Tagged Questions
-1
votes
0answers
66 views
Punctuations and “tumbles down the hill”
He jump but hardly reaches the stone and tumbles down the hill. He tries to catch some other edge or stone as he falls and catches a small hole with his two fingers in the left hand.
Something ...
2
votes
1answer
347 views
Periods after directional abreviation in address
I am creating a business card, and I need to put the address of the company on it. What is the proper way to write this address?
555 14th St NW, Atlanta, GA 55555
555 14th St NW., Atlanta, ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Usage of “and” and comma when writing numbers UK style
I am trying to understand the rules for writing numbers in words under the UK rules (with "and"). I understand how to write small numbers (up to a few thousands), but I am not sure when to use "and" ...
1
vote
1answer
364 views
Using “and” to combine two sentences [closed]
I would like to combine these two sentences.
Have significant experience of managing office and warehouse.
Have experience of managing people at office and warehouse.
Can I use and to do ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
Using “and” twice in a list
About using and, I've learned it is usually used in lists, between the last two items. For example:
I like movies, traveling and going out with friends.
Please tell me if the use of and ...
0
votes
0answers
184 views
Does the full stop (period) come before or after the quote mark at the end of a sentence? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it ever acceptable for a period to come after a quote at the end of a sentence?
Should one stick to American style of placing punctation marks within quotes if one uses ...
0
votes
2answers
324 views
Repeating “to” in a list of verbs connected by “and”
"This group’s main duties are to carry out information systems audits in Colombian banks and to make research and develop new regulations on information technologies and systems in the banking ...
7
votes
2answers
935 views
How do I refer to a word?
When writing, I sometimes want to refer to a word, as opposed to its meaning. For example: when correcting someone's grammar or semantics (there versus their), or when pointing out exemplary ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Is there a proper name for the 3 asterisks that are used to suggest temporal discontinuity?
For example, when some long prose passage ends, this appears:
* * *
Then some new prose passage begins. The three asterisks dividing the two prose sections are understood to divide the two ...
8
votes
5answers
744 views
Is it OK to add a question mark to show inflection?
When asking a question you generally have to raise your voice at the end of the sentence, is it okay to stuff a question mark in order to show inflection?
A couple examples:
'That really happened?'
...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
Should there be a period after an equation?
This isn't a pure English question, but it is about writing style: Sometimes entities that aren't words end up being in sentences.
I know that when mathematical expressions are inline as follows:
...
4
votes
2answers
694 views
Should “vice versa” be treated as an independent clause?
I know "vice versa" more or less means "conversely," but when it is used by itself, should it be punctuated as if it were an independent clause?
Dogs don't like cats, and vice versa.
or
Dogs ...
5
votes
5answers
871 views
Is the phrase, “Use commas sparingly” a valid piece of advice?
I am currently in the process of collaboratively editing a research paper, and participated in a meeting about it today. During the discussion, the head of the group made a blanket statement about ...
14
votes
4answers
5k views
How do I emphasize a word using the standard punctuation system?
I've seen people on the Internet stressing a certain word using "*":
I do not *like* it, I *love* it!
I think there is no such punctuation as "*". So I'm wondering if I can use some other way to ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
In the sentence “You, too.”, is the comma acceptable?
I tend to think it is, as "too" serves the role of a referential phrase, repeating the verb-phrase of a preceding sentence, and "you" acts simply as a subject pronoun. But, I've heard an argument to ...
6
votes
2answers
867 views
How to punctuate an answer to a question when the answer is also a question?
The title to this question is sort of long-winded but the example here should clarify it.
Which of these is correct?
Who should be baby-sitting your children, your neighborhood teenagers or ...
2
votes
5answers
564 views
Use of ! to convey sarcasm vs. emphasis
One, two or even three exclamation marks are often added, especially in e-mail, to convey emphasis to phrases such as Thanks!, or No problem!. My problem is that in British English, you could also ...
6
votes
7answers
5k views
When and how should I use multiple exclamation marks?
Now, I never do this, but in some few cases I have seen people use multiple exclamation (or question) marks like this:
Hey!!!
Is that grammatically correct? (Or just okay). In case it is, how ...
7
votes
1answer
3k views
To hyphenate or not?
As a non-native speaker of English and an engineer by training, I always get confused about hyphenation and almost always end up referring to Google every time I need to make that decision.
Does ...
2
votes
1answer
645 views
“Easy to explain, here is an example for you:”
Here I present you two scenarios of mine:
This can be explained very easily, with this example:
example here
and
This can be explained very easily:
example here
On the first ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views
Coordinating conjunction immediately followed by parenthetical — Is a comma needed or not?
William Strunk's Rules of Usage states:
If a dependent clause, or an introductory phrase requiring to be set off by a comma, precedes the second independent clause, no comma is needed after the ...
0
votes
0answers
128 views
Where do I place the closing character when I end a sentence with parenthesis? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where does the period go when using parentheses?
Which of the following should I use? Are there any exceptions to the rule?
I enjoy breakfast (sometimes).
I ...
4
votes
1answer
750 views
What is the difference between “solidus” and “slash”?
I was reading a text, and I found the word solidus.
What is a solidus? Is the word normally used in everyday language, or is there another word that replaces solidus even if it's not the completely ...
11
votes
4answers
249 views
Usage of “|” in English sentences
I have a book about punctuation marks, but it doesn't report when to use | in a English sentence.
I notice that the New Oxford American Dictionary uses that character to separate the examples it ...
4
votes
2answers
621 views
How to punctuate sentences like “I'm just calling a spade, a spade.”
I was browsing Area 51 and I saw this comment:
I'm just calling a spade, a spade.
I'm never quite sure how to punctuate sentences like these where a phrase is repeated back to back, without any ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Usage of commas with “albeit”
Is it correct to place two commas in this sentence?
New York City plays a significant, albeit previously neglected, role in the urban narratives of [...].
7
votes
2answers
489 views
How to punctuate lists in general?
(1) How to punctuate lists in general? (2) also, what case to use?
In the case study, signal comparison could be used for:
• signals from redundant channels of emergency stop button,
• output ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
Help with sentence: don't come in
Which of the following is correct:
1) Don't come in, I'm busy.
2) Don't come in; I'm busy.
3) Don't come in. I'm busy.
4) Don't come in I'm busy.
And why?
6
votes
1answer
872 views
Question mark usage/position when sentence ends with a declarative quotation?
Who said "I am hungry?"
The quotation is not a question, but do I put "my" question mark there anyway?
This is related to, but not the same as Position of question mark when sentence doesn't ...
17
votes
5answers
727 views
How to handle a name that includes an exclamation point (or other punctuation)?
Certain brands, such as Yahoo!, insist that the exclamation is part of their name. In writing about such a brand or company, is the inclusion of the vanity punctuation right, wrong, or optional?
I ...
1
vote
0answers
609 views
Do I need to place a comma before an address? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where should the comma be placed in the salutation of a letter?
I am not sure if the way I have formulated the title of my question is correct, so if you know better, ...
4
votes
7answers
7k views
Is there any rule for the placement of space after and before parenthesis?
I often get stuck when forming or formatting a sentence with one or more parenthesis. For example, I wrote an answer on another stackexchange site, in which I wrote:
...whereas, my phone(xperia ...
4
votes
2answers
606 views
Which punctuation for definition
I have the following sentence:
To this end, I first devised a novel
algorithm to enumerate all possible
partitions; ways of dividing a network
into meaningful parts.
I was told that the ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
What are the rules on when to use commas, colons, semicolons and dashes?
What are the rules on when to use commas, colons, semicolons and dashes?
2
votes
3answers
975 views
Should I place a question mark after “Can you (just) imagine”?
I mean should I always split the sentence into two ("And can you imagine? He escaped through the window!") or I can just get away with one long sentence without a question mark at all (something like ...
41
votes
13answers
1k views
If an insertion in parentheses ends with a smiley, how do I distinguish between the two?
I know smileys are not part of written language (yet), and any questions about them are irrelevant to linguistics and are kind of not serious. So take my question with a smiley then.
It bugs me ...
