1.) Serial commas:
A, B, and C. NOT a, b and c.
Exception from the rule: Names as in lawyers offices: Partridge, Wren and Finch.
2.) Two sentences, where there should be one sentence with two clauses - "that's just not right."
Example: "She and her mother first met Alberto in Naples. A Place full of mystery and romance."
There is a full stop, where there should be a comma. Some writers may use ounctuation different from the standard to emphasise. This could be done for rhetorical effect: "She and her mother met Alberto in Naples, a place full of mystery. And romance."
This is ok, while in this case, the second sentence is hardly even a fragment anymore. I think the problem we are looking at is basically one sentence broken into two. In the second example we do have two clauses, even though the last bit is bitten off the sentence, sort of...
3) Punctuation in quotations:
As a general rule for modern english written text, the punctuation stays outside the quotation marks. However, this may depend on the style sheet you are supposed to use.
Example: As Dickens said, "digustibus non est dispudandum"; a quote often mistaken as of Cesar's origin.
In classic readings, the semicolon may have stayed inside the quotation marks.
4) Working with prepositions; words such as in, on, by, of, with, under, over, from etc.
"prepositioned", because they come before the word they are related to.
Churchill gives a silly example of using prepositions in an awkward way: "Up with it I sall not put".
Another problem with prepositions is the risk of loosing them when trying to rearrange an awkward sentence:
An engraving on a tombstone: A General and Orator exceeded by non in the age he lived.
The correct sentence would have read: A General and Orator exceeded by non in the age he lived in.
This is also a case where the preposition is placed at the end, and rightly so, as we commonly use this phrase, explaining where we live in: The era I live in.
4a) Using the right preposition. This is a hard one, when you are not 100% familiar with English language. It would be silly to learn all prepositions by heart. However, if in doubt - ask the dictionairy.
Examples:
Oblivious to or oblivious of?
Acquiesce to or acquiesce in?
To forbid someone from doing or to do something?
In all the cases the latter is the correct preposition.
There is a full stop, where there should be a comma. Some writers may use ounctuation different from the standard to emphasise. This could be done for rhetorical effect: "She and her mother met Alberto in Naples, a place full of mystery. And romance."
This is ok, while in this case, the second sentence is hardly even a fragment anymore. I think the problem we are looking at is basically one sentence broken into two. In the second example we do have two clauses, even though the last bit is bitten off the sentence, sort of...
3) Punctuation in quotations:
As a general rule for modern english written text, the punctuation stays outside the quotation marks. However, this may depend on the style sheet you are supposed to use.
Example: As Dickens said, "digustibus non est dispudandum"; a quote often mistaken as of Cesar's origin.
In classic readings, the semicolon may have stayed inside the quotation marks.
4) Working with prepositions; words such as in, on, by, of, with, under, over, from etc.
"prepositioned", because they come before the word they are related to.
Churchill gives a silly example of using prepositions in an awkward way: "Up with it I sall not put".
Another problem with prepositions is the risk of loosing them when trying to rearrange an awkward sentence:
An engraving on a tombstone: A General and Orator exceeded by non in the age he lived.
The correct sentence would have read: A General and Orator exceeded by non in the age he lived in.
This is also a case where the preposition is placed at the end, and rightly so, as we commonly use this phrase, explaining where we live in: The era I live in.
4a) Using the right preposition. This is a hard one, when you are not 100% familiar with English language. It would be silly to learn all prepositions by heart. However, if in doubt - ask the dictionairy.
Examples:
Oblivious to or oblivious of?
Acquiesce to or acquiesce in?
To forbid someone from doing or to do something?
In all the cases the latter is the correct preposition.
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