spe- cific class] will be held immediately after chapel. Right. — A meeting of the Freshman Class [meaning a spe- cific class] will be held immediately after chapel. 29. (2) Titles of Books, etc.— Capitalize the first word and all the important words in the titles of books, poems, magazine articles, plays, pictures, ancient manu- scripts, etc. : that is, the first word and all the other words except articles, demonstratives, prepositions, conjunc- tions, auxiliary verbs, relative pronouns, and other pro- nouns in the possessive case. a. Usage varies greatly here. Some writers capital- ize even prepositions when they are long, while others capitalize only the nouns and verbs. The American Library Association, following continental usage, has adopted the practice of capitalizing only the proper names and the first words of titles. b. As a rule, the definite article preceding the titles of newspapers and magazines is not treated as a part of the title. c. In such titles, all nouns — but not other parts of speech — forming parts of hyphenated compounds are capitalized: as, English Folk-Songs, but Stories of the True-blue Fathers. 30. (3) Common Nouns Joined with Proper Names. — Write with a capital letter common nouns when used with proper names and meaning the same thing, whether connected by or without a preposition : as, Yel- lowstone Park, Cape of Belle Isle, Borough of Manhattan, Alexander the Great, etc. a. Where the name is made up of several words, capitalize the first word, whatever it may be, and all other words except such unimportant ones as articles, conjunc- tions, and prepositions. Capital Letters 15 b. Distinguish between proper names and nouns modified by words derived from proper names : as, Brit- ish Isles, but British islands; Chinese Republic, but Chi- nese immigrants; Westminster Abbey, but Westminster linen; etc. c. Failure to distinguish between proper names and nouns modified by proper adjectives is accountable for the present tendency to write with a small letter such words as river, street, square, college, etc., when joined with proper names. Not Good. — Fox river, Oneida street, Madison square, Smith college. Right. — Fox River, Oneida Street, Madison Square, Smith College. 31. (4) Names and Titles of the Deity. — Begin with capitals the names and titles of the Deity, of Jesus Christ, of the Virgin Mary, and of the Trinity. a. The personal pronouns he, his, him, thou, thy, thee, when referring to the Deity, are also capitalized. Right. — When the holy Virgin, mother of our blessed Lord, came to the place, etc. Wrong. — Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, etc. Right. — Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, etc. 32. (5) Names of the Bible. — Names of the Bible and other sacred books, of the versions of the Bible, and of the books and divisions of the Bible and of other sacred books, are capitalized. a. Adjectives derived from such names are not usual- ly capitalized. Right. — The Scriptures, the Book of Books, the Koran, the King James Version, the Septuagint, the Old Testament, the Psalms, Judith; but biblical, scriptural, apochryphal. 33. (6) Titles of Honor, Respect, Office, or Pro- fession. — Begin titles of honor, respect, nobility, office, 16 Practical English Punctuation or profession with capitals : as, Right Reverend R. H. Weller, Father Ryan, King George, President Wilson, ex- President Roosevelt, Professor Naylor, etc. a. Capitalize personal epithets when prefixed like official titles before the names of individuals : as, Aunt Martha, Farmer Watson, Brother Marsh, etc. b. When coming after the name, an official title other than that of a sovereign or a high government official is not usually capitalized : as, /. T. Littleton, dean of the Woman's College ; D. D. Peele, professor of English, etc. c. When a person who has been mentioned by name and title is afterwards referred to by his title only, the title is capitalized. Right. — Governor Mann added that he would call out every soldier in the state, if necessary, to ensure a fair trial to an arrested man. At this point the Governor was roundly applauded. d. Official titles in direct address are capitalized, even though used without the name. But such titles as your honor, my lord, sir, madam, etc., when used alone, are not capitalized. Right. — He says, Colonel, that your regular seat is in the smoking car at the front. Right. — But, your honor, the defendant is sure of being able to prove an alibi. e. The prefix ex- before a title is not capitalized and does not affect the capitalization of the title. Right. — It is reported that ex-President Roosevelt and ex- Senator Beveridge were in conference yesterday at Oyster Bay. 34. (7) Names Distinguishing Nationality or Lo- cality. — Nouns and adjectives of distinct nationality or locality are written with capital letters : as, German, Yankee, Creole, Hoosier, the Old World, etc. Capital Letters 17 Exception. — The noun negro is not capitalized. This is not a discrimination against the colored race. It is due to the etymology of the word, — from the Latin niger, black. 35. (8) Cardinal Points. — Capitalize the names of the cardinal points when they are used as nouns or proper adjectives referring to definite sections of the country; otherwise a small letter is used. Wrong. — There is no doubt that the south had a legal right to secede. Right. — There is no doubt that the South had a legal right to secede. 36. (9) Names of Festivals, etc. — Begin the names of festivals, holidays, the days of the week, and the months of the year with capitals : as, Pentecost, Easter, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, New Years, Fourth of July, etc. (See 26, Exception 1.) 37. (10) Historical Documents, Epochs, etc. — Documents, events, and epochs of recognized historical, literary, or geological importance are written with capital letters : as, Magna Charta, Boston Tea Party, Dark Ages, Renaissance, Pleistocene, etc. 38. (11) Expositions, Conventions, etc. — The names of expositions, conventions, conferences, con- gresses, etc., are capitalized. Right. — The Panama Exposition is to be held at San Fran- cisco in 1915. Right. — The Democratic Convention met at Baltimore in 1912. Right. — The Hague Conference settled it for all time. 39. (12) Clubs, Corporations, Political Parties, etc. — Write with capitals the names of clubs, colleges, fraternities, political parties, religious denominations, 18 Practical English Punctuation monastic orders, scientific societies, literary and artistic schools, commercial and industrial institutions, railroads, and organizations generally : as, Riverview Country Club, Kappa Alpha Fraternity, United Steel Company, Demo- crat, Methodist, Jesuit, etc. 40. (13) Governmental Departments, etc. — When specifically applied, the names of governmental depart- ments and of administrative, judicial, and legislative bodies and their branches, are written with capital letters : as, Congress, Parliament, Reichstag, Bureau of Educa- tion, Supreme Court of the United States, Committee on Rivers and Harbors, etc. a. Federal and state departments and officials are custom&rily distinguished from each other by capitalizing the names of federal bodies and officers and not capitaliz- ing those of the states. Right. — After being a member of the Minnesota senate for three terms, he was elected twice to the House of Congress. 41. (14) Ordinal Numbers. — Ordinal numbers used to designate sessions of Congress, names of regi- ments, political divisions, Egyptian dynasties, etc., are written with capital letters. Right. — The Fifty-third Congress adjourned that day. Right. — The Second Alabama Regiment was passing by. Right. — During the Second Dynasty it must have occurred. 42. (15) Names of Buildings, Squares, Parks, etc. — Names of buildings, blocks, squares, parks, thorough- fares, etc., are capitalized : as, Singer Building, Hunt Block, Trafalgar Square, Washington Park, Appian Way, North Shore Drive, etc. Caution. — Except in connection with the name of the place in which they are located, do not capitalize such Capital Letters 19 general names as court-house, high-school, library, post- office, etc. 43. (16) Solar Bodies. — In astronomy the names of the bodies of the solar system, except earth, moon, sun, are capitalized: as, Jupiter, the Great Bear, the Milky Way, etc. 44. (17) Proper Names in General.— In general, capitalize any word or words when used to refer to or to distinguished a particular person, place, animal, or thing : as, Queen Mob, Utopia, Rover, Nirvana, Angelus, Last Supper, Liberty Bell, etc. 45. Personified Objects. — Capitalize abstract ideas and inanimate objects when strongly personified. a. Considerable care should be exercised fin the capitalization of personified nouns. In prose writing it is not in good taste to capitalize such nouns unless their personification would be unmistakable without the use of a capital. In poetry capitals are somewhat more freely used. Right — And others came — Desires and Adorations, Winged Persuasions and veiled Destinies, Splendors, and Glooms, and glimmering Incarnations Of hopes and fears, and twilight Fantasies; And Sorrow, with her family of Sighs, And Pleasure, blind with tears, led by the gleam Of her own dying smile instead of eyes, Came in slow pomp. — Shelley. 46. Independent Sentences Introduced by Colons. — When an independent sentence that would have full meaning when standing by itself is introduced by a colon, the first word is often capitalized. 20 Practical English Punctuation Right. — My summary of him and his theories is this : He believes in government of himself, for himself, and by himself. 47. First Word of Tabular Items. — Begin with a capital letter the first word of each item of a series when the items are placed each on a separate line, or when they are distinctly marked by cardinal numbers and periods. a. When setting down a list of items in tabular form, be careful that the relation of the items to the context and to each other is made entirely clear, — that the list, in the same manner as a quotation of verse (see 158), is set apart from the matter preceding and following it, that the first line of each item extends farther to the left than the other lines of that item, etc. (See 149,) Wrong. — The different counts on which he was indicted were : a. Destruction of documents that were necessary in the government's suit and were expected to prove both him and the company criminally negligent; b. Perjury; c. Misuse of the company's funds for a period of three years preceding his resignation as its at- torney ; d. Jury bribing; any one of which would have been sufficient to convict him in any court in the country. Right. — The different counts on which he was indicted were : a. Destruction of documents that were necessary in the government's suit and were expected to prove both him and the company criminally negligent ; b. Perjury; c. Misuse of the company's funds for a period of three years preceding his resignation as its attorney ; d. Jury bribing; any one of which would have been sufficient to con- vict him in any court in the country. Capital Letters 21 b. When the items of a series are written, not in tabular form, but continuously on the same line or lines, better usage requires that they be marked by letters, or cardinal numbers, enclosed in parentheses, and that the first word of each item begin with a small letter. Permissible. — The chief points that he touched were: 1. The effect of the parcel post on the country merchant; 2. Inter- urban railways ; 3. Civic playgrounds ; 4. The nickel theatre and its growing influence. Better. — The chief points that he touched were: (1) the effect of the parcel post on the country merchant; (2) interurban railways; (3) civic playgrounds; and (4) the nickel theatre and its growing influence. 48. Pronoun I and Interjection O. — Write the pro- noun / and the interjection O with capital letters. a. The following distinctions in the prose usage (the rule does not hold in poetry) of the interjections and oh should be noted: oh expresses deeper emotion than 0; except at the beginning of a sentence, oh is writ- ten with a small letter, O always with a capital; the former usually requires a comma or an exclamation-point after it, while the latter is seldom followed by any punc- tuation at all; and oh is used always by itself, while O serves only as a poetic or archaic sign of direct address. Wrong — Oh ! no, I never bother about him. We have come before thee, Oh King. Right. — Oh no, I never bother about him. We have come before thee, O King. Oh, we had a fairly good time. Oh ! You scared me. 49. Prefixes "von," "de," etc. — Capitalize the pre- fixes von, de, di, le, la, etc., when not preceded by Chris- tian name or title. a. The continental practice, however, which regularly writes such prefixes with small letters, is followed by many American and English writers. 22 Practical English Punctuation b. Exception. — In Dutch names Van is usually capitalized. Permissible. — He quoted from de Quincey. Better. — He quoted from De Quincey. Wrong. — I had read Thomas De Quincey's Confessions. Right. — I had read Thomas de Quincey's Confessions. Wrong. — Stephen van Rensselaer was the founder of Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute. Right. — Stephen Van Rensselaer was the founder of Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute. 50. German Nouns. — Because in written German all nouns are capitalized, an unanglicized German noun when used in an English context should be capitalized. (See also 180.) Right. — Possessed of the Wanderlust and das Selbstvertrauen, he began his journey to the city. 51. Abbreviations of Academic Degrees and Hon- orary Titles. — Abbreviations of academic degrees and honorary titles are capitalized. (See also 104.) Right. — Samuel Plantz, Ph.D., D.D., is president of Lawrence College. Right. — "Her children first of more distinguish^ sort, Who study Shakespeare at the Inns of Court, Impale a glow-worm, or vertu profess, Shine in the dignity of F. R. S" — Pope. 52. "Sir" and "Madam" in Salutations. — Capitalize Sir and Madam in the salutations of letters. (See also 69, 117, 244-246.) Right. — Mr. F. P. Young, Appleton, Wisconsin. Dear Sir : 53. Broken Lines. — Begin with a capital letter the first word of the latter part of a broken line, as in the subscription of letters. (See also 118, 249-251.) Capital Letters 23 Right. — I am, Yours very truly, John Doe. 54. After "Whereas" and "Resolved" in Resolu- tions. — In resolutions the first word following such introductory words as Whereas and Resolved is capital- ized. (See also 120, 182.) a. In resolutions for debate, if a comma — according to better usage — is placed after the Resolved, the word immediately following is not always capitalized. Right. — Whereas, The students have . . . ; and Whereas, The faculty has . . . ; therefore be it Resolved, That we most heartily endorse, etc. Right. — Resolved, that the college summer vacation should be shortened. 55. In Botany and Zoology. — Capitalize the names of classes, families, and genera in botany and zoology, but not the names of species unless derived from proper nouns. Exception. — See 26, Exception 3. 56. Nouns Followed by Roman Numerals. — Nouns followed by capitalized roman numerals indicating order in sequence are capitalized: as, Act II, Book IV, Grade III, Part II, etc. a. But nouns followed by arabic numerals or non- capitalized roman numerals, are not usually capitalized: as art. 2, chap. 6, I. 16, n. 2, p. 48, scene iv, sec. in, etc. 57. Excessive Capitalization. — Avoid excessive capitalization. a. Do not capitalize such words as astronomy, ath- letics, college, convention, department, fraternity, high- school, history, measles, professor, rhetoric, etc. 24 Practical English Punctuation IV. THE PERIOD 58. Imperative, Exclamatory, and Declarative Sentences. — A period should be placed after imperative sentences, after sentences but slightly exclamatory, and after every complete declarative sentence not connected in a series. (See also 126, 128.) Right. — Do not forget to cultivate your mind and to enlarge your thought. Right. — How much more joyfully one remembers his mother's turnovers than his father's. Right. — It is stated that the proportion of unmarried women is growing larger in America every year. 59. Abbreviations. — Place a period after abbrevi- ated words and after single or double initial letters repre- senting single words : as, Rev., Ph.D., LL.D*, p., etc. (Concerning the use of abbreviations, see 223-228.) a. In hyphenated abbreviations, the first part of the compound does not take a period : as, kw-hr. for kilowatt- hour. Exception 1. — The period is omitted after chemical symbols, the format of books, the phrase per cent, and the abbreviation for manuscript: as, NaCl, 8vo, MS, etc. Exception 2. — In technical writing a period is not placed after the recognized initial abbreviations for the titles of familiar publications and well-known linguistic epochs: as, OE {Old English), OHG {Old High Ger- man), etc. Exception 3. — After contracted words (which are sometimes termed abbreviations), where one or more let- ters are omitted and their omission indicated by an apos- trophe, a period is not placed : as, can't for cannot, etc. 60. Roman Numerals. — A period is not usually put after roman numerals. The Period 25 a. The period after a roman numeral is still occa- sionally found, but the later usage — because the period serves no real need after the number — is much the more common. Good. — Henry VI. was the son of Catharine of France. Better. — Henry VI was the son of Catharine of France. 61. Decimal Numbers. — Place a period before decimal numbers that are written in figures, even if a whole number does not precede. Right. — His rifle was a .44-inch calibre. Right. — The amount that he received was only $13.81. 62. Time Tables. — In many modern railway and steamship time tables, and often in business correspond- ence, a period instead of a colon (see 70) is put between hours and minutes in time indications : as, Ar. New York, 4.10 p. m. 63. After Side-Heads. — A period is placed after side-heads. Right. — Compare the period following any of the side-heads in this volume. 64. In Headings and Addresses of Letters. — A period is placed at the end of the last line of headings and the inside addresses of letters. (See 239, 243, 255.) 26 Practical English Punctuation V. THE COLON 65. Between Independent Clauses. — A colon is placed between two independent clauses in a compound sentence when the second clause, by way of explaining the thought, adding an illustration, or repeating the same idea in other words, stands in some sort of apposition to the first. a. If the second clause, however, is adversative or introduces any change or advance in thought, a colon is not used. (See 73.) Right. — There were an unusual number of excellent sites available in Henderson, which had been laid out, as Ralph once remarked, with an eye for beauty: a knoll overlook- ing the north stretch of the river; Hanson's Hill to the west of the town ; and, best of all, two double lots facing the city park. Right. — The dare in the eyes of the leading lady suddenly began to fade : a footstep was sounding down the hall. Right. — His prayer for justice was respected : they swung him up immediately. 66. Formal Quotations. — A colon is used to intro- duce a formal quotation. (See also 25, 109, 155-169.) a. But if the formal quotation is not directly intro- duced by the preceding sentence, a period instead of a colon is used. Right. — The writer also makes this statement : "There is every reason to believe that this disease plays a larger part in the production of idiocy than has hitherto been admitted by writers on insanity." Right. — In order to prove my statement, I will now read what my client wrote. "Somewhere about January 2d," he begins, "you may expect me " 67. Formal Enumerations. — A formal enumeration of particulars is introduced by a colon. (See also 47, 74, 88.) The Colon 27 a. Such enumerations are usually preceded by words and phrases like says, thus, for instance, the following, etc. Often, however, such words and phrases are merely implied, the colon taking their place. b. Caution. — Note that no punctuation at all is needed before a simple, informal list of particulars. Wrong. — He has correlated all his material into four general rules; first, develop your ability; second, develop your reliability; third, develop your endurance; fourth, develop your action. Right. — He has correlated all his material into four genera! rules: first, develop your ability; second, develop your reliability; third, develop your endurance; fourth, develop your action. Right. — The members of the English faculty are the presi- dent of the college, an assistant professor, and a theme reader. Right. — There are three members of the English faculty, as follows : first, the president of the college, who does little or no teaching at all ; second, an assistant professor, on whom the entire burden of responsibility for the depart- ment rests ; and, third, a theme reader who does all the drudgery. 68. Before "namely," "viz.," etc. — A colon is placed before such words as namely, as, that is, e.g., viz., etc., when introducing an example or an illustration. (See also 96, 137.) Right. — A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun : as, he, she, them. a. Exception. — When as is used to introduce par- enthetically an illustration in a sentence, only a comima is placed before the as, and no punctuation follows the word. (See 94.) Right. — The matron of honor, as in preceding years, intro- duced the clergyman to the guests. 28 Practical English Punctuation 69. After Formal Salutations. — A colon is placed after the salutation in formal letters and after the salu- tatory remark of the speaker when addressing the chair- man or his audience. (See also 52, 117, 244-246.) a. There is no need of a dash after the colon. A dash merely requires an additional amount of the writer's time without adding to the clearness or the precision of the salutation. Right. — The Pettibone-Peabody Co., Appleton, Wis. Dear Sirs : Right. — Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: 70. In Biblical References and Time Indications. — A colon is placed between chapter and verse in biblical references and between hours and minutes in time indica- tions. (See also 62.) Right.— Luke 3: 7-15. Right. — The boat sails at 10 :30 a. m. 71. To Separate Place of Publication from Name of Publisher. — A colon is used in title-pages, in cata- logues of books, and in bibliographies generally to sep- arate the place of publication of a book from the name of the publisher. Right. — See illustrations in the bibliography (page 139) of this book. 72. General Usage. — In general, a colon is placed after any word, phrase, or clause that is used to introduce formally an addition of any kind. The Semicolon 29 VI. THE SEMICOLON 73. Between Independent Clauses. — A semicolon is used to separate the independent clauses of a compound sentence when they are loosely connected, especially when a sharp change or advance in thought is made by the second clause (no connective being used), or when the later clause is joined without and, but, for, or or to the first clause by such conjunctions as accordingly, besides, hence, hozvever, moreover, nevertheless, now, so, then, therefore, thus, yet, etc. (See also 65, 80.) "In nearly all such cases," says Newcomer, "it is possible to use a period, but a nice discrimination of rela- tions would be sacrificed thereby." 1 Wrong. — Little four-year-old waiters take the knives and forks and spoons and distribute them in the different places, they even carry trays holding as many as five water- glasses. Right. — Little four-year-old waiters take the knives and forks and spoons and distribute them in the different places; they even carry trays holding as many as five water- glasses. Wrong. — Before, in his revolt, he had come against a college tradition, now he found himself face to face with the problem of meeting social prejudice. Right. — Before, in his revolt, he had come against a college tradition ; now he found himself face to face with the problem of meeting social prejudice. 74. In Formal Enumerations of Particulars. — A semicolon is used to separate the larger groups of a formal enumeration of particulars that has been intro- duced by a colon. (See also 47 and 67.) 1. Elements of Rhetoric, pp. 269-70. 30 Practical English Punctuation a. But if the particulars in the enumeration are sin- gle words, or short phrases or clauses without any marks of punctuation within themselves, they are separated by commas. (See 88.) Wrong. — The chief points that he brought out were: (1) he was essentially honest, (2) he was full of bitter loyalty to his party, for which he had worked all his life, and (3) he was not responsible for the new outbreak of sentiment in the country. Right. — The chief points that he brought out were: (1) ! he was essentially honest; (2) he was full of bitter loyalty to his party, for which he had worked all his life; and (3) he was not responsible for the new outbreak of sentiment in the country. Wrong. — Attention may be called to the following five char- acteristics of his speech: humor; pathos; absolute clear- ness ; the climaxes ; and the terse epigrams. Right. — Attention may be called to the following five char- acteristics of his speech : humor, pathos, absolute clearness, the climaxes, and the terse epigrams. 75. In Biblical References. — A semicolon is used in biblical references to separate passages containing chap- ters : as, Dent. 2:17-24; 3:1-10; 4:4-16. 76. Instead of Commas. — A semicolon is used in a simple sentence to separate clauses and phrases that are in the same construction, but which are so broken by commas as to need some other sort of punctuation to keep the larger phrase- or clause-relations clear. a. It is evident that the semicolon in this instance performs the proper function of the comma and that its use thus is justified only by reason of the fact that it marks clearly the major divisions of the sentence or clause by avoiding confusion with commas that are per- forming other offices. The Semicolon 31 b. If in such a construction semicolons are used to separate some of the phrases or clauses, a semicolon should separate all. The phrases or clauses should not be separated some by semicolons and some by commas. Wrong. — The room was dim with the delicious steam of candied apples and quinces, almost crystalline because of long cooking, creamy, yellow custards that one likes to bite and feel melt away in the mouth, spiced dainties, pungent yet mild, and immense cakes heavy with fruit and nuts. Right. — The room was dim with the delicious steam of candied apples and quinces, almost crystalline because of long cooking; creamy, yellow custards that one likes to bite and feel melt away in the mouth; spiced dainties, pungent yet mild ; and immense cakes heavy with fruit and nuts. 77. In a Long Series of Clauses. — A semicolon is used to separate the members of a long series of clauses or phrases that have a common dependence on some other clause, phrase, or word. a. This use of the semicolon is found oftenest in res- olutions and long summarizing paragraphs. (See 182 a.) Right. — Because the summer vacation affords an opportunity for both students and teachers to obtain a much needed rest; because little profitable study can be done by growing boys and girls during the hot summer months of June, July, and August ; because many teachers need extra study, which can be obtained only during the summer vacation; because many students are compelled to earn their way through school, and a shortening of the vacation would necessitate their leaving college; I therefore maintain that the college summer vacation should not be shortened. 78. After "Yes" and "No."— A semicolon is put after yes and no when they do not serve as introductory words to the sentences before which they stand, the 32 Practical English Punctuation sentences that they would normally introduce having been omitted entirely. (See also 107.) Right. — Yes; and she gives such costly presents that one cannot give a little remembrance in return. 79. Not in Simple or Complex Sentences. — Do not use a semicolon between the members of a simple or complex sentence, except in accordance with rules 74, 76, 77. Wrong. — If the men who favor the motion will make a care- ful canvass of the club; they will find that a majority of the members are in favor of the old rule. Right. — If the men who favor the motion will make a care- ful canvass of the club, they will find that a majority of the members are in favor of the old rule. Wrong. — Though some thought that there was no harm in giving him a chance at the chairmanship ; others believed that he should have subordinated his ambition to that of the senator whose delegate he was chosen to be. Right. — Though some thought that there was no harm in giving him a chance at the chairmanship, others believed that he should have subordinated his ambition to that of the senator whose delegate he was chosen to be. The Comma 33 VII. THE COMMA 80. Between Independent Clauses. — A comma is used to separate the independent clauses of a compound sentence when short and closely connected. a. It should be noted that such independent clauses are practically always connected by conjunctions. It is permissible, though not advisable, to separate by commas clauses that are not connected by conjunctions, when such clauses are short, have no commas within themselves, and are closely parallel in construction and in thought. But except for such rare cases as these, the use of a comma to separate two grammatically complete, independent clauses not joined by a conjunction is an inexcusable rhetorical error. (See 73.) In particular, a comma should never be used to separate two independent clauses joined without and, but, for, or, or nor by one of the fol- lowing conjunctions: accordingly, also, besides, further- more, hence, however, indeed, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, so, still, then, therefore, thus, yet. Permissible. — I came, I saw, I conquered. Permissible. — He toiled for his family, he toiled for his friends, he toiled for the world at large. Wrong. — Laws that ran counter to the customs and habits of the people were made the subject of ridicule, they were termed "scarecrow" laws. Right.— -Laws that ran counter to the customs and habits of the people were made the subject of ridicule; they were termed "scarecrow" laws. Wrong.— He determined that his children should be students, thus he might walk by proxy in the Elysian fields of liberal learning. Right— Hz determined that his children should be students; thus he might walk by proxy in the Elysian fields of liberal learning. 34 Practical English Punctuation b. An independent clause introduced by so should not be confused with a dependent clause introduced by so that or an infinitive phrase introduced by so as to. So that introduces only dependent clauses ; so as to intro- duces only infinitive phrases ; and neither is preceded by any stronger mark of punctuation than a comma. Wrong. — He began fixing his watch a half-hour ago, so you may expect to find a few extra wheels in the nursery when you come. Right. — He began fixing his watch a half-hour ago ; so you may expect to find a few extra wheels in the nursery when you come. Wrong. — He practices diligently on his cornet every night; so that he may induce his neighbor next door to sell his house at a reduced price. Right. — He practices diligently on his cornet every night, so that he may induce his neighbor next door to sell his house at a reduced price. Wrong. — I fell backward ; so as to make him think I was hurt. Right. — I fell backward, so as to make him think I was hurt. 81. Interrogative Sentence Following a Declara- tive. — When a declarative sentence is followed imme- diately by an interrogative sentence which depends for its full meaning on the preceding declarative one, the two are separated by a comma. Right. — This is the first of the month, isn't it? Right. — You will stay with me, won't you? 82. Transposed Words, Phrases, and Clauses.— - Transposed words, phrases, and clauses are set off" by commas, unless the construction is entirely clear without the punctuation. Not Good. — In order to do this work must be begun early. Right. — In order to do this, work must be begun early. The Comma 35 Wrong.— Further I may say that she is aware of the honor that has been done her. Right. — Further, I may say that she is aware of the honor that has been done her. a. An introductory adverbial phrase that does not contain a verb which modifies distinctly a verb, an ad- verb, or an adjective rather than the whole sentence or clause, is not generally set off by commas. Wrong. — In my home town, there is a man with two little fingers on each hand. Right. — In my home town there is a man with two little fingers on each hand. Wrong. — Once upon a time, there lived a man who had thirteen dogs and thirteen cats. Right. — Once upon a time there lived a man who had thirteen dogs and thirteen cats. 83. Words, Phrases, and Clauses in a Series.— The members of a series of two or more words, phrases, or clauses standing in the same relation and not connected by conjunctions, are separated by commas. a. This of course includes the separation by commas of words and phrases arranged in pairs. Right. — She was tall, beautiful, well dressed, condescending. Right. — Working or playing, standing or sitting, in town or in the country, he was always up to some mischief. 84. Modifying Adjectives. — When the series is one of modifying adjectives, care should be taken that the adjectives are coordinate in value: that is, that one ad- jective does not modify another adjective as well as the following noun. Right. — A dark, blue sediment was in the bottle. Right. — A dark blue mountain towered before us. Right. — She was wearing a bright, red dress. Right. — She was wearing a bright red dress. 36 Practical English Punctuation 85. Before the Conjunction in a Series. — If in a series of three or mbre words, phrases, or clauses only the last two members are joined by a conjunction, the comma is inserted before the conjunction just as if there were no connective. a. This is done to prevent the last two members from seeming to be a single unit in the series. b. If the series ends with an etc., a comma is also placed before, and usually after, the etc. Not Good. — He took it, looked at it and opened it. Right. — He took it, looked at it, and opened it. Wrong. — Those who were first to send telegrams of congratu- lation to Mr. Wilson were Champ Clark, Underwood, Mann of Virginia, Harmon, Dix of New York, Bryan and Till- man of South Carolina. Right. — Those who were first to send telegrams of congratu- lation to Mr. Wilson were Champ Clark, Underwood, Mann of Virginia, Harmon, Dix of New York, Bryan, and Till- man of South Carolina. Wrong. — Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels etc. were the books he read at that age. Right. — Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, etc. were the books he read at that age. 86. Omitted before Conjunctions in a Series. — When a conjunction is placed between all of the members of a series, the comma is usually omitted, though it is sometimes used in order to give emphasis to each separ- ate member. Right. — In his trousers' pocket were worms and fish-hooks and candy. Right. — At last he had found comfort, and rest, and silence. 87. Caution. — When a series of words, phrases, or clauses forms the subject of a sentence, a comma is not placed after the last member of the series. The Comma 37 Wrong. — Red, white, blue, and green, were the prevailing colors. Right. — Red, white, blue, and green were the prevailing colors. 88. In a Formal Enumeration of Particulars. — In a formal enumeration of particulars that has been intro- duced by a colon, if the particulars are single words, or are short phrases or clauses without any marks of punctu- ation within themselves, they are separated by commas. (See also 74.) Wrong. — His themes may be classified under three heads : social satire; mental delusions; and child life. Right. — His themes may be classified under three heads : social satire, mental delusions, and child life. 89. Non-restrictive Modifiers. — Non-restrictive or explanatory modifiers are set off by commas. a. Restrictive modifiers are not normally separated from the words modified by any marks of punctuation. b. A non-restrictive modifier that does not complete the meaning of the clause within which it falls, is both preceded and followed by a comma. Right. — For some time I listened intently to the furious fusil- lade that met this winged spy. [Restrictive] Right. — It is inconceivable that he could have had the weapons in the room with him, if we may trust the testimony of the other occupants of the house. [N on-restrictive] Right. — But a few seconds later, when the smoke had been wafted away, I saw the air-ship still poised bravely above the earth. [N on-restrictive] c. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers — words, phrases, and clauses — are usually difficult to grasp and, hence, to punctuate; so it may be worth while taking time to explain non-restrictive modifiers at some length. The following are the more important ones — 38 Practical English Punctuation 90. (1) Relative Clauses. — Non-restrictive or ex- planatory relative clauses are set off by commas. Right. — He took us to see a house that he had bought the day before. [Restrictive] Right. — He took us to see his room, which we found sadly in need of cleaning. [Non-restrictive] 91. (2) Dependent Adverbial Clauses. — Non-re- strictive "adverbial clauses are set off by commas. a. As a rule, every adverbial clause, restrictive or non-restrictive, when it precedes its principal clause, is set off by a comma. Right. — I watched while he continued the search. [Restrict- ive] Right. — I watched in terror, while he continued the search as if he were unconscious of any danger. [N on-restrictive] Right. — He was on the point of leaving when I met him. [Restrictive] Right. — When I met him, he was on the point of leaving. 92. (3) Adverbial Modifiers. — Non-restrictive ad- verbial modifiers are set off by commas. Right — He read Mr. Ploville's name last and the whole list with exasperating deliberation, to keep us in suspense as long as possible. [N on-restrictive] Right. — He withdrew leisurely from the room. [Restrictive] Right. — He withdrew, leisurely too, from the room. [Non- restrictive] 93. (4) Adjective and Participial Modifiers. — Non- restrictive adjective and participial modifiers are set off by commas. Right. — The old and dilapidated house had been deserted for years. [Restrictive] Right. — The house, old and dilapidated, had been deserted for years. [Non-restrictive] Right. — We saw him giving up his seat in the first boat. [Re- strictive] The Comma 39 Right. — Giving up his seat in the first boat, he came and stood by us. [Non-restrictive] 94. (5) Parenthetic Expressions. — Set off by com- mas parenthetic words, phrases, and clauses, whether used at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. a. This rule, necessarily inclusive and vague, is easi- ly abused. Many parenthetic words and phrases are abrupt and plainly parenthetical, and should evidently be set off by commas, but others interrupt the flow of the thought so slightly that no punctuation of any kind is needed. Hence great care should be exercised in follow- ing the rule. When in doubt, omit the punctuation. ( See also 130, 144.) Right. — He firmly believes, as do many others, that a boy can read with enjoyment this simple classic page. Right. — The series now includes, besides many other standard books frequently used in schools, the texts most commonly studied for entrance to college. b. If a parenthetic expression occurs in a phrase or clause that is already separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, or if the expression is decidedly in the nature of an aside, parentheses or dashes, instead of commas, may be used to set the expression off from the remainder of the sentence. (See 131, 146.) c. On the contrary, a parenthetic expression oc- curring within a parenthetic expression that is already marked by dashes, is set ofif by commas. Right. — For the most loftily renowned of writers have made slips, — slips, indeed, which might be forgiven, but not justified, — and they have wished greatly in after years that they might change them. d. When a parenthetic expression that is set off by commas is immediately preceded by the connectives or, nor, but, or and, the comma that would normally come between the connective and the parenthetic expression is often omitted. 40 Practical English Punctuation Right — But to tell the truth, it was already time to adjourn. Right. — And besides, there was need for the money immedi- ately. e. When it is necessary to set off a parenthetic word, phrase, or clause by commas, do not fail (except as in d above) to put a comma both before and after it. Wrong. — It is my belief I may add, that the machine was im- perfect at first. Right. — It is my belief, I may add, that the machine was im- perfect at first. Wrong. — He did not insist, however on searching our trunks. Right. — He did not insist, however, on searching our trunks. /. The following eleven rules really come under 94, but for the sake of added clearness may be mentioned separately : — 95. (a) Appositives. — Non-restrictive appositional words and phrases, including those introduced by or, are set off by commas. a. Note that restrictive appositives — appositives used to distinguish the words they modify from other persons, places, or things called by the same name — are not set off by commas. This rule also applies (1) to indirect questions introduced by whether, what, who, and how in restrictive apposition with such nouns as the question, and (2) to that- clauses in restrictive apposition with such nouns as the fact, the belief, and the statement, or with the provisional subject it. Right. — The steamer Elgin arrived first. Right. — The adjective principal is often confused with the noun principle. Right— William the Silent died in 1702. Right. — William Henderson, the so-called silent barber, is the most popular tonsorial artist in town. Right. — "Politics, or the science of lying," said he unjustly, "is one of the causes of our lack of legislation." The Comma 41 Right. — The question whether he was present may possibly never be settled. Right. — The theory that he was referring to the king has never been proved. Right. — It is certain that he was in Italy at that time. b. The failure to set off by commas reflexive or in- definite pronouns joined for the sake of emphasis to nouns or other pronouns, is not an exception to the rule. Such pronouns are restrictive, and should not be set off by commas. Right. — The judge himself seemed dismayed. Right. — Somebody else confessed to the crime. c. In the case of informal apposition, if — were the appositive expression omitted — a comma would normally be put after the w^ord immediately preceding the apposi- tive element, a comma should precede each dash. (See 132.) 96. (&) After "namely," "that is," "i.e.," etc.— A comma is placed after namely, viz., that is, i.e., as, e.g., etc., when introducing an example or an illustration. (See also 68.) Wrong. — I had watched him anxiously all the year for two reasons : namely because I knew he was interested in the team and because I thought that he would be willing to help us. Right. — I had watched him anxiously all the year for two reasons: namely, because I knew he was interested in the team and because I thought that he would be willing to help us. 97. (c) Contrasted Words and Phrases. — Con- trasted words, phrases, and clauses are separated by com- mas. Right. — Hard work, not genius, is the stuff of which success is made. Right. — Hyde says romance is still alive, but fast dying. Right. — The more he whistles, the better he works. 42 Practical English Punctuation 98. (d) Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases. — Commas are used to set off adverbs and adverbial phrases and clauses when modifying, not a single word, but an entire clause or sentence and filling the office of a conjunction. a. After all, for example, for instance, furthermore, however, indeed, in fact, in short, moreover, nevertheless, the concessive now, of course, on the contrary, on the other hand, that is, the illative then, therefore, etc., are some of the adverbs that are thus set off by commas. b. There is considerable divergence in practice here. When the sentence is short, or when the adverb is felt to be intimately connected with the thought of the clause or sentence, the commas are omitted ; and often the mere position of the adverb determines the insertion or the omission of the punctuation. Right. — In the first place, let me say that I object to having sectarianism injected into the argument. Right. — The fact is, she laughed when she saw my feet slip from the ground. Right. — The question had therefore resolved itself into a matter of the veracity of the two men. Right. — The question, therefore, had resolved itself into a matter of the veracity of the two men. 99. (e) Modifying Words in Separate Phrases or Clauses. — When two or more coordinate phrases or clauses possess in common a word that is modified or governed by a different word in each phrase or clause, they are set off from the word and from each other by commas. Right. — He would have led us away from, rather than toward, the street for which we were looking. 100. (/) Vocatives. — Words used in direct address are set off by commas. The Comma 43 Right. — Marriage, little girl, is a lottery in which men stake their liberty and women their happiness. 101. (g) Explanatory Dates and Geographical Names. — A date explaining a previous date, or a geo- graphical name explaining a preceding name, is set off by commas. Caution. — When the explanatory date or geographical name does not conclude the clause in which it stands, do not omit the comma afterward. Right. — Wilbur Wright, inventor of the airship, died May 30, 1912, at Dayton, Ohio. Right. — Chicago, Illinois, is the second largest city in the United States. 102. (h) Phrases Indicating Residence, Position, or Title. — Before of in phrases indicating residence, position, or title a comma is placed : as, Mr. Herbert James Hagerman, of Roswell, New Mexico; Congress- man I. L. Lenroot, of the Eleventh Wisconsin District. 103. (i) Volume, Page, and Line Numbers. — A volume, page, or line number following the name of the book, magazine, play, or poem referred to, is set off by commas: as, Atlantic Monthly, cxn, 721; Deserted Vil- lage, 1. 21. 104. (/) Academic and Honorary Titles. — Aca- demic and honorary titles are separated from proper names and from each other by commas. Right. — Rev. A. O. Barclay, D.D., LL.D., was president of the college. 105. (k) Surname Followed by Initials — Baptismal names or initials following a surname are set off by commas. 44 Practical English Punctuation Right. — "Smith, E. M.," said the professor, "you may recite first." 106. Absolute Construction. — Participial phrases when used in the absolute construction are set off by commas. Right. — This being the last time she had heard from him, she was naturally very much uneasy. 107. After "Yes," "No," "Well," "Why," etc.— A comma is placed after such words as yes, no, well, why, etc., when introducing a sentence or a clause. (See also 78.) Wrong. — Yes I myself believe that he was in the wrong. Right. — Yes, I myself believe that he was in the wrong. 108. After Interjections. — Interjections that are but slightly exclamatory are followed by commas. (See also 48 a, 126.) Wrong. — Oh ! We had a fairly enjoyable trip. Right. — Oh, we had a fairly enjoyable trip. 109. Before Short Quotations and Maxims. — Short, informal quotations, maxims, and similar expressions are introduced by commas. a. But if the informal quotation or maxim is gram- matically connected with the rest of the sentence, the comma is omitted. (See 25 a and 161.) Wrong. — With Browning I exclaim "The best is yet to be." Right. — With Browning I exclaim, "The best is yet to be." Wrong. — I can truly say that, "my lines have fallen in pleas- ant places." Right. — I can truly say that "my lines have fallen in pleasant places." Wrong — The proverb that he quoted was "He learned the luxury of doing good." Right. — The proverb that he quoted was, "He learned the luxury of doing good." The Comma 45 110. Words Repeated for Emphasis. — Words re- peated for the sake of emphasis are separated by commas. Rig Jit. — Gold, gold, gold is the key that opens our doors in these modern days. 111. To Indicate the Omission of Words. — A comma is used to indicate the omission of one or more words from a sentence. Right. — To eat is human; to sleep, divine. a. Often, however, such constructions are smooth enough not to require commas. Right. — His first utterance was followed by cheers, his second by hisses. 112. Between Name of Author and Title of Book. — In foot-notes, catalogues of books, and bibliog- raphies generally, a comma is placed after the name of an author when followed immediately by the title of his book. Right. — Quackenbos, J. D., Practical Rhetoric. Right. — Lewis, Business English. 113. After the Subject of a Sentence. — A comma is placed after a subject that ends in a verb, or is long and complex, or one that is made up of several parts which are themselves separated by commas. Right. — Whatever is, is right. Right. — One of the largest wildcats ever seen in that vicinity and the first one of any size that has been caught near Waukesha for some time, was captured by a farmer east of the town. 114. In a Compound Predicate. — A comma is used to separate the members of a compound predicate when long or widely separate in thought. 46 Practical English Punctuation Right. — He nearly always gives to every beggar he meets, but is careful to remark afterward that he has just given a little dinner to an acquaintance of his. 115. To Set off Certain Adverbs, Conjunctions, etc. — A comma is placed before or after certain words, especially adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions, to distinguish them from the same words used as dif- ferent parts of speech, or to indicate readily their pre- cise relation to the rest of the sentence. Right. — Beyond, the hills were robed in a smoky blue. Right.— In the room were about sixty benches, and two stately chairs for the preachers. a. But a comma should not be inserted between a verb of saying, thinking, believing, etc., and a following that. This custom, once very common, is now practically obsolete. Wrong. — He was very wrong in supposing, that she would ac- cept his attentions under such circumstances. Right. — He was very wrong in supposing that she would ac- cept his attentions under such circumstances. 116. In Large Numbers. — Commas are used to separate large numbers of 1,000 or more into groups of three figures each. a. Exception. — The comma is omitted in street, telephone, and automobile numbers, dates, etc. Right. — The population of the United States, according to the census of 1910, was 93,402,151. Right. — His address is 4315 Chicago Avenue. 117. After the Salutation in Personal Letters. — A comma is placed after the salutation in personal letters. (See also 52, 69.) Right.— Mr. A. N. Alford, Columbus, Ohio. Dear Andrew, The Comma 47 118. Broken Lines. — A comma is placed after the last word of the first part of a broken line, as in the com- plimentary close of a letter. (See also 53, 249-251.) Right. — I am, Yours very truly, Henry Dean. 119. In Headings and Addresses of Letters. — In headings and inside addresses of letters, a comma is placed at the end of each line except the last, which takes a period. (See 239, 243.) a. Except periods after abbreviations, all punctua- tion is regularly omitted at the ends of the lines of the outside address. (See 255.) 120. After "Resolved" and "Whereas" in Resolu- tions. — A comma is put in resolutions after such intro- ductory words as Resolved, Whereas, etc. (See also 54, 182.) Right. — Resolved, that women should be given the right of suffrage. 121. General Usage. — In general, commas are used to indicate any distinct pauses in sentences, except such pauses as require other marks of punctuation. 122. Caution. — Be careful not to use commas ex- cept where they are a distinct necessity. Guard against close punctuation. The modern tendency is to omit com- mas unless they are necessary to the sense or to indicate a definite pause in the reading. 48 Practical English Punctuation VIII. THE INTERROGATION-POINT 123. After Questions. — An interrogation-point is placed after every complete question, even though the sentence may be written in the declarative form. Right. — What would you have done if you had been in his place? Right. — You say you take cream in your coffee? a. When a compound interrogative sentence is made up of separate independent questions or interrogative words, an interrogation-point is put after each separate query. In such a sentence the later questions, because of the closeness of their connection with the first and with each other, are not begun with capital letters. (See 24 a.) Right. — But what of his father? or his sister? or his invalid mother? or of his possible future? b. Caution. — An interrogation-point should not be placed after an indirect question. Wrong. — She asked whether he had been invited? Right. — She asked whether he had been invited. 124. After an Interrogative Part of a Sentence. — When the entire sentence is long and not altogether in- terrogative, an interrogation-point is sometimes put only after the interrogative part of the sentence. Right. — Could he be dreaming of wealth? — seeing that his soul was wrapped up in her, that he had never known want, and that he had no care for gold. 125. In Parentheses. — An interrogation-point is often put in parentheses after a word or a date to express doubt concerning the truth or accuracy of the word or date. (See 150.) Right. — Chaucer was born in 1340(F). The Exclamation-Point 49 IX. THE EXCLAMATION-POINT 126. After Interjections and Exclamatory Phrases and Clauses. — An exclamation-point is placed after in- terjections and exclamatory phrases and clauses that ex- press strong emotion. a. Care should be exercised in using the exclamation- point. It is not needed after every interjection or after every exclamatory sentence, but only after those ex- pressing strong emotion. (See 48 a, 58, 108.) b. An exclamatory word, phrase, or clause followed by an exclamation-point, is usually treated as a separate sentence element, and any sentence following is begun with a capital letter. But if the exclamation is so slightly exclamatory as to be set off only by a comma (see 108), it is regarded as introductory to the sentence, the first word of which then begins with a small letter. Right. — "Ouch ! Oh ! I say, stop, please," he begged of us at last. Right. — The mischief! He had just agreed to stay. Wrong. — Well he seems to be doing his best. Right. — Well, he seems to be doing his best. 127. To Express Doubt or Sarcasm. — The ex- clamation-point is frequently used to express doubt or sarcasm. Right. — That man a Democrat ! Right. — Lindell a church member! 128. After Imperative and Declarative Sentences. —An exclamation-point is often put after an impera- tive sentence to express a strong command, or after a declarative sentence to express surprise at, or to lay em- phasis on, the truth of the fact stated. (See also 58, 126.) a. This usage is generally ignored, or else con- demned, by rhetoricians, but the fact that it is good usage 50 Practical English Punctuation cannot be denied. Literature is replete with it. Great care, however, should be exercised by the beginner in following this rule. The following illustrations are taken from A Life for a Life, by Mr. Robert Herrick, himself a professor of English in the University of Chicago and joint author of Composition and Rhetoric for Schools: Right. — " 'Come !' she said, passing." Right. — "His woman of the snows had slept and awakened — thus !" Right. — " Tor now I know', she said softly, 'what it is to lose all !' " The Dash 51 X. THE DASH 129. To Mark a Sudden Break in the Thought.— A dash is used to mark a sudden suspension of the thought or a violent break in the construction of the sentence. a. If the sentence is left unfinished, a dash only (no period) is placed after it, and the next sentence begins with a capital letter. Right. — I wonder whether the men for whom he has done so much, who have accepted his services all these years — whether any of them will stand by him in his trouble. Right. — "You mean — What do you mean?" he asked. 130. Parenthetic Expressions. — Dashes are used to set off parenthetic words, phrases, and clauses that are both structurally and logically detached from the sent- ence in which they are inserted. (See 94, 144.) a. Dashes thus used, constitute what is known as the double dash. A comma is placed before each dash only when the sentence would normally require such punctua- tion were there no parenthetic clause present. Right. — "Although the solid flesh of his face was lined with little marks, — the stout body must needs show its trace of use, — yet the appetite for life was keen." — Herrick. b. A parenthetic interrogative sentence thus enclosed between dashes does not begin with a capital letter, but is followed by an interrogation-point before the last dash. Right. — He was one of the first, if not the first, — will you correct me if I am wrong? — to respond to our plans for arbitration. 131. Parenthetic Expressions within Parenthetic Expressions. — Dashes are used interchangeably with 52 Practical English Punctuation parentheses to set off parenthetic expressions that occur within parenthetic expressions which are already sepa- rated from the remainder of the sentence by commas.' (See 94 b, 146, 153.) Right. — It has long been my opinion, if you will allow me to advance it now, — privately of course, — that much of her charm was due to the way in which she wore her hair. 132. To Indicate Informal Apposition. — A dash is used to indicate informal apposition, in the same manner that the colon is made to denote formal apposition. (See 65.) a. If a comma would normally be put after the last word preceding the appositive, were the appositive omitted, a comma is placed before each dash. (See 95 and c.) Right. — The girl we were talking about — Marie Schneider, you may remember — emigrated from Germany only last year. Right. — "At last they reached that lake, — oval mirror of the mountains, fed by eternal snows, — exhaustless fount of power." — Herrick. 133. Before Explanatory Phrases. — A dash is put before an explanatory phrase that repeats or modifies slightly, as if in afterthought, a preceding word or phrase. Right. — Certainly she was glad to see me — glad as she could possibly be under the circumstances — under such unfortu- nate circumstances. 134. Before a Formal Quotation. — A dash is some- times put after a comma or a colon when introducing a formal quotation. Right. — "At last, low and startled, came her voice: — 'So you will put me from you? You will put me from you — by the breadth of the whole earth! Forever?' " — Herrick. The Dash 53 135. When Introducing Formally a Separate Sen- tence Element. — A dash is put sometimes after, oc- casionally instead of, a colon when introducing formally a separate sentence element. Right.— Compare 27, 94 f } and 216 b. 136. Before Summarizing Words. — A dash is put before a word that summarizes a series of phrases or clauses immediately preceding. a. Such words are these, those, such, all, etc. A comma or a semicolon is placed before the dash according as the preceding phrases or clauses are separated by com- mas or semicolons. Right. — Breakfast in bed, lunch at the club, a baseball game in the afternoon, a theatre at night, and a midnight lunch afterward in a questionable cafe, — such is his daily routine of pleasures. 137. Before "namely," "viz.," etc. — Before namely as, that is, e.g., viz,, etc., when introducing an example or an illustration, a dash instead of a colon is sometimes placed. (See 68.) Right. — The statement was made that Rowland at an early age gave evidence of a reversion to type — namely, the type of his maternal grandfather. 138. Between a Quotation and it's Author. — A dash is placed after the period between a quotation and its author, or between the quotation and the title of the book, magazine, or article from which it is taken. Right. — "Love Virtue; she alone is free." — Milton. 139. In Dialogue. — Dashes are put between words in a dialogue to indicate difficulty or slow T ness of speech. (See 219.) Right. — The dying man answered heavily: "It wasn't — his fault; he— didn't — go — to shoot." 54 Practical English Punctuation 140. To Produce a Rhetorical Effect of Pause. — A dash is often put before a word or a group of words at the close of a sentence in order to produce a rhetorical effect of pause. Right. — And after all these years of slavery for the company he has been promoted to — what? 141. Between Extreme Dates and Numbers. — A dash is put between two extreme dates or numbers to indicate the inclusion of all the years or numbers inter- vening between. a. In such consecutive dates and numbers, the fol- lowing rules should be observed : 1. If the first number ends in two ciphers, or if the second extends into a different "hundred" from that of the first, both numbers must be written in full: as, 1800- 1872, 1796-1832. 2. If the first number does not end in two ciphers, and the second is not in a different "hundred" from the first, the second (except as in 3 below) may be indicated by two figures only: as, 1874-96. j. If the next to the last figure in the first number is a cipher, it should not be repeated in the second number : as, 1905-6. 4. In citing dates b. c, both numbers should be writ- ten in full always (because representing a diminution in- stead of an increase) : as, 246-203 b. c. 5. When a dash is placed between tw r o extreme num- bers, the use of the word from immediatedly preceding is wrong; or, if the word from immediately precedes two extreme numbers, the word to must be used between them instead of the dash. 142. After the Period Following a Side-Head. — A dash is put after the period following a side-head. The Dash 55 Right. — Compare the dash following Right after any of the foregoing rules, or in this illustration. 143. To Indicate the Omission of Letters in a Name. — Dashes are used to indicate the omission of letters in a name that the writer does not wish to give in full. Right. — If C — y will communicate with his cousin in F — , she will answer his question. 56 Practical English Punctuation XL PARENTHESES 144. Parenthetic Phrases and Clauses. — Paren- theses are used to include inserted explanatory phrases or sentences that have no grammatical connection with the main sentence or paragraph. a. As a rule it is well to avoid the use of parentheses, since such disconnected phrases tend to make a sentence heavy and awkward. By changing the construction such phrases and clauses can usually be included as an integral part of the sentence, the double dash frequently being allowed to take the place of the parentheses. Indeed, there is a strong tendency at present to permit the double dash to do duty for the parentheses. (See 24 b, 130.) Right. — She is terribly straight and angular (I am afraid Frank said she was bony) ; she has high, sharp cheek bones; and her bare arms are lean and long. 145. Punctuation before and after Parentheses. — Do not use a comma or any other mark of punctuation with parentheses unless such a mark would normally be required were there no parentheses present; and unless the parenthetic expression is immediately preceded by an abbreviation, or is an independent sentence of a para- graph, or is a figure or a letter marking a division of an enumeration of particulars, no punctuation of any kind ever precedes. a. In like manner, a mark of punctuation may not be placed immediately before the second parenthesis ex- cept when the parenthetic expression ends with an abbre- viation or is an independent sentence in a paragraph. Wrong. — The Democratic caucus will be held (for this is the appointed year), on the eighteenth of this month. Right. — The Democratic caucus will be held (for this is the appointed year) on the eighteenth of this month. Parentheses 57 Wrong. — And as long as they do not care for anyone, (for that is really what lack of friendship means ; a close friendship cannot be formed without love), they are worth- less to themselves and to the world. Right. — And as long as they do not care for anyone (for that is really what lack of friendship means ; a close friendship cannot be formed without love) 1 , they are worth- less to themselves and to the world. 146. Interchangeable with Dashes. — Parentheses are used interchangeably with dashes to set off paren- thetic expressions that occur within parenthetic expres- sions which are already separated from the remainder of the sentence by commas. (See 94 b, 131, 153.) Right. — Mrs. Tuttle, still handsome (as she continued to be for some years yet) and still widowed, passed him one day and looked fixedly at a point one foot above his head. 147. Abbreviations of Political Parties. — Abrevia- tions of political parties placed after the names of news- papers, magazines, or public officials for the purpose of indicating political affiliations, are enclosed in parentheses : as, New York World (Dem.), Senator Robert M. La Fol- lette (Rep.). 148. In Titles of Newspapers and Magazines. — Names of cities, states, and countries inserted in or placed after the titles of newspapers and magazines to distinguish their place of publication, are enclosed in parentheses: as, the United Mine Workers' Journal (In- dianapolis), Springfield (Mass.) Republican, Pall Mall Gazette (London). 149. Figures and Letters in Enumerations. — Fig- ures and letters that are used to mark definite divisions of an essay, paragraph, outline, or syllabus are enclosed in parentheses. (See 47 a.) 58 Practical English Punctuation a. In long outlines, syllabuses, and the like, the fol- lowing scheme of notation and indentation may be fol- lowed with profit : A. This topic treats of ... . I. This topic treats of ... . a. This topic treats of ... . 1. This topic treats of ... . (a) This topic treats of ... . (1) This topic treats of ... . a) This topic treats of ... . 1 ) This topic treats of ... . (a) This topic treats of . . . . Right. — I would call your attention to the following points: (a) woman's past position; (b) her legal status .... 150. About Interrogation-Points Expressing Doubt. — Interrogation-points that are used to express doubt concerning the truth or accuracy of a phrase, word, or date, are enclosed in parentheses. (See 125.) Right. — Richard I was born at Oxford(?) in 1157. Brackets 59 XII. BRACKETS 151. Interpolations in Direct Quotations. — Brack- ets are used in direct quotations to enclose matter written, not by the author quoted, but by the person quoting. a. Brackets, [ ], should not be confused with paren- theses, ( ). In a quotation, words enclosed in paren- theses are understood to have been written by the author of the quotation ; words enclosed in brackets are under- stood to have been interpolated by the one quoting. (See 169.) Wrong. — "His (Paderewski's) young manhood was full of pathos, and he put the tragedy of his grief into his playing." Right. — "His [Paderewski's] young manhood was full of pathos, and he put the tragedy of his grief into his playing." 152. To Correct Mistakes in Quotations. — Brackets are used to correct mistakes in quotations. Right. — "Swinburn[e]'s education in Germany [France] was begun . . . ." 153. Parentheses within Parentheses. — Brackets are used for parentheses within parentheses. (See 146.) Right. — Trench's statement (see his On the Study of Words [revised English edition], p. 83) is that the Germans, know- ing nothing of carbuncles .... 154. To Enclose Notes and Explanations. — Brack- ets are used to enclose notes and explanations made by editors or publishers. Right. — [In connection with "Insects and Greek Poetry," the student should read Hearn's "Insect Musicians." — The Editors] 60 Practical English Punctuation XIII. QUOTATION-MARKS 155. Direct Quotations. — Quotation-marks are used to enclose direct quotations. 156. Verse. — When one or more complete lines of poetry are quoted, they are begun each on a new line, and, because of the shorter length of the verse lines, are usually set in from the regular margin at the left of the page. Right. — He quoted Wesley's hymn beginning, "I long to see thy face ; Thy Spirit I implore, The living water of thy grace, That I may thirst no more." 157. Quotations of More than One Stanza. — When a single quotation includes more than one stanza, quota- tion-marks are repeated at the beginning of each, and are placed, not at the end of each, but only after the last word of the final one. In this way alone is the quotation shown to be continuous. If the different stanzas quoted are the words of a single writer, but are not continuous, ellipses (four periods) are inserted to indicate that a part has been omitted, and quotation-marks are used as if the quoted matter were continuous. But when the different stanzas are the words of different writers, quotation- marks are put at the beginning and at the end of each. (See 167 ex.) Right. — We could plainly hear him repeating the well-known song in Charles Kingsley's The Saint's Tragedy : "Oh ! that we two were Maying Down the stream of the soft spring breeze ; Like children with violets playing In the shade of the whispering trees. Quotation-Marks 61 "Oh ! that we two lay sleeping In our nest in the churchyard sod, With our limbs at rest on the quiet earth's breast, And our souls at home with God." a. In quotations of verse it should be noted that the initial quotation-marks are always placed outside the stanza margin at the left, so that the lines themselves shall stand exactly as originally written. On the other hand, the mistake should not be made of putting quotation- marks within the stanza outside the left-hand margin line. Such quotation-marks are written flush with the margin. Right. — "In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, The hand that made us is divine'." 158. Grouping Lines of Verse. — The lines of a poetical quotation should be written in the same length and grouping as that made by the author. If a line of the quoted verse is so long that it cannot all be written on one line of the page, the part left over should be placed, doubly indented, on the line below. Wrong. — "Silently one by one in the infinite meadows of Heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels." Wrong. — "Silently one by one in the infinite meadows of Heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels." Right. — "Silently one by one in the infinite meadows of Heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels." 62 Practical English Punctuation Not Good. — "Work — work — work, Till the brain begins to swim ; Work — work — work, Till the eyes are heavy and dim ! Seam, and gusset, and band, Band, and gusset, and seam, Till over the buttons I fall asleep, And sew them on in a dream !" Right. — "Work — work — work, Till the brain begins to swim; Work — work — work, Till the eyes are heavy and dim ! Seam, and gusset, and band, Band, and gusset, and seam, Till over the buttons I fall asleep, And sew them on in a dream !" 159. Long Prose Quotations. — When a formally introduced prose quotation of three or four sentences, or more, is made, it is begun on a new line and usually is printed in smaller type. When the quotation includes more than one paragraph, quotation-marks are repeated at the beginning of each paragraph and are placed, not at the end of each, but only after the last word of the final one. This use of the quotation-marks shows that the quoted matter is continuous. If the different para- graphs quoted are the words of a single writer or speaker, but are not continuous, ellipses (four periods) are in- serted to indicate that a part has been omitted, and quotation-marks are used as if the selection were con- tinuous. But when the different paragraphs are the words of different writers or speakers, quotation-marks are put at the beginning and the end of each paragraph. (See 167 ex., 220.) Quotation-Marks 63 Right. — See 2, p. 2 in this volume. Right. — His editorial is remarkable in many respects. Let me quote live short paragraphs of it to you : — "Prettiness palls, unless it is backed up by intellect. The merely clever woman is nearly as bad as the clever man. All these people who carry most of their goods in the show window are headed for jobs at the button coun- ter. .... "Brilliant men are but ordinary men, who at intervals are capable of brilliant performances. Not only are they ordinary most of the time, but often at times they are dull, perverse, prejudiced," and absurd. However, they are sometimes right, and this is better than to be dead wrong all the time "Great thoughts and great deeds are the children oi married minds. "When you find a great man playing a big part on life's stage, you will find in sight, or just around the corner, a great woman. Read history ! . . . . "We are all just children in the Kindergarten of God, and we want play-fellows " 160. Paragraph Indentations in Quotations. — When quoting formally a long extract, unless the selec- tion commences at the beginning of a paragraph, the first line should not be indented. Likewise, unless the last sentence of the quotation ends a paragraph, the writer should not indent the first word of the next line of his own composition. 161. Informal Quotations. — When a short quota- tion, or a long one informally introduced, is quoted, it is written without any break in the line or any indentation in the margin. (See 25 a.) Right. — It has always seemed to me a satire on married life that "young men love so to sit in hammocks with the girls, while married men are always afraid they will wrinkle their coats." 162. Dialogue or Conversation. — When dialogue or conversation is quoted, each separate speech, together 64 Practical English Punctuation with the author's comment on the speech or the speaker, is indicated by indenting and making a new paragraph. Exception. — In rare cases, and for the sake of saving space, the utterances of different persons are all quoted in the same paragraph, the individual speeches being separ- ated by dashes. This use, however, is practically obsolete now. Right. — "What is William Harrop doing these days?" asked Smithers. "Oh, he's working his son's way through college," said she. 163. Quotations within Quotations. — In the case of a quotation within a quotation, single quotation-marks are used; then double quotation-marks are used within single quotations; etc. Exception. — Following the usage of English pub- lishers, the custom is rapidly gaining ground in America of putting the first quotation in single quotation-marks and the quotation-within-the-quotation in double marks. Right. — "I can't remember the exact words," said Tom; "it was from Pope and had something in it about 'earnest eyes and round unthinking face'." 164. Verse within a Prose Quotation. — When one or more lines of verse occur in a prose quotation, they should begin on a new line. And, in turn, the prose fol- lowing the verse quotation should begin on a new line, indented if it begins a new paragraph, even with the mar- gin at the left if it continues the thought of the para- graph that contains the quotation. And a trifle wider space should be left before and after the verse quo- tation than intervenes between the consecutive prose lines. Right.. — "Let me quote from Rossetti's Life of Keats," he said. "Mr. Rossetti writes as follows : Quotation-Marks 65 " To one of these phrases a few words of comment may be given. That axiom which concludes the "Ode on a Grecian Urn" — " ' "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know," is perhaps the most important contribution to thought which the poetry of Keats contains : it pairs with and transcends " ' "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." ' "And now I shall conclude my first point," he continued, "by remarking that " 165. Interpolated Expressions in Quotations. — At every break in a quotation by such phrases, for ex- ample, as said he, the quotation-marks are repeated, and a comma, an exclamation-point, or an interrogation-point precedes according to the normal punctuation required. But if a period, a colon, or a semicolon would normally come before the interpolated said he, a comma is used instead and the period, colon, or semicolon put afterward. Right. — "If our cook were a near relative," he added, "she could not act worse." Right. — "By Jove !" he exclaimed suddenly. "This paper says that only one in every thousand married couples lives to celebrate the golden wedding anniversary." Right.— "Mother, why are jay-birds blue?" the youngster asked simply. Right. — "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands of dollars," he quoted. Right. — "Providence has usually been good to Hannah," he remarked with pretended innocence ; "she has always had something to grieve about." Right. — "I should like to call your attention to the three following points," he began : "his life, his death, and his record of achievement." 166. Relative Position of Quotation-Marks. — Quo- tation marks are regularly put outside other marks of 66 Practical English Punctuation punctuation when those marks refer to the quotation alone ; otherwise they are put inside. But most publish- ers place the quotation-marks outside commas and periods even when those marks should not be included, as when a single word or a short phrase is quoted at the close of a sentence. 167. Indented Lines in Quotations. — It should be carefully noted that in all quotations, except extracts from plays, quotation-marks are put at the beginning of every indented line occurring, for no matter what reason, in the quotation, — these in addition to the regular quotation-marks at the beginning and the end of the extract. Exception. — Many publishers to-day print long formal quotations of prose or verse in different type from the rest of the page and without quotation-marks. (See 159.) Right. — "Executive Mansion, Washington, "November 21, 1864. "Mrs. Bixby, "Boston, Massachusetts. "Dear Madam : "I have been shown in the files of the War De- partment a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that your heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. "Yours very sincerely and respectfully, "Abraham Lincoln." Quotation-Marks 67 168. Quotation-Marks at the End of Quotations. — The writer should take particular care to see that quotation-marks are put at the end as well as at the beginning of the quoted matter, and that all phrases, or single striking words even, when quoted, are prop- erly enclosed in quotation-marks. The utmost honesty should be observed in giving full credit to whom credit is due. a. Exception to the foregoing statements is made only in the case of quotations that are so well known that quotation-marks become a hindrance. Well-known prov- erbs, for instance, and many Shaksperean phrases do not require quotation-marks. Right. — In maiden meditation, fancy free, she still lives, so far as I know. Right. — He bade him throw physic to the dogs and get into the woods for his health. 169. Exactness Necessary in Quotations. — When quoting the words of a writer, quote him exactly, using his exact words, punctuation, capitalization, and all, no matter how wrong he may be. Whatever is inside the quotation-marks is known to belong to the writer or speaker quoted ; it is his own, and he alone is re- sponsible for it ; and the person quoting has no right to change it in any way. (See 151, however.) 170. Indirect Quotations. — Do not use quotation- marks to enclose an indirect quotation. Wrong. — He said "that, of all colors, he believed he loved red best." Right. — He said that, of all colors, he believed he loved red best. Right. — He said, "Of all colors I believe I love red best," 68 Practical English Punctuation 171. Titles of Books, Plays, Poems, etc. — Quota- tion-marks are used to enclose the titles of books and book series, plays, poems, magazine articles, chapter divisions, musical compositions, paintings, lectures, addresses, sermons, toasts, etc. 1 Exception. — The names of the Bible, of other sacred books, and the books and divisions of the Bible are not put in quotation-marks. Good. — Robert Herrick's Together and Shakespere's Hamlet were lying on the table. Right. — Robert Herrick's "Together" and Shakspere's "Ham- let" were lying on the table. Right. — The title of the poem was "When We Were Seven." Right — The article was headed "The Church and its Critics." Good. — A selection from Lohengrin was next on the program. Right. — A selection from "Lohengrin" was next on the pro- gram. Right. — A copy of Watts's "Hope" was among the collection. 172. Technical Terms. — Quotation-marks are used to enclose technical terms that are supposedly unfamiliar to the reader. Right. — Our geologist thought the rock "fibrolitic." Right. — You will notice that its flowers have the "gamo- sepalous" calyx. 1. Many rhetoricians advise the use of italics for the names of books, plays, and musical compositions, and it would seem that the tendency among the learned American journals of to-day is in that direction; but an ex- amination of a list of representative English and American magazines shows that a majority of them still favor quotation-marks. The author has made such an examination and has set down the results of his study in the table on page 69. In this table a "Q" set opposite a name and a magazine means that that magazine writes names of that class in quotation-marks; "It" means that that magazine writes such names in italics; and "Caps" means that that magazine does not use either italics or quotation-marks, but merely begins the names of that class with capital letters. And where both an "It" and a "Q" or a "Caps" and a "Q" are found together, it is meant that that magazine is not consistent in its usage, but varies from one way to the other. Quotation-Marks 69 w hd g *d n hj >! ft w •5" CO 5' c en o 3 Co en p p o o ft* 3 Si 0] p >-t N p T3 N C/3 3 o 3 ffi en en n •a en OS O O O O h— 1 " O Athenaeum n o Co •a C/3 °l OS os O - -> "■ S Atlantic Monthly » o i— ( o O s s s h- 1 Bookman s o n OS CO o o o o o o Century Magazine O o o o o o O O o Edinburgh Review H o o o i— i M Harper's Monthly *"*" •"^ " Magasin e o o o o o s o Literary Digest O o s OS o s KH 1— 1 s Modern Philology n o CO en Co en o o o o S rt o Nation oS D.S OS OS o o OS OS OS North American Review o o CO O o o o o O ©£ o Outlook Cfl en o o Popular Science ^ O o iw^j W2 o «* o Monthly O O o o o o o o o Quarterly Rcvieiv ^ o o o o o s h- 1 o Scribner's Magazine 70 Practical English Punctuation 173. In Translations. — The English equivalent of a foreign word, phrase, or passage immediately following the expression of which it is a translation, is put in quota- tion-marks : as, Klein, Geschichte des Italienischen Dramas ("History of the Italian Drama") ; La fin couronne I'ceuvre, "The end crowns the work," or "All is well that ends well." 174. Words in Definition. — Words and phrases ac- companied by their definitions are usually put in quota- tion-marks. Right. — "To hole out" is a golf term meaning to play the ball into one of the holes on the course. 175. Slang, Colloquial, and Coined Words. — Quo- tations-marks are used to enclose slang, colloquial, and coined words and phrases that the writer knows to be not in good usage. a. Note, however, that many words and phrases com- monly supposed to be slang are really good English ex- pressions : as, bamboozle, brace up, bugbear, cut a caper, cut a class, day-dreams, dude, fetch, foxy, hoax, humbug, milksop, ninny, skinflint, to stick to (a friend), the why and wherefore, tomfoolery, willy nilly, etc. b. Exception. — In a quoted speech, or in a colloquial or humorous context where the writing is purposely lack- ing in dignity, slang and colloquialisms are not enclosed in quotation-marks. Right — "Dan Stott would not have wept if Joe had reviled his father for selling poisonous food. He would straight- way have 'punched the face off' the family detractor/' — Herrick. Right. — The feudists in the mountains of Kentucky customari- ly pay a certain amount a day and "found" for watching the cabins of the opposing clans. Q UOTATION-M ARKS 7 1 176. Nicknames. — Do not use quotation-marks to enclose the nicknames of persons, whether in real life or in fiction, who are known as well by their nicknames as by their proper names. Not Good. — 'Teddy" Roosevelt; "Doc Sammy"; etc. Right. — Teddy Roosevelt; Doc Sammy; etc. 177. Titles of Themes, — Unless the title of a theme is a quotation, do not use quotation-marks to enclose the title. 72 Practical English Punctuation XIV. ITALICS 178. Magazines, Newspapers, and Ships. — Italics are used to distinguish the names of magazines, news- papers, and ships. (See table, page 69.) a. Italics are also used to indicate the titles of books, plays, and musical compositions, — and the learned jour- nals favor this usage, — but the preponderance of usage is still in favor of quotation-marks. (See 171.) In indicat- ing the titles of books, plays, and musical compositions, however, do not use both italics and quotation-marks. Right. — Copies of the Atlantic Monthly and the Appleton (Wisconsin) Post were on the table before him. Right. — The Titantic sank on April 15, 1912. Wrong: — The satire in "Vanity Fair" is often keen. Good. — The satire in Vanity Fair is often keen. Right. — The satire in "Vanity Fair" is often keen. 179. Side-Heads and Paragraph Titles. — Italics are used to mark side-heads and the titles of sections and paragraphs. a. Titles of sections and of paragraphs are also printed in black-face type. Right. — Compare 150 and the illustration given there. 180. Foreign Words. — Unnaturalized foreign words are italicized. Exception 1. — Foreign institutions or places and for- eign titles preceding names are not italicized : as, the German Reichstag, Rue de Rivoli, Champs Elysees, Pere Lafitau, etc. Exception 2. — Anglicized foreign words are not itali- cized even though they may retain the pronunciation of the original language. Such words are : aide-de-camp, attache, bas-relief, bona fide, bric-a-brac, cafe, chauffeur, confrere, data, debris, debut, decollete, denouement, doc- trinaire, elite, ennui, entree, ex officio, expose, fagade, Italics 73 facsimile, fete, habeas corpus, habitue, literati, litterateur, massage, matinee, melee, menu, naive, nee, nom de plume, per annum, per capita, per cent, post-mortem, prima facie, protege, pro tern [pore], questionnaire, rendezvous, resume, reveille, role, savant, sobriquet, soiree, table d'hote, tete-a-tete, umlaut, versus, via, vice versa. Exception 3.— When direct quotations are made from a foreign language, the quoted matter is enclosed in quotation-marks and printed in roman type. Right. — His pseudo studious habits were a joke while he was in college. Right. — "Charles Egbert Craddock" is the nom de plume of Miss Mary N. Murfree. 181. For Emphasis. — Italics are used to lay stress upon a word when special emphasis upon it is necessary, or when the word is used, not to convey the idea or image that it normally conveys, but as a word simply. Caution. — Avoid italicizing words for emphasis. Do not use italics to stress a word or phrase unless there is an especially good reason for doing so. The abuse of italics for unnecessary emphasis on words is one of the commonest faults among young writers. Right. — Compare as a word in this rule. Not Good. — It is rum, rum alone, that is causing these evils. Right. — It is rum, rum alone, that is causing these evils. Right. — Such words as enthuse and alright have been trying to get into good usage for years. 182. "Whereas" and "Resolved" in Resolutions.— In resolutions the words Whereas and Resolved are italicized. (See also 54, 120.) a. It should be noted that each Whereas- or Resolved- clause is begun on a new line, with paragraph indentation, and is punctuated (according to 77) with a semicolon at the end. 74 Practical English Punctuation Right. — Whereas, The Liberty School building has been for months in great need of repair; and Whereas, The funds now in the hands of the trustees are inadequate to meet the cost of necessary repairs; and Whereas, The present building is insufficient to ac- commodate the recent increased enrolment; and Whereas, For a cost of fifteen hundred dollars all necessary repairs may be made and the building sufficiently enlarged to meet all present needs of the enrolment; and Whereas, A tax upon the patrons of the school suffi- cient to cover the fifteen hundred dollars needed, would necessitate a cost of only ten dollars for each pupil in school; therefore be it Resolved, (1) That the town council be and is hereby empowered to levy upon the parents or guardians of the pupils in school a tax of ten dollars for each scholar in at- tendance, said tax to be paid in two yearly installments of five dollars each ; Resolved, (2) That the trustees be instructed to pro- ceed immediately with the enlargement of the school build- ing and with all necessary repairs, it being stipulated that such alterations shall not exceed fifteen hundred dollars in cost. 183. "To be Continued;' "Concluded," etc.— The words Continued, To be Concluded, etc., after headlines and titles and at the end of articles, are italicized. Right. — The Church and its Critics — Concluded. 184. Reference Words and Abbreviations. — The following reference words and abbreviations are regularly italicized : ad loc, circa, ibid, idem, infra, loc. cit., op. cit., passim, q. v., supra, s. v., vide. a. The following abbreviations, however, are not italicized : cf ., e.g., etc., i.e., viz., vs. 185. In Responsive Readings. — Italics are used in responsive readings to distinguish the paragraphs or Italics 75 verses that are to be read by the audience from those read by the leader. Right. — I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord ; the hum- ble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. . . . 186. Letters of the Alphabet. — Letters of the alpha- bet are italicized ( 1 ) when used to designate lines, quan- tities, etc., in geometric, algebraic, and similar matter ; (2) when used to mark the items of an enumeration of particulars; (3) when affixed to the numbers of pages, sections, foot-notes, etc., to indicate fractional parts there- of ; and (4) when used as letters only. Right.— L^y the line AB upon the line BC ; xy raised to the nth. power ; ar-\-2ab-\- £r=42. Right.— See 149 a. Right. — Compare the reference immediately preceding this. Right. — Compare the first Right illustration under 196. 187. Titles after Signatures. — A title or position added after a signature is italicized. Right. — David Starr Jordan, President. 76 Practical English Punctuation XV. THE APOSTROPHE 188. Possessive Case. — The apostrophe is used to indicate the possessive case. 189. Possessive Case Singular. — The possessive case singular is regularly indicated by the apostrophe and s, even though the noun may end with two s's. Exception. — In order to avoid excessive sibilance, the .9 is regularly omitted after dissyllabic and polysyllabic nouns ending in an ^-sound. Right. — Burns's poems were easily the most popular with them. Right. — Furness's edition is the authorative one. Right. — The name of Ulysses' son was Telemachus. Right. — For conscience' sake he did it. 190. Possessive Case Plural. — When the plural of a noun ends in s, the plural possessive is formed by add- ing the apostrophe alone to the nominative plural. But if the plural does not end in s, the apostrophe and s are added to indicate the possessive case plural. Right. — Boys' shoes, not men's, are included in the sale. 191. Possessive Case of Appositive Nouns. — The possessive case of appositive nouns is indicated by placing the apostrophe and the s after the noun nearest the object possessed. Right. — He was riding in Dr. Reid, the physician's, motor. 192. Double Possessive. — Except in the case of possessive pronouns (see 194), the apostrophe and the s are used to indicate what is sometimes called the double possessive. Right. — She is a friend of Alice's. Right. — They are friends of ours. 193. Other Possessives. — It is often awkward, but sometimes necessary nevertheless, to indicate the pos- The Apostrophe 77 sessive case of a noun that is immediately followed by a prepositional phrase, or to indicate the possessive case of two or more nouns in the same construction, each of which, however, possesses the object conjointly with the others. In such cases the apostrophe and the «? are placed after the last noun. Right. — He was riding in the congressman from Mississippi's automobile. Right. — Henderson and Burns's Elementary Grammar is used. 194. Possessive Pronouns. — Possessive pronouns do not take the apostrophe, though the possessive case of the pronominal adjectives one and other is indicated by the apostrophe and the s. Right. — Hers, its, theirs, yours, oars; but another s, other's, one's. 195. Omission of Letters or Figures. — The apos- trophe is used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a word or of one or more figures from a date. Right. — "She hasn't learned to spell her name yet," he said. Right. — They were both members of the class of '61. 196. Plurals of Figures, Letters, and Words. — The apostrophe is used with an s to indicate the plural of fig- ures and letters, and of words when used as w r ords only. a. Quotation-marks should not be used with the apostrophe and s to indicate such plurals. Wrong. — Your "2's" look like small "a's." Right. — Your 2's look like small a's. Right.— The sentence has too many and's in it. 197. Past Tense of Coined Verbs. — An apostrophe is used before a d to indicate the past tense of coined verbs. Right. — To be thee'd and thou'd thus was an unusual ex- perience in my daily life. 78 Practical English Punctuation XVI. THE HYPHEN 198. Compound Words. — A hyphen is put between the members of a compound word. a. There is much room here for individual opinion, for authorities differ widely as to what words should be written separately, what with a hyphen, and what solid. We find both associate-professor and associate professor, school room and schoolroom, and even to-day and today. Indeed, one may say with considerable positiveness that there is little uniformity of usage at all. When in doubt the writer should consult a good unabridged dictionary, the pocket dictionaries usually being useless on these points. (Note, however, that in the dictionaries a hyphen inserted does not always mean a compound word. Web- ster's Dictionary uses a small, faint hyphen to denote syl- lables and a large, black hyphen to denote compounds, while the Standard uses the German hyphen (*) to indi- cate compounds.) b. But, when in doubt, and in lieu of a better authori- ty, one may often trust to pronunciation and his own ear how to write a word. We usually give but one primary stress to a word. Even so long a word as groceryman has but one strongly accented syllable. Therefore, if each of the members of a possible compound word re- mains distinct enough to require a definite emphasis of its own, the two words should be written separately : as, black board but blackboard, tableware but table man- ners, etc. c. The following general suggestions governing the hyphenation of compound words, however, may be of- fered : — 199. Compound Numbers Spelt Out. — Compound numbers between twenty and a hundred, when spelt out, should be hyphenated : as, twenty-one, eighty-four, etc. The Hyphen 79 200. Ordinal Numbers. — Compound ordinal num- bers are joined by hyphens. Right. — Lionello's was the hundred-and-first story. 201. Fractional Adjectives. — A hyphen is placed between fractional adjectives, but not between simple fractions. Right. — He won by a three- fourths majority. Right. — Three fourths of the votes were cast for him. 202. Compound Adjectives. — A hyphen is placed between any two or more words that are compounded into a modifying adjective preceding a noun: as, sea- shouldering, hand-made, silver-white, sky-blue, heaven- sent, etc. Exception. — When a modifying adjective or participle is preceded by an adverb ending in -ly, the hyphen is omitted : as, highly educated women, strictly honest men, etc. 203. Time Indications. — A hyphen is placed be- tween hour and minutes in time indications that are writ- ten out : as, six-thirty, nine-forty, etc. 204. Compound Nouns. — The following compound nouns are hyphenated : — a. A noun made up of two nouns whose compound- ing into one is the result of mere ellipsis and an inversion of a phrase containing those two words : as, letter-file (= a place where letters are filed away), oil-can, bell- boy, etc. b. A noun made up of two nouns, one of which modi- fies the other, and which together form a word with a different meaning from each : as, feather-edge, news- stand, labor-union, etc. c. A noun compounded of a present participle and a noun, and with a meaning different from either of the 80 Practical English Punctuation two words taken separately : as, dining-room, looking- glass, putting-green, etc. d. A noun made up of a present participle and a preposition that does not govern a following noun: as, laying-on, taking-off, etc. e. A noun made up of a noun and an adverb: as, passers-by, lookers-on. 205. Hyphenated Prefixes. — Words compounded with the following prefixes are usually hyphenated: cross-, father,- mother-, brother-, parent-, great-, foster-, fellow-, by-, ex-, life-, half-, quarter-, non-, lieutenant-, vice-, ultra-, quasi-, self-, zvorld-. Right. — Cross-examine, father-in-law, mother-queen, brother- love, parent-cells, great-grandfather , foster-child, fellow- man, by-product, ex-president, life-size, half-dollar, quarter- sawed, non-communicant, lieutenant-general, vice-admiral, ultra-religious, quasi-historical, self-centered^ world-power. 206. Prefixes Written Solid. — Words compounded with the following prefixes are usually written solid: a-, after-, ante-, anti-, auto-, bi-, demi-, grand-, in-, inter-, intra-, mid-, mis-, off-, out-, over-, post-, re-, sub-, super-, tri-, un-, under-, up-, where-, with-. Right. — Aback, antediluvian, antifat, autobiography, biweekly, demigod, grandfather, insincere, international, intramem- branous, midnight, misconstrue, offset, outcast, overlook, postdate, reconstruct, submarine, supernatural, tricolor, unnatural, undercurrent, upbuild, wherewith, withstand. 207. Hyphenated Suffixes. — The following suffixes are usually hyphenated : -dealer, -elect, -god, -general, -hand, -maker, -rate. Right. — Furniture-dealer, president-elect, sun-god, postmaster- general, second-hand, book-maker, first-rate. The Hyphen 81 208. Suffixes Written Solid.— The following suf- fixes are written solid: -ever, -holder } -less, -monger, -self, -some, -ward, -wise. Right. — Whatever, stockholder, faithless, ironmonger, himself, gladsome, northward, likewise. 209. Varying Suffixes. — Variation in the use of the following suffixes should be noted : — a. Compounds of -store are hyphenated when the prefixed word is made up of only one syllable ; otherwise the hyphen is omitted: as, book-store, grocery store. b. Compounds of -fold, -pence, and -skin with words of one syllable are written solid; with words of two or more syllables they are written as separate words : as, twofold, forty fold; threepence, fifteen pence; pigskin, alligator skin. c. Compounds of -like with words not ending in / are usually written solid ; but if the prefixed word ends in /, the compound is hyphenated : as, godlike, businesslike, girl-like. d. Monosyllables compounded with -book, -house, -mill, -room, and -work as suffixes are usually written solid; dissyllables compounded with these suffixes are generally hyphenated ; trisyllables and polysyllables pre- ceding them are written separately : as, handbook, pocket- book, reference book; poorhouse, power-house, furniture house; sawmill, coffee-mill, cannon-ball mill; bedroom, lecture-room, commercial room; handwork, metal-work, tessellated work. 210. Compounds of Abnormally Associated Words. — A hyphen is placed between any two words ab- normally associated for the sake of producing a single sentence element : as, safety-valve, sense-perception, bas- relief, etc. 82 Practical English Punctuation 211. General Usage concerning Compounds. — In general, a hyphen is placed between any two or more words when the insertion of the hyphen will give the newly compounded word a different meaning, or when the hyphen is necessary to make the word perform the function of a single element in the sentence: as, poor box and poor-box, drawing room and drawing-room, etc. 212. Hyphenated Words. — The following words should be hyphenated : — bas-relief bay-window birth-rate blood-relation common-sense cross-examine cross-reference cross-section death-rate every-day(arf;) feast-day folk-song food-stuff foot-note gas-light good-bye horse-power letter-head mail-box man-of-war new-comer note-paper object-lesson oil-cloth one-horse (adj) page-proof pay-roll postage-stamp post-card school-boy school-teacher sea-level so-called (adj) son-in-law stand-by (n) subject-matter Sunday-school title-page trade-mark up-stairs well-being well-nigh wide-spread will-power post-office 213. Words Written Solid. — The following words should be written solid : — afternoon anywhere classmate already (adv) awhile (adv) coeducation altogether baseball daybreak anybody birthday earthenware anyhow blacksmith everybody anyone byword everyone anything cannot everything anyway (adv) childhood everywhere The Hyphen 83 expressman nearby (adj) sixpence facsimile nevertheless somebody farewell newsboy somehow fireproof newspaper something foolscap nickname sometime football nobody sometimes foreman northeast someway (adv) forever northwest somewhat gateman noteworthy somewhere greenhouse nothing southeast groceryman nowadays southwest hardware nowhere spendthrift herein notwithstanding staircase hereupon nowise straightforward herewith oftentimes surname herself oneself tableware himself outburst taxicab hitherto outdo taxpayer hundredweight outgoing textbook inasmuch outset thereabouts inside outside thereafter instead outsider thereat itself outstretch therefor juryman playground therefore landlady postman therein landowner postmaster thereto laundryman postmistress thereupon lawsuit praiseworthy therewith lookout railroad threescore lumberman reinvest today maybe (adv) rewrite together meantime saleslady tomorrow midnight salesman tonight misprint saleswoman tradesman misspell semicolon typewriter moreover shirtwaist upbuild motorman sidewalk watermelon myself silverware whenever 84 Practical English Punctuation whereabouts wherever withstand whereas whichever workshop wherefore whoever yourself whereof without zoology 214. Words Written Separately. — Write the fol- lowing as separate words: — all ready (adj) en route no one all right * every time per cent any time ex officio postal card awhile (n) good morning pro tern by the way in order some day down town (adv) near by (adv) some way 215. Omission of Part of a Compound Word. — When the same word occurs in the latter part of two or more successive, hyphenated, compound modifiers, the word is frequently omitted from the first modifier and its place indicated by a hyphen. Right.— The eighth- and ninth-grade boys drilled next. Right — He had fifty dollars in one-, five-, and ten-cent pieces. 216. Word Division. — A hyphen is used to divide a word at the end of a line. a. Care should be taken to insert the hyphen only between complete syllables. But here the difficulty comes : one cannot always trust either the pronunciation or the etymology of a word for its syllabication. In such words as ne-ga-tion and pcr-mit there is little or no room for doubt; but in others, as fa-ther and moth-er, ves-tal and vest-nre, for-mer and form-al, one may be sure of ac- curacy only by consulting a reliable dictionary. In syl- labication in general, however, the following rules, though overlapping in some cases, may be observed with profit : b. Insert a hyphen — 1. After a long vowel or a short unaccented vowel when followed by a single consonant or a group of con- The Hyphen 85 sonants forming an indivisible consonant combination : as, la-dy, tri-fle, di-vine, justi-fy, photogra-phy. But see c 5, page 86. 2. After a single consonant or an indivisible con- sonant combination when preceded by a short, accented vowel : as, lov-ing, loz-enge, bish-op, diaph-anous. 3. Between double consonants (except plurals of nouns ending in double-^) and successive consonants not forming an indivisible consonant combination : as, rub- ber, cus-tom, confession, con-version. But see c p, page 86. 4. Between a prefix or a suffix and the root word : as, pre-eminent, retro-act, Jew-ish, love-ly. 5. Before nominal -cr, -or, -ment, -ness, and -Hon: as, hunt-er, debt-or, adjust-ment, shy-ness, avia-tion. 6. Before verbal -ing, and -ed when pronounced as a separate syllable : as, fly-ing, hunt-ed, but loved. 7. Before adjectival -er, -est, -ble, -fid, and -ish: as, high-er, bright-est, edi-ble, hope-fid, brut-ish. 8. Before adverbial -bly and -ly: as, grave-ly, staid- ly, immuta-bly. c. Caution: 1. Do not divide a syllable of one letter from the rest of the word. Wrong. — a-ble, i-tinerant, ver-y. 2. Do not divide a monosyllable. Wrong. — mob-bed, tho-ugh. 3. Do not divide inseparable consonant combina- tions, such as ph in phonetic, th in think and the, sh in lash, gh in cough (or when silent), tch in match, gn in sign, or ck in track. 4. Do not begin a line with a hyphen. When a word is to be divided at the end of a line, the hyphen should be placed there, and there only. (See 17.) Wrong. — Please call, pay charges, and remove property with -in forty-eight hours from date of this notice. 86 Practical English Punctuation Right. — Please call, pay charges, and remove property with- in forty-eight hours from date of this notice. 5. Do not separate a consonant from a vowel that affects its pronunciaiton : as, nec-essity for ne-cessity, zvag-er for wa-ger, rag-ing for ra-ging, etc. 6. Do not divide a diphthong or separate two suc- cessive vowels, one of which is silent. Wrong. — ana-esthetic, pe-ople, wa-iling. 7. Do not separate a syllable that has been added to a word by the addition of a plural s. Wrong. — hors-es, palac-es, financ-es. 8. Do not divide hyphenated words except at the syllable where the regular hyphen comes. Not Good. — pock-et-book, fool-kill-er. 9. Do not make awkward divisions. Not Good. — noth-ing, crack-le, ei-ther, vision, eight-een. 217. To Indicate Syllables. — A hyphen is used to indicate the separate syllables in a word : as, quo-ta-tion } syl-la-ble. 218. To Mark Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes. — A hyphen is used to mark incomplete words, roots, pre- fixes, and suffixes. Right. — The root ret- may be noted next. Right. — The verbal ending in that case is -ed. 219. To Indicate Stammered Words. — To indicate stammered words, the initial letter or letters of a word are separated from each other and from the complete word by hyphens. (See 139.) Right. — "But Ch-Ch-Charley, how did you get away?" Ellipses 87 XVII. ELLIPSES 220. In Quotations. — Ellipses, consisting of a series of dots, are used to indicate the omission of ma- terial from direct quotations, as when mutilations, illeg- ible words, or similar hiatuses occur in mss, or when material is omitted from a quotation because of its not being necessary to the thought that the writer wishes to convey. a. Such ellipses usually consist of four periods, or dots, in addition to any mark of punctuation at the end of the clause or phrase preceding the omitted material. But in poetry, when one or more complete lines are omitted, — and sometimes in prose, when several para- graphs are left out, — the omission is indicated by the in- sertion of a full line of periods. (See illustration under 157.) b. If the material is omitted from the end of the quo- tation, the quotation-marks come outside the ellipses. Right. — "There are very, very few natural deaths : most people die through accident, because a part gives out. . . . . And they float into paradise on the fumes of a cheap cocktail." Right. — "For the most wild yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not — and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to- day I would unburden my soul. "Of my own thoughts it is folly to speak. Swooning, I staggered to the opposite wall. For one instant the party on the stairs remained motionless, through extremity of terror and awe. In the next a dozen stout arms were toil- ing at the wall. It fell bodily. The corpse, already greatly 88 Practical English Punctuation decayed and clotted with gore, stood erect before the eyes of the spectators. Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman. I had walled the mon- ster up within the tomb !" Right. — "Stay yet awhile ! speak to me once again ; Kiss me, so long as but a kiss may live ; But I am chained to Time, and cannot thence depart !" Right. — "A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of any- thing than he does of his dinner " Foot-Notes 89 XVIII. FOOT-NOTES 221. References. — When references, formal or in- formal, are made in an essay to an author, book, or maga- zine, the precise volume and page to which reference is made should be given in a foot-note at the bottom of the page. a. Such foot-notes should be separated from the main body of the text by heavily ruled lines and should be numbered consecutively throughout the essay by small arabic numerals placed before them ; and the reader's at- tention should be directed to these notes by a correspond- ing numeral placed in the essay at the end of the refer- ence or quotation and a bit above the line. This numeral should never be placed at the beginning of the reference or quotation. b. When frequent references are made to the same volume or work, instead of repeating the title, the ab- breviations loc. cit. (loco citato, in the place [already] cited) and op. cit. (opere citato, in the work cited) are used. This avoids repetition of the same reference. And when the references to the same work are successive, ibid, (abbreviation for ibidem) is used. Right. — D'Israeli, Curiosities of Literature, 61. Ibid., 142. Loc. cit., chap. 3. c. The following illustration is taken from the Pub- lications of the Modern Language Association for March, 1912 (p. 27) : "To Carlyle the merit is due of making Goethe popular in England," says Miss Carr in an article on Goethe in his Con- nection with English Literature. 1 Mr. Alford points out that "the first beginnings of the study of Goethe in England came fifty 1. Pub. of English Goethe Society, No. iv, p. 56. (London, IS 90 Practical English Punctuation years before Carlyle," 2 and notes that "in the year 1780 s a trans- lation of Werther first introduced Goethe to the notice of English- men. This became popular and passed through several editions." d. When one is preparing manuscript for the printer, foot-notes — or, more properly, what are to become foot- notes later on the printed page — are put immediately below the reference or quotation, and are separated from the body of the text by heavy lines, thus : These were, in a sense, the Oxford scholarships * of the f our- 1 The money was, however, only lent, security being required. teenth century. To each of them was attached the name of the benefactor, the sum given by him, and the object of the founda- tion Such an arrangement of foot-notes is a distinct aid to the printer. e. For the use of abbreviations in foot-notes, see 226. 2. R. G. Alford, Goethe's Earliest Critics in England. Idem., No. vii, p. 8 f. (London, 1893.) 3. This should be 1779. (See above, note 1, p. 26.) Bibliographies 91 XIX. BIBLIOGRAPHIES 222. Usage. — In making citations of books, maga- zine articles, etc., in bibliographies, catalogues, and the like, the following illustrations may be used as models : Author's Name First. — Stevenson, R. L., A Child's Garden of Verses. New York: Scribner's, 1911. Books in Series. — Trent, W. P., William Gilmore Simms (" American Men of Letters Series" ). Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1892. Plays. — Shakspere, Taming of the Shrew, in "First Folio Shakespeare" (Charlotte Porter and Helen A. Clarke, editors) . New York : Crowell, 1907-13. Magazine Articles. — George, W. L., "Feminist Inten- tions," Atlantic Monthly, December, 1913. Unsigned Articles. — "The Suppression of Finnish Liberties," Independent, December 11, 1913. Poems — Tennyson, Alfred, "A Dream of Fair Wo- men," in Poetical Works (Cambridge Edition). Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin, 1898. a. Care should be taken to give not only the names of the authors and their works, but the dates and places of publication and the names of the publishers as well. Often such details are necessary to those who wish to refer to the precise volumes and pages cited. 92 Practical English Punctuation XX. ABBREVIATIONS 223. Abbreviations to be Avoided. — One should avoid the use of abbreviations and contractions ; they are in bad taste in literary work (including letters) of any kind. No abbreviations should be employed except those that one knows to be used, not by the newspapers, but by writers of standard English prose. Wrong. — We arrived in Columbus, O., late in the p. m. and went immediately to the offices of the Harriman Mdse, Co., which were only about 2 blocks from the Ry. station. Right. — We arrived in Columbus, Ohio, late in the afternoon and went immediately to the offices of the Harriman Mer- chandise Company, which were only about two blocks from the railway station. 224. Permissible Abbreviations. — The following abbreviations, however, are in good use : Mr., Mrs., Messrs., Dr., Rev., Hon., St., when used before proper names ; Jr., Esq., and the initial abbreviations A.B., Ph.D., M.D., M.P., S.J., U.S.N. , etc., when used after proper names ; and such general abbreviations as etc., viz., q.v., i.e., e.g., a.m., p.m. (also a. m. and p. m.), A. D., B. C. a. If a the or a Right precede the word Reverend, it is better spelled out. Otherwise Reverend may be ab- breviated like Mr. and Mrs. Not Good. — The Rev. R. H. Welter, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Right. — The Reverend R. H. Welter, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Right. — Rev. J. H. Tippet, Appleton, Wisconsin. 225. Personal Titles. — Better usage now demands that such titles as Professor, President, Governor, Cap- tain, Colonel, General, etc., be spelled out, not abbrevi- ated. (See 227, 256 a, 258.) Abbreviations 93 226. Foot-Notes and Bibliographical Matter. — In foot-notes, parenthetic citations, and bibliographical mat- ter, abbreviations are used that are not permissible in the body of a composition. a. The following abbreviations are permitted in foot- notes, parenthetic citations, bibliographies, etc.: art. {art- icle), cf., chap, (or ch.), ed. (editor or edition), etc., et. seq. (or seq.), ff., fig., fol., ibid., introd., I., loc. cit. (loco citato), n. (note), no., op. cit. (opere citato), p., q. v., sc. (scene), sec. (section), vol., abbreviations of weights and measures in the metric system, and symbols of measure- ments when preceded by a numeral. (See 221.) Right in a Foot-Note.—Ci. Mod. Lang. Pub., vol. 1, p. 94. Right in a Bibliography. — Brewster, Eng. Corn p. and Style. New York: Century Co., 1912. 227. Business Correspondence. — In business and informal correspondence, where brevity is a prerequisite and time a necessary consideration, the following abbre- viations are found: &, C.O.D., f.o.b., N.B., P.S., via, vs., fol.; no., p., and $, w T hen followed by numerals; C, F., and 9^ , when preceded by numerals ; Hon., Pres., Prof., Sec. (see 225, however), S.S., Supt., and Treas., when preceding proper names ; Ave., Bros., Co., Esq., et al., Inc., R.R., Ry., and St., when following proper names ; the abbreviations for the months of the year (except March, April, May, June, and July) when followed by a numer- al indicating the day of the month ; and the abbreviations for the states of the Union when preceded by the name of a town or a city. (See 228.) a. But because Col. is often mistaken for Col., Miss,, for Missouri, etc., it is better to spell out, even in business letters, Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah. b. In business correspondence the abbreviations Co., 94 Practical English Punctuation Bros., and & should be spelled out, unless the firms ad- dressed themselves use the abbreviations. Wrong.— 787 Union Ave., New Orleans, La., Mar. 5, 1913. A. N. Bawn & Co., Rock ford, III. Gents : Yrs of recent date rec'd. In reply would say that wool has advanced 1 ct. a lb. within the past wk. but will take the matter up with our branch office in Mich, and report definitely to you as soon as we hear from them. Yrs very truly, O. V. Cantoun, Pres. Right in a Business Letter. — 787 Union Ave., New Orleans, La., March 5, 1913. A. N. Bawn & Co., Rock ford, III. Gentlemen : Your letter of March 2 was received to-day. Tn reply we regret to say that wool has advanced one cent per pound within the past week. We will take the matter up with our branch office in Michigan, however, and report definitely to you as soon as we hear from them. Yours very truly, O. V. Cantoun, Pres. Right Always.— 214 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia, March 7, 1913. Henry W alterman and Company, Macon, Georgia. Dear Sirs: I regret very much that our representative was not able to call upon you while in Macon last week. An Abbreviations 95 unexpected telegram called him to Savannah on the day of his arrival in Macon and he was compelled to cancel all his engagements. He will return to the city on Thurs- day of this week, however, and we hope that he may have the pleasure of calling upon you then. Yours very truly, H. F. Henderson, Secretary. 228. Caution. — Note that many abbreviations that are proper when used with other expressions or in the address of letters are improper when used alone or in the body of a composition. Wrong. — He came this p. m. Right. — He came at four p. m. Wrong. — The meeting is to be held in Sept. in Ga. Right. — The meeting is to be held in September in Georgia. Right in Business Corespondence. — The prices made were f. o. b., Spartanburg, S. C. Right in an Essay. — The prices made were net, freight from Spartanburg, South Carolina, to be paid by the buyer. 96 Practical English Punctuation XXI. NUMBERS 229. Street Numbers, Dates, etc. — Cardinal num- bers designating street numbers, telephone numbers, auto- mobile numbers, dates, pages or divisions of books (chap- ters, paragraphs, etc.), should be written in figures, not- spelled out. (See also 116 a.) Wrong. — Our telephone number is one thousand three hundred ninety-seven. Right. — Our telephone number is 1397. Not Good. — I was born July the seventh, eighteen hundred eighty-one. Right.— I was born July 7, 1881. 230. Ordinal Numbers. — Ordinal numbers are customarily spelled out, though ordinals designating days of the month may be either spelled out or expressed in figures. a. In the addresses and headings of letters it is par- ticular^ important that ordinals be written out, since such ordinals are preceded by house numbers in arabic and confusion may easily result. b. Caution. — After ordinals ending in d use d only, not nd or rd. Right. — That was about the hundredth time I had heard the professor's joke. Right. — Thanksgiving day fell on the thirtieth of November that year. Right. — 614 Forty-second Street, New York. Not Good. — George Eliot was born November 22nd, 1819. Right. — George Eliot was born November 22d, 1819. 231. Cardinal Numbers. — In connected discourse, cardinal numbers that may be expressed in one or two words, should be spelled out. (See 232, however.) Numbers 97 a. As a rule, decimals, degrees, dimensions, metric weights and measures, percentage, and like expressions are written in figures. Not Good. — $8,000,000 worth of stocks were sold. Right. — Eight million dollars worth of stocks were sold. Wrong. — The amount of the collection was fourteen dollars and seventy-eight cents. Right. — The amount of the collection was $14.78. Wrong. — The university is 18 miles from the city proper. Right. — The university is eighteen miles from the city proper. 232. Large and Small Numbers in Same Sentence. — If in the same sentence or paragraph several num- bers or sums of money are mentioned, some of which are so long that they must be expressed in figures, all the numbers or sums should be written in figures. a. In other words, be consistent. Do not spell out numbers in one sentence and use figures in the next. Right— After I had expended $30 for board, $11.18 for books, and $12 for room rent, I had $45.82 left for incidental expenses. 233. Sums of Money. — AYhen designating sums of money in connected discourse, do not write .00, do not write the decimal point above the line, and do not ex- press in figures sums of less than one dollar. Not Good. — His bill that month amounted to $175.00. Right. — His bill that month amounted to $175. . Wrong. — They were making a special sale on the medicine that day at $.98. Wrong. — They were making a special sale on the medicine that day at $0.98. Right. — They were making a special sale on the medicine that day at ninety-eight cents. Wrong. — The total cost was $4-15. Right. — The total cost was $4.15. 98 Practical English Punctuation 234. Caution. — Do not begin a sentence with fig- ures; and except in legal or commercial letters and documents do not repeat in parenthesized figures a num- ber or a sum of money that has just been spelled out. But in legal or commercial documents (where such repeti- tion is often necessary) write the parenthesized number or sum immediately after the expression it repeats. Not Good. — Enclosed please find ten ($10) dollars, for which send me .... Right. — Enclosed please find ten dollars ($10), for which send Letter Writing 99 XXII. LETTER WRITING A. Letters in the First Person 235. Order of the Heading. — The proper order of the heading of a letter is: first, street address; second, city and state address; third, date. a. The items of the heading may be written on one, two, or three lines. If short, they are frequently written on a single line. If two lines are used, the date is written alone on the second line. If three lines are used, the street address comes on the first line, the names of the city and of the state on the second, and the date on the third. Not more than three lines should be used for the heading. Right.— 15 L Street, Hiram, Ohio, March 18, 1913. Right. — 695 Washington Street, Atlanta, Georgia, March 21, 1913. Right. — 418 Jeeferson Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee, March 21, 1913. 236. House Numbers. — House numbers should not be preceded by any word, abbreviation, or sign, and should be written in figures. (See 230 a.) Wrong. — No. 400 North Avenue, Ashland, Florida, January 16, 1913. Wrong. — Four Hundred North Avenue, Ashland, Florida, January 16, 1913. Right. — 400 North Avenue, Ashland, Florida, January 16, 1913. 237. Omission of "Street," "Avenue/' etc.— In the street address the word Street, Avenue, Boulevard, Drive, Park, or Place should not be omitted. 100 Practical English Punctuation a. In addition to being inelegant, such an omission may easily cause confusion in further correspondence. Wrong. — 224 Harrison, Portland, Oregon. Right. — 224 Harrison Street, Portland, Oregon. 238. The Date. — Except in correspondence of a most hasty commercial nature, where elegance is not a requisite, the name of the mionth in the date should be written out in full, not abbreviated or expressed by a figure. Likewise, the date of the year should not have the first two figures omitted. a. All the numbers in the date should be expressed in arabic numerals, not written out, and the number of the day should not be followed by st, d } nd, rd, or th. (See 230 b.) b. The date should never be omitted in even the most informal note. c. In social correspondence of a formal nature, it is customary to spell out both the day of the month and the year : as, July the seventh, nineteen hundred fourteen. Permissible in a Business Letter. — 214 Main, St., Roswell, N. M., February 4, 1913. Right Always. — 214 Main Street, Roswell, New Mexico, February 14, 1913. Not Good.— March 1st, '13. Not Good.— March 1st, 1913. Right.— March 1, 1913. 239. Punctuation of the Heading. — A comma is used to separate all the items in the heading except the nam,e and the day of the month, and a period is placed after the date of the year. a. The omission of all punctuation — except periods following abbreviations — from the ends of the lines of the Letter Writing 101 heading is not good form except in business corre- spondence. Right. — 647 Vincennes Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 26, 1913. 240. Place of the Inside Address. — The inside ad- dress should begin on a line below the last line of the heading and flush with the left-hand margin of the page. a, In social letters and business correspondence of a personal nature the inside address may be placed, some- what indented at the left side of the sheet, after the sig- nature on the last page. This is permissible, however, only in case the heading has not been deferred to the last. The heading and the inside address may not both be put at the last. b. In social letters the inside address is often omitted entirely. Right.— Mr. Allen N. Wat kin son, Z32 Pacific Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Dear Watkinson, Your letter of April 11 reached me this morning. I regret very much that I cannot give you any information concerning the Alexander house to which you refer; but if you will write concerning the deed to Snider in Los Angeles, he will probably be able to tell you some- thing concerning the recent transfer of ownership. . . . Mrs. Grose asks to be remembered to Mrs. Watkinson and Ethel. Faithfully yours, Henry C. Grose. 4351 Drexel Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, April 9, 1913. 102 Practical English Punctuation Right. — 4351 Drexel Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, April 9, 1913. Dear Watkinson, Your letter of April 11 reached me this morning. I regret very much that I cannot give you any information concerning the Alexander house to which you refer ; but if you will write concerning the deed to Snider in Los Angeles, he will probably be able to tell you some- thing concerning the recent transfer of ownership. . . . Mrs. Grose asks to be remembered to Mrs. Watkinson and Ethel. Faithfully yours, Henry C. Grose. Mr. Allen N. Watkinson, 232 Pacific Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Right. — 4351 Drexel Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, April 9, 1913. Mr. Allen N. Watkinson, 232 Pacific Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Dear Watkinson, Your letter of April 11 reached me this morning. I regret very much that I cannot give you any information concerning the Alexander house to which you refer; but if you will write concerning the deed to Snider in Los Angeles, he will probably be able to tell you some- thing concerning the recent transfer of ownership. . . . Mrs. Grose asks to be remembered to Mrs. Watkinson and Ethel. Faithfully yours, Henry C. Grose. 241. Order of the Inside Address. — The proper order of the inside address is : the name of the person ad- Letter Writing 103 dressed on the first line, the street address on the second line, and the city and state address on the third line. a. The street address may be omitted from the in- side address. Right. — Houghton Mifflin Company, 4 Park Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Right. — Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 242. Omission of Titles in the Inside Address. — The titles Mr., Mrs., Miss, Messrs., Dr., etc., should not be omitted from the inside address. Not Good. — Harriet West, Dubuque, Iowa. Right. — Miss Harriet West, Dubuque, Iowa. a. Exception 1. — Messrs. is often omitted from be- fore the names of incorporated firms. Right. — G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York City. b. Exception 2. — Esq., when following a proper name, is a sufficient substitute for Mr. The two should never be affixed to the same name at the same time. Wrong. — Mr. J. C. Williams, Esq., Evanston, Illinois. Right. — /. C. Williams, Esq., Evanston, Illinois. c. When both the initials and a professional or an honorary title precede a name, none of the titles of court- esy may be used, though an honorary title or its abbrevia- tion may follow the name. Wrong. — Mr. Dr. A. N. Oldman, Cleveland, Ohio. Right.— Dr. A. N. Oldman, Cleveland, Ohio. 104 Practical English Punctuation Right. — Rev. Mr. Peebles. Utica, New York. Inelegant. — A. C. Adams, D.D., Helena, Montana. Right.— Rev. A. C. Adams, D.D., Helena, Montana. 243. Punctuation of the Inside Address. — A comma is placed after the name of the person addressed, after the name of the street or avenue, and after the name of the city, and a period is placed after the name of the state. a. The omission of all punctuation — except periods following abbreviations — at the ends of the lines of the inside address is not good form except in commercial correspondence. Right. — See either of the examples under 241. 244. Place of the Salutation. — The salutation should be placed on the next line below the inside ad- dress, flush with the left-hand margin of the page. a. For the punctuation of the salutation see 52, 69, 117. Right. — See Right examples under 240. 245. Proper Salutations. — The following are proper salutations for letters : Extremely Formal: Sir, Sirs, Madam (used usually in addressing public officials and the editors of news- papers and magazines). Formal: Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Gentlemen, Dear Madam, Ladies. Ceremonious: My dear Sir, My dear Madam, My dear Mr. Brown, My dear Miss Smith. Personal: Dear Tom, Dear Louise, My dear Mother. 246. Improper Salutations. — The following are improper salutations : Friend Tom, Dear Friend Tom, Dear Friend, Gents, Messrs. Letter Writing 105 247. Beginning of the Body of the Letter. — The body of a letter should begin on the next line below the salutation, at a point slightly to the right of the punctua- tion following the salutation. 248. Common Errors. — The following common errors in correspondence should be avoided : 1. Abbreviations of the names of cities. (For a list of abbreviations permitted in correspondence, see 227.) Wrong. — Our representative will call on you when he arrives in Phila. next week. Right. — Our representative will call on you when he arrives in Philadelphia next week. 2. Omission of words necessary to the meaning of sentences, especially personal pronouns, articles, and prepositions. Wrong. — Will expect you the early part of next week. Ad- dress me until then, care the Lincoln Hotel. Rig Jit. — I shall expect you the early part of next week. Ad- dress me until then in care of the Lincoln Hotel. 3. Failure to arrange the pages of the letter in the order in which they are to be read. Few things are more annoying to a reader than to be forced to rearrange the pages of a letter that he is trying to read. 4. Use of your favor, your esteemed favor, we beg to advise, we beg to say, we beg to acknowledge, we would say, we zvould state, — these and other hackneyed expres- sions. 5. Hackneyed conclusions, especially Thanking you in advance, Appreciating your continued interest, and other similar uses of the present participle in closing. 6. Writing in the margins or across what has been written. 7. Unnecessary postscripts. 8. Typewriting social letters, or writing any letters in pencil. 106 Practical English Punctuation 249. Place of the Complimentary Close. — The complimentary close should stand near the middle of the line following the last line of the body of the letter. a. An expression introducing the complimentary close — such as, I am, believe me, etc. — should stand on the last line of the body of the letter. b. For the punctuation of the complimentary close, see 53, 118.) 250. Proper Complimentary Closes. — The follow- ing are proper complimentary closes — In Business Letters: Yours very truly, Very truly yours, Yours truly, etc. In Personal Letters: Yours very truly, Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely, Faithfully yours, Fraternally yours, etc. 251. Improper Complimentary Closes. — The fol- lowing are improper complimentary closes : And oblige, Yrs for Yours, Resp'y for Respectfully, Yours etc. 252. The Signature. — The signature should follow on the next line after the complimentary close, somewhat toward the right-hand side of the page. a. If a person in an official position signs his name to a letter that he has written for the firm in which he holds office, his name should be followed by that of his official position immediately beneath. If, however, he signs the name of the company, he should either write his initials beneath, or else, in the case of dictated letters, have his initials and those of the stenographer to whom the letter was dictated, written together at the left-hand margin of the page. Right. — Yours very truly, L. M. Alexander, President. Letter Writing 107 Right. — Yours very truly, The Macmillan Company. A. H. N. Right. — Yours very truly, Longmans, Green, and Company, obc/w b. A woman should not use her initials in any of her correspondence. In business correspondence an unmar- ried woman should sign her full name, which she should precede with the title Miss in parentheses. A married woman should sign her full name, then in parentheses beneath write her married title. A widow or a divorced woman (provided the latter retain her husband's name) should write her Christian name and surname before her husband's surname, then in parentheses beneath write the same thing with the title Mrs. prefixed. In social corre- spondence the prefixes Miss and Mrs. are always omitted. Right for an Unmarried Woman in Business Correspondence. — Yours very truly, (Miss) Eleanor McKinley. Right for a Married Woman in Business Correspondence. — Yours very truly, Helen Mayo Way man. (Mrs. Charles B. Wayman.) Right for a Widow in Business Correspondence. — Yours very truly, Anita Harrison Smith. (Mrs. Anita Harrison Smith.) Right for Any Woman in Social Correspondence. — Sincerely, Mary Belle Loftis. 253. The Envelop. — The envelop should be of the same stock as the letter-paper. If the letter is written on paper arranged in four-page sheets, the length of the en- velop should be from a fourth- to a half-inch greater than 108 Practical English Punctuation the width of the letter-paper, so that the letter when folded once or twice parallel with the lines of writing on the first page, will fit easily into the envelop. If the letter is written on flat sheets of about 8 T / 2 x 11 inches in size, the length of the envelop should be approximately a fourth- or a half-inch greater than half the length of the letter-paper, so that the letter when folded once parallel with the lines of writing, then twice (into thirds) per- pendicular to the lines, will fit easily into the envelop. 254. Order of the Outside Address. — The proper order of the outside address is : the name of the addressee on the first line, the street address on the next line be- low, the name of the city on the third line, and the name of the state on the fourth line. Right. — Mr. Harry A. Meyer 214 Bell Building Cincinnati Ohio a. Present usage permits the items of the outside address to begin directly under each other at the left. Right.— Mr. Harry A. Meyer 214 Bell Building Cincinnati Ohio b. Because a single letter in the post-office is often accidentally included in the wrong batch of mail and car- ried entirely away from its intended destination, it is best when addressing a letter to a person within the same city, always to write plainly the name of the city, and not merely "City." Not Good. — Marshall Field and Company City Right. — Marshall Field and Company Chicago Letter Writing 109 c. Any additional instructions or directions — such as "Private," "Please Forward/' etc. — should be written in the left-hand corner. 255. Punctuation of the Outside Address. — Except after abbreviations, all punctuation marks may be omitted at the end of the lines of the outside address. If punctua- tion marks are used, however, a period should be placed after the name of the state on the last line and commas at the end of the other lines. Present usage favors the omis sion of the punctuation marks. Right. — A. N. Marquis and Company 324-326 Dearborn Street Chicago Right. — A. N. Marquis and Company, 324-326 Dearborn Street, Chicago. 256. Abbreviations in the Outside Address. — Ex- cept such abbreviations as Mr., Mrs., Dr., Rev., Esq., U.S.A., B.C., E.C. (East Center), and such initial ab- breviations as D.D., etc., no abbreviations should be used in the outside address. a. Exception. — In letters of a necessarily hurried business nature, such abbreviations as Prof., Hon., Pres., St., the abbreviations for tfre names of the states, etc., are still commonly found. The employment of such abbre- viations is not considered elegant usage, however. (See 223, 225.) Not Good. — Gov. Edward F. Dunne Springfield III. Right. — Governor Edward F. Dunne Springfield Illinois 110 Practical English Punctuation B. Letters in the Third Person 257. Form of Notes in the Third Person. — In formal notes in the third person there should be no head- ing, no inside address, no salutation, no complimentary close, and no signature. a. At the end of the note, on the left-hand side of the page, the street address and date should be given. (See 238 c.) Wrong. — 496 West Street, Memphis, Tennessee. March 21, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Morton Canlon accept with pleasure the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Walker Williams to dinner on March the twenty-seventh. Sincerely, Virginia Freeman Canlon. Right — Mr. and Mrs. Henry Morton Canlon accept with pleasure the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Walker Williams to dinner on March the twenty-seventh. 496 West Street, March the twenty-first. 258. Abbreviations.— Except Mr., Mrs., Dr., Rev., and Messrs., no abbreviations of any kind are permissible in notes in the third person. a. Even numbers, except those of house addresses at the close, should be spelled out. Wrong. — Pres. and Mrs. Wallace Longstreet request the pleasure of Gov. Monroe's company at dinner on Thurs- day, Apr. 3, at six o'clock. 598 Central Ave., March the 26th. Letter Writing 111 Right. -r President and Mrs. Wallace Longstreet request the pleasure of Governor Monroe's company at dinner on Thursday, April the third, at six o'clock. 598 Central Avenue, March the twenty-sixth. 259. Pronouns of the First and Second Person Wrong. — The pronouns /, we, and you are tabooed in formal notes in the third person. The note must be kept consistently in the third person. JHrong. — Miss Helen King regrets that illness in the family prevents her from accepting your invitation to dinner on April the tenth. 1682 Oak Boulevard, April the fourth. Right. — Miss Helen King regrets that illness in the family prevents her from accepting the invitation of Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hinderman for dinner on April the tenth. 1682 Oak Boulevard, April the fourth. 260. Future Tense Wrong in Notes of Acceptance and Regret. — In notes of acceptance and regret the present tense, not the future, should be used. The accept- ance, or the inability to accept, is a matter of the present, not of the future. Wirong. — Mr. Herbert Osborne will be pleased to accept the invitation of Miss Annie Elizabeth Cady for Monday evening, April the ninth. 1818 Maple Avenue, April the fourth. 112 Practical English Punctuation Right. — Mr. Herbert Osborne is pleased to accept the invi- tation of Miss Annie Elizabeth Cady for Monday evening, April the ninth. 1818 Maple Avenue, April the fourth. 261. The Paper. — The paper should be good un- ruled note-paper of neutral tint or color arranged in four- page sheets. The letter should be written with the fold of the paper to the left, so that the written lines shall be perpendicular to the fold. 262. The Envelop. — The envelop should be of the same stock as the note-paper, and of such a size that it will contain the four-page sheet when folded once across the middle, parallel with the lines of writing on the first page. Marks Used in Correcting Themes 113 MARKS USED IN CORRECTING THEMES amb = ambiguous. and = a bad "and" sentence. ant = antecedent not clear. cap = capitalize. cl = not clear. cts = construction faulty. coh = coherence not good. con = connective (or connection) not good. Consull ; = bring theme to the instructor for consultation % = delete; omit. D = see the dictionary. E = error (not specified). FW = "fine writing." Gr = bad grammar. K = awkward. lc = change capital to small letter. P = punctuation bad. Pt = point of view shifted. Rep = same word or sound repeated too much. sent = wrong form of sentence. SI = slang. Sp = bad spelling. su = sentence lacks unity. T = wrong tense. tr = transpose. W = wrong usage. word = word improperly used. ffCoh = coherence between paragraphs not good. ffU = paragraph lacks unity. If = paragraph needed ; make a new paragraph. Nofl = no paragraph needed. _j = indent. = join the words together. # = separate into two words. = hyphen needed, 114 Practical English Punctuation xo LJl Time Symbolism. J — In both of the preceding conventions (as noted in ^% ^^^^^ „ X V last months Paeifie ), where a distance of a few feet is used to repre- St .$+ A — «*.* /'/*" if ~ 5e nt as manv mil es an d wne re one person may symbolize a*Titmi£^d or u Tf /rfuiX- ^thpuaand, the usage would seem to ffc have been due, partly at least, ~"^»} ~U1^, to the necessary limitations of space(r^c/the meagre Corpus Christi stage. \ J y\\ but^hi the next convention, time symbolisni the usage can be attributed / SXi— CL- only toTh^ lack of realization on the part of the -of. crudity and incon- OwLj s$-*-*- c ^ r El y gruity to represent the creation of Adam a/d Eve, the expulsion from ^_^ I 1 the garden of Eden, and Cain and Abel | at tne ( age of "-jmr years," all c*aJ*^J> ON , ' I Z5~ within the compass of one continuous scene. To us of to-dav the cus- **— ■ " ^ — ^ u ^A torn Vwould.seem • morej-easonable if there were some l5reak in the JL- t. | | scenes to indicate the passage of time; b ul there is none/Tin the same j£L & I way it is difficult for us- of today to conceive of the - Chester dramatists. > ay * n/VA - V daring in representing the forty days in the wilde£_ness by a single con- v * ^fi tinuous scene of perhaps ten/ninutes length.^ -J <97*V- ^7— * I v' r i xl /tsdjj^ Mhe same crudity,jj(pwever, is to be found in the plays of allZthe cycles. A, v- ' yjfc*-^- In the Wakefield 4^oah and +be» A-r-k? for instance, a space of "thre hun- {_ j dereth dayes and fyfty. is supposed to elapse within the time taken \/ to quote forty-five lines, and in the corresponding is even more carefully ( » / //'/- presented. Here Noah says. Specimen Corrected Proof Sheet Explanation of Proof Corrections 115 EXPLANATION OF PROOF CORRECTIONS 1. Put in CAPITALS. 2. Put in SMALL CAPITALS. 3. Put in italics. 4. Not italics ; roman type. 5. Put in black face type. 6. Lower case; small letter. 7. Delete ; omit. 8. Restore the words crossed out. 9. Substitute for the letter stricken out. 10. Several lines omitted ; see copy. 11. Insert a period. 12. Insert a comma. 13. Insert an apostrophe. 14. Insert a colon. 15. Insert a semicolon. 16. Insert quotation-marks. 17. Insert a hyphen. 18. Imperfect letter. 19. Letter inverted ; turnover. .20. Indent. 21. Make a new paragraph. 22. No paragraph. 23. Put in space. 24. Close up ; no space needed. 25. Smaller space. 26. Badly spaced ; space more evenly. 27. Space shows between the words ; shove down. 28. Wrong font. 29. Transpose. 30. Carry to the left. 31. Carry to the right. 32. Elevate. 33. Lower. 34. Straighten crooked line. 35. Query: Is the proof correct? Exercises 117 EXERCISES 1 1. Read paragraphs 90 and 91, and correct the punctuation of any of the following sentences that need correction, giving reasons for any changes that you make : (1) Sometimes she gave chafing-dish parties whereat she served real grape juice and permitted the boys to play cards. (2) The most important ladies are Mrs. Henry Teegs and Mrs. John Homer Benson who pay four dollars a week for their hired girls when the regular price is only three. (3) Henry was so pleased, that he burst into laughter when he came back home and learned of the parties that had been planned in his honor. (5) The museum has the nucleus of a collection of American curios which is being increased by other donations. (5) In the letter should be en- closed a check for two dollars without which no seat will be reserved. (6) They started west which was the short way home but Robert took hold of his friend's arm and objected so strenuously that they finally compromised by returning down College Ave- nue. (7) They are all loafers there as men always are in such towns. (8) Mary and her father who had come to make their home with his sister on the Heights were reported to have money which had been invested in Western lands. (9) The next time the Reids came our way they stopped long enough to tell us that they thought that the people who laughed at such an ar- rangement were lacking in a proper sense of humor. (10) Some people in the town thought that if a young lady had a gentleman friend call on her more than twice a week they might justly assume a courtship. 2. Read 54, 77, 120, and 182, and draw up a set 1 Bracketed numbers refer to paragraph divisions in the text. 118 Practical English Punctuation of resolutions expressing regret for the resignation of a member of your faculty. 3. Give reasons for the capital letters, colons, semicolons, commas, quotation-marks, apostrophes, dashes, and the exclamation-point in the following quo- tations : "When Shakespeare is charged with debts to his authors, Landor replies : 'Yet he was more original than his originals. He breathed upon dead bodies and brought them into life/' — Emerson. [66, 91, 138, 155, 163, 166] "You've got to save your own souls first, and then the souls of your neighbors if they will let you; and for that reason you must cultivate, not a spirit of criti- cism,, but the talents that attract people to the hearing of the Word."— George MacDonald.' [32, 73, 97, 114, 195] "At that awful hour of the Passion, when the Sav- iour of the world felt deserted in His agony, when 'The sympathizing sun his light withdrew, And wonder'd how the stars their dying Lord could view,' when earth, shaking with horror, rung the passing bell for Deity, and universal nature groaned, then from the loftiest tree to the lowliest flower, all felt a sudden thrill, and trembling, bowed their heads, all save the proud and obdurate aspen, which said, 'Why should we weep and tremble? We trees, and plants, and flowers are pure and never sinned!' Ere it ceased to speak, an involuntary trembling seized its every leaf, and the word went forth that it should never rest, but tremble on until the day of judgment/' — Anon. [31, 44, 80, 82, 85, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 102, 109 a, 114, 123, 128, 155, 156, 163, 181] 4. Write a letter to your dean, or adviser, asking Exercises 119 to be excused from physical culture, or drill, and giv- ing three valid reasons for your request. [235-56] 5. Explain the commas, semicolons, dashes, ellip- ses, hyphens, and the colon in the following passages : "On this courageous Monday, therefore, — whatso- ever he was to do during the week he always decided on Mondays, — after months of irresolution, he finally determined to make a second dash for slavery. But he meant to be canny; this time he would choose a woman who, if she ruled him, would not misrule him ; what he could stand was a sovereign, not a despot, and he be- lieved that he had found this exceptionally gifted and exceptionally moderated being: It was Miss Anna Hardage 1 ."— Allen, Mettle of the Pasture, 406. [65, 73, 80, 82, 94, 97, 98, 130] "As she strolled around the garden under the cloudy flush of the evening sky, dressed in white, a shawl of white lace over one arm, a rose on her breast, she had the exquisiteness of a long past, during which women have been chosen in marriage for health and beauty and children and the power to charm The precision of the eyebrow, the chiseled perfection of the nostril, the loveliness of the short red lip ; the well-arched feet, small, but sure of themselves; the eyes that were kind and truthful and thoughtful; the sheen of her hair, the fineness of her skin, her nobly cast figure ; — all these were evidences of descent from a people that had reached in her the purity, without having lost the vigor, of one of its highest types 1 ." — Ibid., 8. [76, 83, 90, 91, 93, 97, 99, 136, 202, 220] 6. Read 77 and 182, and draw up a petition to the faculty, asking for from Friday to Monday after Thanks- giving for a holiday, and giving five reasons for your request. 7. Explain the use of the commas, capital letters, and the semicolon in the following: 1 Printed by permission of The Macmillan Company. 120 Practical English Punctuation "Rather more than thirty years ago the Doctor had arrived, one summer day, and opened all the doors and windows of the neglected old house, which he had bought from scattered heirs. He was a quiet man, the Doctor, in middle life then or nearly so ; and he sank almost without remark into the world of Albany, where they raise hay and potatoes and still cut good white pine off the hills 2 ." — Herrick, Master of the Inn, 3-4. [33 c, 73, 90, 94, 95] 7. Explain the use of the commas, capital letters, and the semicolon in the following : "He had taken to the sea and seen fair shores, had Jethro; and lolled on snowy beaches with purple, spark- ling waters in the offing, radiant blue heavens above, and distant fringes of silent groves drowsing in the undulate, tropic sunlight. O wonderful, wonderful! And — glory beyond compare ! — he had trekked through jungles and wildernesses, heard the wild scream of African panthers, dared the man-eating lion in his lair, and killed prodigious elephants for their ivory. For witness were the manikin idol on his watch-chain and the wonderful gun with the hair trigger and the silver ramrod, — both of which became treasures that are in my possession still, and bring back dim memo- ries of boyish ambitions, joyous ambitions, to sail be- yond the sunrise and slay huge lions, tigers, elephants, and cobras in mortal combat " [76, 83, 84, 85, 94, 110, 114, 126, 130, 132, 198, 202, 220] 9. Explain the use of the commas, brackets, apos- trophes, colon, and italics in the following : "The sense for human superiority ought, then, to be considered our [the college man's] line, as boring subways is the engineer's line and the surgeon's is appendicitis. Our colleges ought to have lit up in us 2 Printed by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons, Exercises 121 a lasting relish for the better kind of man, a loss of ap- petite for mediocrities, and a disgust for cheapjacks. We ought to smell, as it were, the difference of quality in men and their proposals when we enter the world of affairs about us. Expertness in this might well atone for some of our awkwardness at accounts, for some of our ignorance of dynamos. The best claim we can make for the higher education, the best single phrase in which we can tell what it ought to do for us, is then, exactly what I said : it should enable us to knozv a good man when we see him?" James, W., "Social Value of the College-bred/' in McClure's Magazine, xxx, 420. [65, 83, 85, 91, 94, 98 a, 151, 181, 189] 10. Write a correctly w r orded and punctuated let- ter to the head of a business house in your home town, asking for employment during your summer vacation. [235-56] 11. Explain the use of the commas and hyphens in the following : "Yesterday I was skating on a patch of ice in the park, under a poverty-stricken sky flying a pitiful rag of sunset. Some little muckers were guying a slim, raw-boned Irish girl of fifteen, who circled and darted under their banter with complete unconcern. She was in the fledgling stage, all legs and arms, tall and ador- ably awkward, with a huge hat full of rusty feathers, thin skirts tucked up above spindling ankles, and a gay aplomb and swing in the body that was ravishing. We caught hands in midflight, and skated for an hour, al- most alone and quite silent, while the rag of sunset rotted to pieces. 4 " — Moody, W. V., "Letters," in Atlantic Monthly, cxii, 172-3. [83, 85, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 114, 202] 3 Printed by permission -of the S. S. McClure Company. * Printed by permission of The Atlantic Monthly Company. 122 Practical English Punctuation 12. Write a formal note in the third person, in- viting an acquaintance to a reception in your home. [258-62] 13. Read paragraphs 73, 80, 90, and 91, and punctu- ate the following sentences properly : (1) Go where they will those boys always manage to get into trouble but when they come back there is never a whisper of anything but a good time. (2) Here new houses go up and there new stores are built but they rise slowly and everybody in town goes through them and examines them carefully so that they are well known to all of us by the time they are finished. (3) What you say is all true nevertheless I do not believe the plan will work. (4) She was the prettiest girl in town as the boys all admitted for when the night of the big ball came which was New Year's eve the fellows formed a waiting line about her chair to get a chance to write their names on her card. (5) She rose at the close of the meeting to give her testi- mony but her voice broke before she had finished and she sat down looking as if she thought she had dis- graced the cause. (6) The furnace was in the base- ment hence I had to go all the way back down-stairs. (7) His new friends whom he asked over Sundays to dinner at his house had ready acceptances which seemed heartily given too and their wives who had not deigned to speak to him in the old days were careful now to bow to him even from across the street. (8) They had moved away when we came back from the West and if they ever knew our part in the transaction we never heard of it. (9) Julia used to stop by for second-hand clothes for the poor children and it was her delight to sit down and take out her pickax as she called it and pick the Smiths to pieces. (10) It took us thirty minutes to change the tire accordingly we were too late to be of much help. Exercises 123 14. Correct the following sentences according to the rules indicated by the bracketed figures. (1) Counting nibbling a woman eats about as much as a man. [106] (2) The discovery "1851" of this lost work— Against all the Heresies — puts us in possession of much new information. [29, 95, 144, 171, 178] (3) William was the twenty one year old son of a Yeggman who had been compelled to flee from New York to Texas three months before. [26, 199, 202] (4) When they finally found him he was trying to measure with his eye the exact number of miles that Jupiter was distant from the Earth and the Moon. [43,91] (5) Dame nature that morning was resplendent in all her brightest garments of green. [45] (6) But the idea always held before the actor is that of work — liard work — continuous work. [110] (7) Having been approved by Pres. Jackson this bill became effective the following Summer. [26, 93, 225] (8) $8,000,000.00 was the amount the Company invested in western lands and they say now that they would be glad to get $5000000.00 for their holdings. [35, 57, 80, 116, 231, 233, 234] (9) The introduction and the conclusion of Mr. Hubbard's editorial are worthy of comment. There are only two paragraphs, let me quote them to you. There is a new religion. It has come without blare of brass, without fanfare of words, without shouting, without argu- ment, agitation, or violence. This new religion is slowly and surely conquering the world. It is being preached from every pulpit in Christendom, and is being advocated by all rabbis, priests, preachers, and teachers. It is so reasonable, so gentle, so simple, so obvious, that it is being accepted without opposition — aye, without the realization that it exists. It is the Religion of Common Sense. Its tenets are in- dustry, economy, efficiency, expediency, reciprocity, appreciation, 124 Practical English Punctuation good cheer, mutuality, cooperation, — all illumined by love. [66, 73, 167 ex., 220.] (10) The sort of book that I prefer is one on which I can feel that I have spent my time profitably. One that presents an uplifting thought so vividly that it gives me food for thought day after day. [24 c, 132] (11) Perhaps you have heard me quote before that, "No joy is complete unless one may give a part of it to another". [25 a, 109 a, 161, 166] (12) Macaroni of course was the term applied at that time to the London dude. [98, 174] (13) Soon after understanding failed and he died within the hour. [80, 115] (14) The golf course extended in the direction of but not down to the lake. [99] (15) Maine, Mass., Conn, and New York produced 6496000 of the 6500000 gallons reported in 1849 of which Mass. contributed 3786000 gallons or nearly 60% of the whole. [85, 90, 95, 116, 223, 232] (16) The fact that there is an annually increasing deficit in the U. S. treasury and that some scheme and plan to raise this necessary revenue must be devised is already too well-known to need further comment. [113, 198 b, 223] (17) In regard to the student of Rhetoric I feel like making the same statement, he must have a thor- ough knowledge of the rudiments of the subject before he can create for himself an individual interest in it. [57, 65] (18) He cared not, he said, what caste, creed or color, slavery might assume, he was for it's total it's instant abolition. [73, 83, 85, 122, 194] (19) He read us fiction and history — Biblical and profane writings — English and foreign works — and in fact almost everything that we could think to ask for. [32 a, 83, 94] Exercises 125 (20) After the ad copy has left the advertising man, it is placed in the hands of the advertising man- ager. We are now dealing with metropolitan news- papers, not with country fly leaves. His business is to secure a position in the edition and to see that all the copy, mats, cuts etc. are present. [59, 58 b, 85 b } 144, 145, 172, 175] (21) Because of her centuries of lack of training in facing the world, because there is some one made in her stead to take care of the coarser affairs of life and because her place is to care for the finer things and to be a helpmeet for man, on the whole because of her general inability woman should not be allowed to vote. [76, 82, 85, 98, 136] (22) It was in the fall of 94 that Miss Harrison while on her way to the Public Library first met Han- nerty. [42, 94, 195] (23) There is no truer proverb than the one which tells us that, "A watched pot never boils, and yet a watched pot will boil if one waits long enough. [25 a, 73, 109 a, 168 a] (24) By the time 12-30 came I had heard enough of Luke 11-17 and every other text in the whole "bible." [32, 70, 91, 171] (25) Alas that they should fail to realize his con- dition. [108, 126] (26) When Homer lived — 850 ? B. C. — such cus- toms were known and accepted as a matter of course. [91, 144, 145, 150, 153] (27) Something, perhaps a sense of loyalty, the right kind of loyalty, too, to William, made him hold his tongue. [130 a, 131] (28) During the period of the civil war, (1861 to 1865) it was probably higher than it has ever been before or since. [37, 82, 141, 145] (29) When school opened she asked : Can any of you tell me the author of the quotation, A primrose by the river's brim a yellow primrose was to him, and 126 Practical English Punctuation it was nothing more? [25, 91, 155, 156, 158, 163, 1661 (30) No sir, I can go this afternoon, however and be back easily in time for work tomorrow morning. [78, 98, 100, 155] (31) Til be with you when the flowers bloom in Spring, she quoted with a touch of affectation. [26, 155, 166] (32) The roll began with Anderson — C. G. and ended with Wiley— C. T. [105] (33) As inquirers we have two methods open to us; one is to choose from among all the views sug- gested by the various sects, the other is to divest our minds of all prejudice and strike out for ourselves. [65, 74, 95] (34) "I, I, I didnt get in, precisely at ten" I stam- mered. [139, 165, 195] (35) In this business he spent thirty three years of his life until in fact he was called to be the governor of his State. [28, 94, 133, 199] (36) He is one of those singularly fortunate men, who are permitted not only to perform noble actions but to leave a worthy record of their history. [89 a, 90, 97] (37) Yes he will probably be successful as the world views success but he will never be a great man. [80, 94, 98] (38) Immediately after breakfast Helen in com- pany with some of the boys from town went to the water melon patch to see if the trap had worked. [82, 94, 213] (39) Louis says he is really ill but it is their opinion that he will get well as soon as he stays at Mrs. Jones' house about a day. [80, 189] (40) Unless something unforeseen happens you may expect me to take a trip through Yellowstone park with you before the Summer is over. [26, 30, 91] Exercises 127 (41) My maxim, I replied when my time came, is a good old one; it is; "There is no man suddenly either excellently good or extremely evil." [109, 155, 163, 165, 166] (42) "When duty calls, we must obey/' Anon. [138] (43) Count Henri Von Milo, L.L.D. was among the invited guests. [49, 59, 104] (44) Barnes and Jenkins How to Study Nature was the book that I studied during my Freshman year. [28 b, 171, 178, 193] (45) At that instant, simultaneously with the ex- plosion of my gun he relaxed his whole body on the boulder and within ten steps of his cave his head fell lifelessly back. [80, 94] (46) Their friendship she claimed when they asked her about him, was purely Platonic. [26, 94] (47) Oh! Heavens, he exclaimed, what are you trying to do. [28, 48, 108, 123, 126, 155, 165, 166] (48) Our expenses were $3.18 for gasoline, ten dollars for board, $1.25 for tips, and -exactly $21.00 for repairs. [232, 233] (49) On the afternoon of labor day papa told my sister and me to get ready for an automobile trip, as he was going down past the old Methodist Church on the Waverley turnpike. [28, 30 b, 36] (50) My Father has asked me to inquire whether you can go with the party next week to Manitowoc? [28, 123 6] (51) Mr. Mackenzie's The Little World which we have already referred to, is being widely read all over the west. [29, 35, 90, 171, 178] (52) In poetry the rude man requires only to see something going on, the man of more refinement wishes to feel, the truly refined man must be made to reflect. [73] 128 Practical English Punctuation (53) We were particularly anxious to win for two reasons, first, because that college had always been a particular rival of ours, and second because the winning of this game would mean the state champion- ship. [67, 74, 89, 98] (54) I can truthfully say that I do not regard him as a man for the place, but the man. [181] (55) That the father of us all would protect him in his wanderings and would finally bring him safely home she never doubted. [31, 82] (56) He had grown tired of studying and reading when a happy thought came to him, why not go hunt- ing? [46,72,91] (57) He pronounced potato, tater, and asparagus, sparrer grass. [175, 181] (58) The ancients, Jews and Heathens believed that the spirits of deceased persons sometimes made themselves visible on earth assuming bodily forms though of an aerial substance. [57, 89, 93, 95] (59) In English and German speaking countries and occasionally in France this is to be noted. [94, 202, 215] (60) "The lips of the priest (he quoted) shall keep knowledge, and they (the people) shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel (or messenger) of the Lord of hosts." [151, 165] (61) Henry was chief of the Oneidas, Ben of the Yemassees, Harry of the Delawares, and Ellen was going to be Matiwan. [73, 111] (62) The fact is he is somewhat of a savant, a man of taste and a recognized writer. [85, 98, 180] (63) Hearn's accounts of his childhood and youth are not trustworthy but we may believe him when he says, that he was wilful beyond all reason. [80, 115 a] (64) If your girl is good looking tell her so, if she is not talk about the weather. [73, 91] Exercises 129 (65) No matter how things may twist themselves now Woodrow Wilson, President of Princeton Uni- versity will be the next governor of New Jersey. [30, 33 b, 91, 95] (66) During the revolution and until the civil war the custom was kept up but it has practically fallen into disuse now. [37, 80] (67) If the number of A.B.s given in 1912 and in 1913 be taken into account it will be found that the proportion to the whole body of graduates is relativelv small. [91, 196] (68) It is the purpose of the "men and religion forward movement" to make Smith, and Brown, and Jones believe that church is a good thing and that church services are worth attending. [39, 86] (69) Most people see in the resolution a thrust made by the senate at the president for his action in vetoing their tariff measure. [28, 40] (70) The second Congress of Mine Workers met in the Hillman building July 8, 1912 and remained in session during the week. [41, 42, 101] (71) I have read the following books in the order named; Goldsmiths Vicar of Wakefield; Elliots Silas Marner and Blackmores Lorna Doone. [13, 67, 85, 88, 171, 178, 189] (72) We had two reasons for remaining, namely to see if anybody had been hurt and to find out if possible who the lawbreaker was. [68, 94, 96] (73) If you had looked in Pitkin's "Short Story Writing" pages 121 and 122, you would have found the stories referred to. [103, 141, 171, 178 a] (74) She ought to have known that a dark, blue hat would not match a bright, red dress. [83, 84] (75) Paper hats and napkins, tin horns, artificial flowers, confetti, and even crockery, were thrown pell- mell around the room. [87] 130 Practical English Punctuation 15. Punctuate the following so that it shall make complete sense : Who Sir. You Sir. No Sir. Not I Sir. Who then Sir. You Sir. [57, 73, 100, 123, 155, 162] 16. Explain the capital letters, commas, dashes, hyphens, exclamation-point, and ellipses in the fol- lowing: "There were the Hunts — Nellie, and the lieutenant of the Lexington Rifles, Richard Hunt, a dauntless- looking daredevil with the ready tongue of a coffee- house wit and the grace of a cavalier. . . . . And there were the neighbors roundabout — the Talbotts, Quisenberrys, Clays, Prestons, Morgans — surely no less than forty strong, and all for dinner Before the General was the saddle of venison that was to follow, drenched in a bottle of ancient Madeira, and flanked by flakes of red-currant jelly. Before the Major rested broiled wild ducks, on which he could show his carving skill — on game as well as men. A great turkey supplanted the venison, and last to come, and before Richard Hunt, lieutenant of the Rifles, was a Kentucky ham. That ham ! Mellow, aged, boiled in champagne, baked brown, -spiced deeply, rosy pink within, and of a flavor and fragrance to shatter the fast of a Pope ; and without, a brown-edged white layer, so firm that the Lieutenant's deft carving knife, passing through, gave no hint to the eye that it was delicious fat. 5 " Fox, Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, 215-16. 17. Punctuate the following sentences correctly, stating after each one the rule or rules in accordance with which you have corrected that sentence : (1) Mr. Holliday's Wit and Humor of Colonial Days contains an account of the various versions of 5 Printed by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons. Exercises 131 Yankee Doodle which if not entirely new is well worth commenting upon. (2) My thanksgiving vacation was spent at my Grandmothers. (3) Mr. Marshall is a hoosier and a descendant of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the supreme court of the United States. (4) And not the least enjoyable part of the even- ing's entertainment was the music furnished by the second Wisconsin regiment band. (5) That is the thought to be developed in the paragraph should be given in the first sentence. (6) "Thinking begets thinking." Oliver Twist. (7) The sunlight was still resting upon the tops of her white sails, little dashes of gold on a background of snow, but none of us were interested in her goodly appearance. (8) Everytime I want anything, and cry for it, (because I can't make them understand I want any- thing unless I cry for it), they give me more Baby Food. (9) Let it be known that before the experiments on diptheria were begun about 70% of the victims of the disease succumbed while now after a few guinea pigs and rabbits have been sacrificed, only 10% of the patients die. (10) Despite the efforts of the Hague conference it is said that her maritime kingdom is to be forcibly divided and given to her rivals. (11) The garden of his house in Worcestershire was painted by Sargent in his Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. (12) He, himself, is a catholic and his parents be- fore him were all catholics. - (13) "Have you seen her." "Yes she was over at our house this morning." 132 Practical English Punctuation (14) When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1559, I am not sure that this date is correct, she found the country all torn up with petty dissensions. (15) "If I had only listened to you," she went on ! "But my self will blinded me." (16) We had won by clean consistent playing by faithful practice and by the fact that our coach under- stood the game and how to handle his men. (17) Millet had likewise a high talent in stained glass design and is the designer of an important win- dow in the Harvard memorial hall. (18) This so called puppy love does not always endure, perhaps it best not, for a girls last love is usually more sane than her first. (19) In these rooms were reserved especially for committee meetings of all kinds. (20) All during the Spring our Dramatic Club, for so we styled ourselves, had been working hard re- hearsing our final play. (21) "But my friend," he exclaimed, "that is pre- cisely. His friend stopped him in the middle of the sentence. (22) "In a few weeks when you are strong enough we will all take a trip together, that is Father and Dudley and I and maybe Henry (I don't mean Henry, I mean Mr. Scales) maybe Mr. Scales will go too." (23) Come on now fellows, we beat them last year in the second half and we can do it again this year. (24) Rev. Andrew Sledd, Ph.D. D.D. L.L.D. is president of Southern University. (25) He said that "he paid for it out of his own personal account and that the total came to $101.00, or $50.00 apiece." (26) She is or rather she was my Brothers stenog- rapher. (27) On account of the mild pleasant climate of California, and other Western states people have Exercises 133 flocked to these sections by the hundreds. Most of them settling down on small five or ten acre ranches. And then enthusiastically setting about the task of making the ranch pay for itself. (28) Wednesday, January 22nd. Unable any longer to appear on deck. Afraid I won't die now. (29) Incantations and chants — gloom and bril- liance of light, spooks and goblins — all were encount- ered in the course of the initiation. (30) In Milwaukee they have only two such homes, in Oshkosh one, and in Appleton none. (31) Jack the one eyed wonder, was the name of the chief occupant of the main tent which was gaudily painted to indicate it's importance. (32) I recognized it as Sir Wm. Jones' famous translation from the Persian and recited it to him ; So live that, sinking in thy last, long sleep, Smiles may be thine while all around thee weep. (33) The population of the world in 1880 was re- ligiously distributed in the following proportions. professors of Christianity 418000000 Buddhists 400000000 Mohammedans 215000000 Brahmins 175000000 Jews 7000000 all other forms of religious belief . . . 174000000 total 1389000000 (34) The questions that must necessarily be set- tled are — is it necessary, might not federal revenue be collected more easily in some other way; is it fair and just, and is it efficient? (35) Can indicates possibility, as I can hear. (36) According to the census of 1910 we have a population of 18,000 and between two fifths and three fifths of these are colored. 134 Practical English Punctuation (37) The following is the business of the General Conference; 1. the election of Bishops, 2. to adjust the boundaries of the Annual Conferences, 3. to revise the rules of the Discipline, 4. to superintend the interest of Foreign Missions, 5. to elect officers to conduct the business of the general Publishing House. (38) I rose from my knees — made my resolution — and lay down unafraid — enlightened — eager for day- light. (39) What he does not know about the great bear and the milky way and Jupiter is not worth knowing. (40) I've had enough of you. Now you beat it. Beat it quick while the goings good. (41) Many former Jewesses and Methodist, Bap- tist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Catholic women are today placing the Hindu scriptures, the veda, above the bible. (42) Henry W. Lawton, prince of promoters, as he himself admitted, and patron of authors sat in his office during the first two hours waiting. (43) Precisely at 11-20 he began to talk from Luke 11-17 and for one hour, until 12-20 he preached. (44) We were still fast and to judge from the grinding of the ice on the Western shore the wind was blowing a strong gale from the East. (45) "Cartersville, Cartersville," he repeated slow- ly; pardon me please where is Cartersville. (46) Whatever may have been his admiration for governor Wilson, ex president Roosevelt did not at all agree that a third party was unnecessary. (47) Bean — E. B. you said your name was. (48) He likened the new bill to a bowl of punch A little sugar to make it sweet A little lemon to make it sour A little water to make it weak A little brandy to give it power. Exercises 135 (49) How we all stood up and peered into the distant nooks ; how fearfully that dreaded cry came to us again; how nervously we scanned the green spots in the distance. (50 Henderson and Wallace are alike in this re- spect, one never forgets anything and the other never learns anything. (51) Even though we were both in the same boat so far as trouble was concerned, I had a scrap with him over the rabbits. (52) I invite your attention to the following pas- sage ; "A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievi- ous words stir up anger." (53) According to the statistics of the U. S. com- missioner of education forty one boys do not return the second year of high school, sixty two of the original one hundred do not return the third, and seventy six have dropped out by the fourth year. (54) When I meet a girl" with a very odd romantic and curiously-spelt name I always wonder what her name was before she began fooling with it. (55) Mrs. S. N. Conway, Union, Wis. Dear madam, (56) From the Post Office past Jefferson park and for nearly a quarter of a mile along the south shore drive the procession extended. (57) A woman like her as brilliant as any man and a great deal more brilliant than most of us has a per- fect right to vote. (58) So with pails, bags, baskets and boxes we started on that long wet tramp through the grass, bushes and tall timber. (59) That the one was nearly a woman now and the other— Alas ! — a full grown man did not occur to their Mother. (60) When women receive the ballot they will do 136 Practical English Punctuation as the men have done ; see that their working hours are shortened and that they have more sanitary conditions under which to labor. (61) This very important study should however not be a burden to the student and it will not become such if both teacher and student work hand in hand. (62) Mr. McCullom do I understand that you are a witness for rather than against the defense. (63) As to anything that would improve the work, I can think of nothing, it is the study not always the teacher that makes students like or dislike the subject. (64) Much obliged to you for the kind thought my child, I will take the word for the deed. (65) O, mother ocean I love thy whispers, thy sighs, and even thy doleful moans. (66) This summer we camped up the river where there were eight girls and two married ladies for chap- erones. (67) The convention held at Chicago, Illinois in July 1912 could not be termed an absolute success. (68) His answer was expressed in three words — read — read — read. (69) "Ah ! Well ! I am forgetting again how old I am ; he exclaimed, And you are not interested any way." (70) For in the Acts of the apostles we are told that : "neither was any one among them (the faith- ful) needy." (71) The taste is a highly-emphasized combination of jelly, apple cider and lemonade, strawberries, honey and cool milk, iced beer and pickles, and dozens of the other sensuous pleasures that please us, all these multi- plied to the third power. (72) But in an oral examination some students be- come so confused, even frightened, and this confusion is often due to the thoughtlessness of the instructor, Exercises 137 that it is utterly impossible for them to make the show- ing that they normally would. (73) The dance over she threw her card away re- marking that she was disgusted with balls. (74) The loss of Leonardo Da Vincis Mona Lisa is the most regrettable artistic loss that we have had in many years. (75) Upon him has been thrust the undivided honor of representing in the campaign of 1915 the saner ideas of progress under the constitution and the in- stitutions we have. (76) They learn the three Rs there and thats more than can be said of most of the schools in such dis- tricts. (77) Monday came and by 2,30 the biggest crowd was on hand that had been seen since the fall of 99. (78) The noon editions fairly overflowed with the latest and most ominous rumors, many of which had been invented in their own offices, denials of old rumors reported in the morning issues, derisive accounts of the ticket-scalpers who had been arrested, intricate cal- culations on the crowds probable magnitude, which was expected to be the largest ever known, statements by every notable in the city who had felt the need of a little free advertising, and other alleged news. (79) And what do you think of the dignity of a President who resorts to an ex parte action in order to gain a brief and transient legal victory over a very important part of the people, whom he has sworn to protect in their legal rights ! (80) The Springfield, Mass., Republican quoted in Public Opinion above states that in 1894 1333000 people in New York city lived in 39138 tenement houses, a fraction over 34 persons to the house. (81) From morn to noon, from noon to dewy eve it was work — work — work — nothing but work. 138 Practical English Punctuation (82) If he does this, and the instructor gives new kinds of exercises even though the main things to be learned are repeated, and new ways of presenting the old principles, I think the student would have less cause to find this fault with Rhetoric. (83) Born in the state that is known as the mother of presidents and that produced the father of his country, we may confidently expect something worth while of Pres. Wilson. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bibliography 141 BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, J. M., A Study of English Words. New York: Amer- ican Book Co., 1897. Baldwin, C. S., Composition: Oral and Written. New York: Longmans, Green, 1911. Bigelow, M. T., Punctuation and Other Typographical Matters. Boston: Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard, 1909. Bingham, W., A Grammar of the English Language. Philadel- phia: Butler, 1870. Brewster, W. T., English Composition and Style. New York: Century, 1912. Canby, H. S., and Others, English Composition in Theory and Practice. New York: Macmillan, 1912. Clark, J. S., A Practical Rhetoric. New York: Henry Holt, 1886. Cocker, W. J., A Hand-Book of Punctuation. New York: American Book Co., 1878. Earle, S. C, Theory and Practice of Technical Writing. New York: Macmillan, 1911. Earle, S. C, Savage, S. J., and Seavey, F. E., Sentences and their Elements. New York: Macmillan, 1911. Fulton, E., English Prose Composition. New York: Henry Holt, 1911. Genung, J. F., Outlines of Rhetoric. Boston : Ginn, 1896. Genung, J. F., Practical Elements of Rhetoric. Boston: Ginn, 1900. Harvey T. W., New English Grammar. New York: American Book Co., 1900. Herrick, R., and Damon, L. T., New Composition and Rhetoric. Chicago and New York: Scott, Foresman, 1911. Hill, A. S., Foundations of Rhetoric. New York: American Book Co., 1893. Hill, A. S., Beginnings of Rhetoric and Composition. New York: American Book Co., 1902. Hitchcock, A. M., Enlarged Practice Book. New York: Henry Holt, 1909. Kellogg, B., A Text-Book on Rhetoric. New York: Maynard, Merrill, 1897. Lamont, H., English Composition. New York: Scribner's, 1910. Lewis, E. H., Business English. Chicago: La Salle Extension University, 1911. Linn, J. W., Essentials of English Composition. New York: Scribner's, 1912. 142 Practical English Punctuation Lockwood, S. E. H., and Emerson, M. A., Composition Rhetoric. Boston: Ginn, 1902. Loomis, H. T., Practical Letter Writing. Cleveland: Practical Text Book Co., 1897. Lyte, E. O., Advanced Grammar and Composition. New York: American Book Co., 1899. Manly, J. M., and Powell, J. A., A Manual for Writers. Chi- cago : University Press, 1913. Manual of Style. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1910. Meiklejohn, j. M. D., English Grammar. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1901. Newcomer, A. G., Elements of Rhetoric. New York: Henry Holt, 1899. Perry, F. M., A Punctuation Primer. New York: American Book Co., 1908. Quackenbos, J. D., Practical Rhetoric. New York: American Book Co., 1896. Scott, F. N., and Denney, J. V., Elementary English Composition, Allyn and Bacon, 1897. Scott, F. N., and Denney, J. V., Composition-Rhetoric. Boston : Allyn and Bacon, 1902. Scott, F. N., and Denney, J. V., Paragraph Writing. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1909. Smith, A. M., Proof-Reading and Punctuation. Philadelphia: By the Author, 1902. Spencer H., Philosophy of Style. New York : Appleton, 1879. Style Book. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1912. Thomas, C. S., and Howe, W. D., Composition and Rhetoric. New York; Longmans, Green, 1911. Wendell, B., English Composition. New York: Scribner's, 1901. Williams, J. D., A Language Book. Chicago: Williams, 1911. Williams, J. D., Practical Studies in Grammar. Chicago : Wil- liams, 1912. Wilson, J., A Treatise on Punctuation. New York: American Book Co., 1899. Woolley, E. C, Handbook of Composition. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1907. Woolley, E. C, The Mechanics of Writing. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1909. INDEX INDEX Abbreviations, capitalized, 51; general usage, 223-8; hyphen- ated, 59; in addresses of let- ters, 256; in foot-notes, 221 b; in formal notes, 258; of political parties, 147; period after, 59; of cities, 248 I; reference, italicized, 184 Absolute construction, 106 Accuracy, lack of indicated by interrogation-point, 125, 150 Address, direct, 100 Addresses, in headings of let- ters, 235, 257; inside, 240-3; outside, 119 a, 254-6; titles of, quoted, 171 Adjectives, compound, 202; fractional, 201; modifying, 84; proper, 26 Administrative bodies, 40 Adverbial phrases, 98 Adverbs, preceding adjectives, 202 ex.; set off by commas, 98, 115 Allen, J. L., quoted, p. 119 &, when used, 227 b and, on an oblique line, 5 g Apostrophe, uses, 188-97 Appositives, possessive case of, 191; set off by commas, 95; by dashes, 132 Article preceding titles of books, etc., 29 b as, colon before, 68; comma after, 96; comma before, 68 a; dash before, 137 Astronomy, names in, 43 Author, dash between quota- tion and name of, 138 Author's name, comma after, 112, 222 Avenue, not omitted in head- ings of letters, 237 Bible, names capitalized, 32; not quoted, 171 ex. Biblical references, 70, 75 Bibliographies, 71, 222, 226 Black-face type, underscoring for, 22 Blank lines, 16 Blocks, names capitalized, 42 Books, citations of in foot- notes, 221 b; in bibliog- raphies, 222; format of, per- iod omitted, 59 ex.; titles capitalized, 29, italicized, 178 a, quoted, 171 Botany, names in, 55 Brackets, uses, 151-4 Broken lines, 53, 118 Bros., when abbreviated, 227 b Buildings, names capitalized, 42 Business correspondence, 'ab- breviations in, 227 Capital letters, after exclama- tion-points, 126 b; excessive use, 57; general usage, 24- 57; in compound interroga- tive sentences, 123 a; in par- enthetic expressions 24 b, 130 b; underscoring for, 22 Cardinal points, when capital- ized, 35 Caret, 18 Catalogues, 71 Chapter divisions, titles quoted, 171 Chemical symbols, 59 ex. Choice of writing paper, 4 Churches, names capitalized, 39 City in outside addresses of letters, 254 b Class names, 28 Clauses, adverbial, 91; con- trasted, separated by com- 146 Practical English Punctuation mas, 97; dependent: set oft" by commas, 91; by semi- colons, 77; exclamatory, ex- clamation-point after, 126; independent : colons between, 65; commas between, 80; semicolons between, 73; in a series, set off by commas, 83; parenthetic, 94, 130-1, 144; relative, 90; series of subject of a sentence, 87; transposed, 82 Clubs, names capitalized, 39 Co., when abbreviated, 227 b College classes, 28 b Colleges, names capitalized, 39 Colon, dash instead, 135, 137; uses, 65-72 Comma, before a dash, 130; general usage, 80-122; semi- colon instead, 76 Commercial institutions, names capitalized, 39 Compass, points of capitalized, 35 Complimentary close in letters, comma after, 118; general usage, 249-51; punctuation, 53, 118 Concluded, italicized, 183 Conferences, names capitalized, 38 Congresses, names capitalized, 38, 41 Conjunctions, commas before, 85, 86, 115 Continued, italicized, 183 Contractions, no period after, 59 ex. Conventions, names capitalized, 38 Conversation, paragraphing in, 162 Corporations, names capital- ized, 39 Correspondence, abbreviations in, 224, 225, 227-8, 256, 258 Court-house, when capitalized, 42 ex. d in dates, 230 b, 238 a Dash, comma before, 130 a, 132 a; general uses, 129-43; in dialogue, 162 ex.; inter- changeable with parentheses, 146 Dates, apostrophe in, 195; card- inal numbers, 229, 231; com- mas in, 116 a; dashes in, 141; figures omitted in, 141, 195; in headings of letters, 235; in letters, 238-9; inter- rogation-points after, 125, 150; set off by commas, 101 Days, of the week, names cap- italized, 36; of the month, expressed in figures, 230 de, when capitalized, 49 Decimal point above the line, 233 Decimals, expressed in figures, 231 a; period before, 61 Degrees, academic, abbrevia- tions capitalized, 51; ex- pressed in figures.. 231 a Deity, names capitalized, 31 Denominations, religious, 39 di, when capitalized, 49 Dialogue, dashes in, 139, 162 ex. ; paragraphing, 162 Direct address, words in, 100 Documents, capitalized, 37; fig- ures in, 234 Dots, indicating ellipses, 220; under erased words, 20 Double dash, 130 Double possessive, 192 Doubt expressed by exclama- tion-point, 127; by interroga- tion-point, 125, 150 Index 147 e.g., colon before, 68; comma after, 96; dash before, 137 Ellipses, 220 Emerson, R. W., quoted, p. 118 Emphasis, italics for, 181; words repeated for, 110 Enumerations, colon before, 67; commas in, 74 a, 88; first word capitalized, 47; in- formal, 67 b; letters in itali- cized 186; no punctuation be- fore, 67 b; numbering, 47 b, 149, 186; parentheses in, 149; semicolons in, 74 Envelops, 253-6, 262 epithets, personal, 33 a Epochs, historical, capitalized, 37; linguistic, period omitted after abbreviations of, 59 ex. Erasures, 19 etc., comma before, 85 b Events, historical, etc., 37 ex- before titles, 33 e Exclamation-point, capital let- ter following, 126; uses, 126- 8 Exclamations, punctuation of, 108, 126 Exercises for correction, p. 117 Explanations, enclosed in par- entheses, 154 Expositions, names capitalized, 38 Federal departments, names capitalized, 40 Festivals, 36 Figures, beginning sentences, 234; general usage, 229-34; in enumerations, 149; in headings of letters, 238; in parentheses, 149, 186, 234; omitted, apostrophe indicat- ing, 195; plurals of, 196 Foot-notes, abbreviations in, 221 b, 226; general usage, 221 Fox, J., quoted, 130 Fractions, no hyphen in, 201 Fraternities, 39 Geographical names, set off by commas, 101 Governmental departments, cap- italization of, 40 Headings of letters, commas in, 119; general usage, 235- 9; period after, 64 Herrick, R., quoted, p. 120 High-school, when capitalized, 42 ex., 57 a Holidays, names capitalized, 36 Honor, titles of, 33, 51 Hood, T., quoted, p. .62 however, semicolon before, 73 Hubbard, E., quoted, p. 123-4 Hyphen, uses, 198-219 /, 48 i.e., colon before, 68; comma after, 96; dash before, 137 Indentation, in outlines, 149 a; in quotations, 160-2; of par- agraphs, 14 Initials following surnames, 105 Ink, choice of, 6 Insertions of words, 18 Institutions, industrial, capital- ization of, 39 Interjection O, 48 Interjections, comma after, 108; exclamation-point after, 126 Interpolations in quotations, 151, 165 Interrogation-point, 123-5, 130 b, 150 Italics, for emphasis, 181; gen- 148 Practical English Punctuation eral uses, 178-87; underscor- ing for, 22 Items, tabular, commas in, 74 a, 88; first words capitalized, 47; introduced by colon, 67; numbering, 47 b, 149, 186; semicolon in, 74 James, W., quoted, p. 120-1 Judicial bodies, names capital- ized, 40 Kingsley, C, quoted, p. 60 La, when capitalized, 49 Languages, foreign, italicized, 180; in translation, 173 Le, when capitalized, 49 Lectures, titles quoted, 171 Legibility of manuscripts, 5 Legislative bodies, names cap- italized, 40 Letters, arrangement of pages in, 248 3; comma after com- plimentary close, 118, after headings, 119, after saluta- tions, 117, in inside address, 119; commercial, figures in, 234; formal 257-62; common errors in, 248; compliment- ary close, 249-51; envelop, 253-6, 262; general usage in, 235-62; headings, general us- age, 235-9; in first person, 235-56; inside address, 240-3; in third person, 257-62; legal, figures in, 234; outside ad- dress, 254-6; period after headings, inside addresses, 64; salutations, 244-6; signa- tures, 252; written in pencil, 248 8 Letters, alphabetic : in enumer- ations, italicized, 186, paren- thesized, 149; in mathematics, italicized, 186; in parentheses, 149; marking numbers of pages, foot-notes, etc., 186; omitted, apostrophe indicat- ing, 195, dash indicating, 143; plurals of, 196; used as let- ters, italicized, 186 Library, when capitalized, 42 ex Lincoln, A., quoted, p. 66 Lines, beginning with marks of punctuation, 17; broken, cap- itals in, 53, commas in, 118; crowded, 10; parts left blank, 16 Locality, names distinguishing, 34 MacDonald, G., quoted, p. 118 Madam, when capitalized, 52 Magazine articles, cited in bib- liographies, 222; titles capi- talized, 29, quoted, 171 Magazines, names italicized, 178; use of parentheses in titles, 148 Manuscripts, blank lines in, 16; carelessly prepared, 2; choice of paper for, 4; crowded lines, 10; ellipses indicating mutilations, 220; erasures in, 19; fastening, 23; folding, 23; foot-notes in, 221 d; inser- tions in, 18; legibility, 5; margins, 9, 12; neatness, 3; pagination, 11; rolling, 23; size of paper, 4; space at top of pages, 12; titles capital- ized, 29 Margins in manuscripts, 9, 12 Marks used in correcting themes, p. 113 Maxims, commas before, 109 Measures, metric, 231 a Messrs., 242 a Miss in signatures, 252 b Index 149 Misspelled words, 13 Modifiers, adjective, 84, 93; ad- verbial, 92; non-restrictive, 89-105; participial, 93; re- strictive, 89 a Money, sums of, 233 Months, abbreviated, 227; names capitalized, 36 Moody, W. V. quoted, p. 121 Mrs. in signatures, 252 b MS, period omitted after, 59 ex. Musical compositions, titles italicized, 178 a x quoted, 171 namely, colon before, 68; com- ma after, 96; dash before, 137 Names, baptismal following surnames, 105; class, 28; dis- tinguishing nationality, 34; geographic, 101; of states, in newspaper titles, 148; proper, 26, 44, joined with common, 30 Nationality, names distinguish- ing, 34 nd after ordinals, 230 b; in dates, 238 a Negro, not capitalized, 34 ex. Newspapers, names italicized, 178; parentheses in titles, 148 Nicknames, not quoted, 176 No, comma after, 107; semi- colon after, 78 Nominative absolute, 106 Notes, in parentheses, 154; in third person, 257-62 Nouns, common, 30; compound, 204; German, 50; proper, 26, 44 Numbers, automobile, 116 a, 229; cardinal, expressed in figures, 229, spelt out, 231; compound, hyphen in, 199; dashes used in, 141; dates, 229; decimals, period before, 61; general usage, 229-34; house, in letters, 235-6; in books, 229; in foot-notes, 221 a; in formal letters, 258; large, commas in, 116; large and small, 232; line, 103; or- dinal: in headings and ad- dresses of letters, 230; hy- phen in, 200; nd and rd af- ter, 230 b; spelt out, 230; when capitalized, 41; page, 103, 229; roman, no period after, 60; sentence not to be begun with, 234; street, 116 a, 229, 235; telephone, 116 a, 229; volume, 103 Numerals, arabic, nouns pre- ceding, 56, a; no period af- ter, 60; roman, nouns pre- ceding, 56 O, 48 Omissions, apostrophe indicat- ing, 195; comma, 111; dash, 143 Orders, monastic, 39 Ordinal numbers, capitalized, 41; hyphen in, 200; spelt out, 230 Organizations, religious, 39 Outlines, arrangement and numbering, 149 a Pages of letters, arrangement of, 248 3 Pagination of manuscripts, 11 Paintings, titles quoted, 171 Paper, choice of, 4; in letters, 253, 261 ; one side to be writ- ten on, 6 Paragraphs, consolidation of, 15; dashes indicating, 162 ex.; indentation of, 14, 182 150 Practical English Punctuation a; in quotations, 160; separa- tion of, 15; summarizing, semicolons in, 77; titles in black-face type, 179 a, itali- cized, 179 Parentheses, enclosing figures and letters, 149; enclosing in- terrogation-points, 125; indi- cating erasures, 19 a, general usage, 144-50; interchange- able with dashes, 131; punc- tuation with, 145; within par- entheses, 94 b, c, 131, 146, 153 Parenthetic expressions, en- closed in parentheses, 144; preceded by and, but, or, or nor ■, 94 d; set off by commas, 94; set off by dashes, 130-1; within parenthetic expres- sions, 94 b, c, 131, 146, 153 Parks, names capitalized, 42 Participles, set off by commas, 93 Particulars, enumerations of, colon before, 67; commas in, 74 a, 88; capitalization in, 47; no punctuation before, 67 b; numbering, 47 b, 149, 186; semicolons in, 74 Parties, political, abbreviations of in parentheses, 147; names capitalized, 39 Pause, dash indicating rhet- orical effect of, 140 Per cent, period omitted after, 59 ex. Percentage, expressed in fig- ures, 231 a Period, uses, 58-64 Personal epithets, capitalized, 33 a Personified objects, capitalized, 45 Phrases, adverbial, 98; apposi- tive, 95; contrasted, 97; ex- clamatory, 126; explanatory, 133, 144; foreign, 173, 180; indicating residence, position, or title, 102; in a series, 83; in pairs, 83 a; modifying words in separate phrases, 99; parenthetic, 94, 130-1, 144; series subject of a sen- tence, 87; slang, 175; trans- posed, 82 Pictures, titles capitalized, 29 Plays, cited in bibliographies, 222; titles capitalized, 29, italicized, 178 a, quoted, 171 Plurals of figures, letters, etc., 196 Poems, cited in bibliographies, 222; titles capitalized, 29, quoted, 171 Points, cardinal, 35 Political parties, abbreviations in parentheses, 147; names capitalized, 39 Position, phrases indicating, 102 Possessive case, 188-94; pro- nouns in, 194 Post-office, when capitalized, 42 ex. Predicate, compound, 114 Prefixes, hyphenated, 205; marked by hyphens, 218; von, de, etc., 49; written solid, 206 Prepositions, set off by com- mas, 115 Professor, not capitalized, 57 Pronoun /, 48 Pronouns, antecedents in titles of essays, 8; in formal let- ters, 259; possessive, 194; re- flexive and indefinite, 95 b Proof sheet, specimen, p. 114. Proper nouns, 26, 44 Index 151 Punctuation, defined, 1 Punctuation marks, beginning lines, 17; with parentheses, 145 Questions, indirect, 123 b; in- terrogation-points after, 123- 4; use of capitals in, 123 a Quotation-marks, general us- age, 155-77; in plurals of let- ters and words, 196 a ; omitted from quotations, 167 ex., 168 a; relative position of, 157 a, 166; use with ellip- ses, 157, 159, 220 b Quotations, brackets in, 151-2 capitalization in, 25; colon be- fore, 66; comma before, 109 corrections of mistakes in 152; dash after, 138, before. 134; dialogue, 162; different type for, 167 ex.; direct, 155- 69; ellipses in, 220; exactness necessary, 169; fragmentary. 25 a; from foreign languages, 180 ex.; honestv in. 163; in- dentations in, 160-2, 164, 167; indirect, 170; informal, 25 a, 161; interpolations in, 151, 165; introduced by a dash, 134; material omitted, 220; mistakes in, 152, 169; para- graph indentation in, 160; prose, 159-69; punctuation of, 155-77; quotation-marks omitted from. 167 ex., 163 a; verse, 156-8, 164; within quo- tations, 163-4 Railroads, names capitalized, 39 rd after ordinals, 230 b; in dates, 238 a Readings, responsive, 185 References, biblical, 70, 75 Reference words, italicized, 184 Religious denominations, 39 Residence, phrases indicating, 102 Resolutions, form of, 182; semi- colon in, 77 Resolved, capital after, 54; comma after, 120; italicized, 182 Responsive readings, 185 Restoration of erased words, 20 Rhetoric, not capitalized, 57 Roads, names capitalized, 42 Roots, hyphen indicating, 218 Salutations in letters, 244-6; punctuation of, 52, 69, 117 Sarcasm, indicated by exclama- tion-point, 127 Saying, verbs of, no comma after, 115 a Schools, names capitalized, 39 Seasons of the year, 26 Semicolon, general usage, 73- 9; in resolutions, 182; instead of commas, 76 Sentences, beginning with fig- ures, 234; complex, 79; com- pound, 73, 80; compound in- terrogative, 24 a; declarative, exclamation-point after, 128; period after, 58; exclamatory, exclamation-point after, 126, period after, 58; first word capitalized, 24; declarative followed by interrogative, 81; imperative, exclamation-point after, 128, period after, 58; incomplete, dash after, 129; independent, capitalized, 46, colon between, 65; interroga- tive, 123-4, 130 b: introduced by colons, 46, by dashes, 135; large and small numbers in. 152 Practical English Punctuation 232; parenthetic, 24 b, 130 b, 144; predicate of, comma af- ter, 114; simple, no semicolon in, 79; subject: comma after, 113, no comma after, 87 Sermons, titles quoted, 171 Ships, names italicized, 178 Side-heads dashes after, 142; italicized, 179; periods after, 63 Signatures, general usage, 252; titles after italicized, 187 Sir in salutations, 52 Slang, in quotation-marks, 175 Slowness of speech, dash indi- cating, 139 So, semicolon before, 73, 80 b Societies, names capitalized, 39 Solar bodies, names capitalized, 43 Space at top of each page of manuscript, 12; between let- ters, 5; between lines, 10; be- tween paragraphs, 14; be- tween title and subject-mat- ter, 7 Speech, dash indicating slow- ness, 139 Spelling, 13 Spencer, H., quoted, p. 2 Squares, names capitalized, 42 st in dates, 238 a Stammering, hyphen indicating, 219 State, departments of, 40 a States, abbreviations of, 227 Street, omission in addresses, 237 Street numbers, 229 Subjects of sentences, comma after, 113; no comma after, 87 Suffixes, hyphenated, 207; marked by hyphens, 218; varying, 209; written solid, 208 Summaries, 77 •Summarizing words, 136 Sums less than a dollar, 233 Surnames followed by initials, 105 Syllabication, 216 Syllables, hyphen between, 216; hyphen indicating, 217 Syllabuses arrangement and numbering, 149 a Symbols, chemical, 59 ex. Tables, time, 62, 70, 203 Tabular items, capitalization, 47; colon in, 67; comma in, 74 a, 88; numbering, 47 b, 149, 186; semicolon in, 74 Technical terms, 172 Tense, future, in formal notes, 260 th in dates, 238 a that, comma before, 115 a that is, colon before, 68; com- ma after, 96; dash before, 137 Themes, marks used in correct- ing, p. 113; titles not quoted, 177 Therefore, dash before, 137; semicolon before, 73 Time indications, 62, 70, 203 Titles, abbreviations of capital- ized, 51; academic, 104; after signatures, 187; compound words in, 29 c; ex- before, 33 e; honorary, 33, 104; in direct address, 33 d; not omitted in letters, 242; of books, capitalized, 29; of par- agraphs, 179; personal, not abbreviated, 225; phrases in- dicating, 102; preceded by author's name, 112; quoted, 171, 177; space between sub- ject-matter and, 7 Toasts, 171 Index 153 Translations, 173 Transposed words, 21, 82 Type, underscoring for differ- ent kinds, 22; black-face in paragraph titles, 179 a Underscoring, for emphasis, 181; general usage, 22 Van, capitalized, 49 b Verbs, coined, 197; of saying, no comma after, 115 a Verse, first lines capitalized, 25; fragments of, 25 a; grouping lines of, 157 a, 158; quoted, 156-8, 164 viz., colon before, 68; comma after, 96; dash before, 137 Vocatives, 100 von, when capitalized, 49 Week, days of, capitalized, 36 Weights, metric, 231 a Well, comma after, 107 Wesley, J., quoted, 156 Whereas, capital after, 54; comma after, 54 a, 120; itali- cized, 182 Why, comma after, 107 Words, appositive, 95; coined, 175; colloquial, 175; com- pound, 29 c, 198-215; con- tracted, 59 ex.; contrasted, 97; division of, 216; erasures, 19; foreign, 173, 180; hyphen- ated, 212; incomplete, hyphen indicating, 218; in definition, 173; in direct address, 100; in pairs, 83 a; in series, 83, 87; insertion of, 18; interro- gation-point after, 125, 150; modifying, in separate phrases, 99; omission of let- ters in, 195; omission of part, 215; omitted, indicated by commas, 111; parenthetic, 94, 130-1; plurals of, 196; refer- ence, 184; repeated for em- phasis, 110; restoration when erased, 20; separate, 214; series of, subject of sen- tence, 87; slang, 175; solid, 212; stammered, 219; sum- marizing, 136; syllabication, 216; transposed, 82; trans- position of, 21 Yes, comma after, 107; semi- colon after, 78 Zoology, names in capitalized, 55