An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes product details paperback. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. Sep 15, 2016 identifying how an emdash is used and actually using one in your own writing are two different things, the latter being trickier. Read one of your sentences aloud and see where you would naturally pause, where you would draw a breath.
Jan 01, 1997 the blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules, realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests. When our newspaper reprinted 200 community comments about the issue, only a handful were written using proper grammar. An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes from the w. The quizzes help get up to speed quickly with english grammar. There are several forms of dash, of which the most common are. For guidance in proper citation format, you should consult the bluebook, our bluebook. Heres a good strategy to use when trying to decide whether to use emdashes or parentheses in your writing. It doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation. Jul 16, 2015 our series of basic english grammar rules will help you brush up your language skills. On a mac, hold down the option key and type the minus sign located at the top of the keyboard. No one writing handbook or grammar guide should suffice for careful writers, and though jane strauss the blue book of grammar and punctuation is less comprehensive than some other resources, its largeformat workbook approach provides a readerfriendly introduction to the intricacies of proper prose.
New yorkbased artist, charles dickensinspired author, postworld war ii novel. Welcome to the latest edition of above the laws grammer pole of the weak, a column where we turn questions of legal writing and english grammar and usage over to our readers for discussion and. Identifying how an emdash is used and actually using one in your own writing are two different things, the latter being trickier. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughterinlaw in theabove example, it is known as the oxford comma. This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of grammar, punctuation, and usage. For the most part, the dash does not have a unique role in grammar. Its longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The blue book of grammar and punctuation navy general. The cygnal or cp210x composite device should also no longer be installed.
An em dash is longer than an en dash and three times as long as a hyphen. Now in its tenth edition, the blue book is a masterpiece of clarity and usefulness. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples. The bluebook exercise is designed to evaluate each petitioners ability to uniformly apply the. Its a refresher for experts, a reference for lay people, and a lesson plan for teachers. After an en dash, specify whether the jury instructions pertain to civil. So they replaced the hyphen with the en dash, which is longer than a hyphen but shorter than a long dash. Em dashes are often used to set off parenthetical information.
Informally, they separate comments that stray from the central idea of the sentence. The blue book of grammar and punctuation succeeds at a rare feat. Use a dash to indicate a summarizing clause a clause is a group of words having a subject and a verb. One hundred million, fortyfour thousand, nine hundred and eightyfive. An em dash, or long dash, is used in pairs, to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an understanding of the rest of the sentence. You may also form an em dash by typing the first word, hitting the hyphen key twice, and then typing the second word. Comma placement determines the grammatical, and therefore logical, structure. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. Our small city is currently debating a bond issue to build a recreation center. Thousands of childrenlike the girl in this photographhave been left homeless. Its no accident that a semicolon is a period atop a comma. Mar 18, 2014 the blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. Tips on grammar, punctuation and style if the rules you learned about commas and semicolons dont mean much to you, forget them and try this. En dash em dash 4 capitalization 70 beginning a sentence or quoted sentence proper nouns titles government of.
Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. Find books like the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. We baked three hundred and twentyfive cookies for the bakeoff. Greek grammar letter bible ministry and the blb institute hold to the historical, conservative christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of scripture. My question, grammar cat, concerns the use of the emdash.
Like commas, semicolons indicate an audible pauseslightly longer than a commas. My book is full of them because it seemed to reflect how i think, but i wonder if there are conventions for good usage versus, for example, the dry, uninteresting semicolon. First, hyphens must never be used interchangeably with dashes see the. Grammar and punctuation the blue book of grammar and. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eighth edition. The house, the yard, the garagethey had remained untouched. Hyphens punctuation rules the blue book of grammar. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. In the eleventh edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation february 2014, and on our website, we are letting the hyphen do the work of the en dash, and the em dash is simply now the dash or long dash. Apr 14, 2015 so they replaced the hyphen with the en dash, which is longer than a hyphen but shorter than a long dash.
All cheap jabs to the majestic semicolon aside, this is a great question. Jun 02, 2009 its a minefield and wed rather leave this matter to the printers. It may be used in place of commas, a semicolon, a colon, or parentheses. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. The online etymology dictionary says the dasha horizontal line used as a punctuation markfirst appeared in writing and printing in the 1550s.
This handy workbook is ideal for teachers, students in middle school through college, esl students, homeschoolers, and professionals. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes tenth edition jane straus 3. To form an em dash on most pcs, type the first word, then hold down the alt key while typing 0151 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes at. According to thomas mackellar, in his 1885 book, the american printer. Interactive grammar quizzes the blue book of grammar and. The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes tenth edition jane straus 2. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens.
May be used to practice, reinforce, or teach grammar and punctuation skills. The blue book of grammar and punctuation bachat247 deals. Functions of the dash the dash is one of the most effective punctuation marks of all. Daily grammar lesson 428 mechanics punctuation dashes. Dashes set off loosely related comments and sudden breaks in thought. Hyphenate all compound numbers from twentyone through ninetynine. When a compound adjective follows a noun, a hyphen is usually not necessary. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition. This grammar lesson offers an explanation on the correct use of dashes and gives examples of dashes used in sentences. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons, semicolons, or three dots. The blue book of grammar and punctuation, eleventh edition english usage rules explained in plain english it doesnt take a lifetime to master english grammar and punctuation. Most books and many magazines would pick the en dash over the hyphen in those three examples. One subscription may be used by an entire class or office simultaneously.
People will pay attention to you ideas not your grammar mistakes. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a combination reference book and workbook. An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes. With over 200,000 copies sold, this is one of the most highly trusted english language resources available. Each goldbook rule number corresponds to the matching bluebook rule number. On a pc, hold down the alt key and type 0150 on the numeric keypad located on the far right of the keyboard. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is filled with easytounderstand rules, realworld examples, dozens of reproducible exercises, and pre and posttests.
Grammar, punctuation, capitalization, usage, spelling, vocabulary, confusing words, synonyms and antonyms. Review the blue book of grammar and punctuation young. Chapter 5 dash this article is about chapter 5 dash enjoy your reading. The hyphensinnumbers rule applies even when the compound number is preceded by other numbers that do not require hyphens. Putting spaces before and after an em dash is a matter of preference. The dash learning english grammar collins education. The punctuation guide the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. Conditional, indicative, imperative, interrogative verb moods. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. All it takes is the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Using em dashes instead of parentheses puts the focus on the information between the em dashes. Topics include grammar, punctuation, capitalization, writing numbers, spelling, vocabulary. This userfriendly resource includes simple explanations of. Use one before the parenthetical information and one after it. The blue book of grammar and punctuation is a handy reference guide. Most newspapers and magazines drop theoxford comma in a simple series, apparently feeling its unnecessary. The dash is a handy device, informal and esentially playful, telling you that youre about to take off on a different tack but still in some way connected with the present course only you have to remember that the dash is there, and either put a second dash at the end of the notion to let the reader know that hes back on course, or else end the sentence, as here, with a period. Jan 22, 2014 a revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide the blue book of grammar and punctuation is a concise, entertaining workbook and guide to english grammar, punctuation, and usage. If you find yourself wanting to throw in a little extra information about a noun in a particular. An easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes, 11th edition. A revised and updated new edition of the bestselling workbook and grammar guide. The blue book of grammar and punctuation 11th edition pages.
The quick answer this page offers an explanation on the correct use of dashes and gives examples of dashes used in sentences. Newer versions of word will generally connect them into one dash. Hundreds of multiplechoice quizzes in html, pdf, and interactive formats. Semicolons the blue book of grammar and punctuation. Books similar to the blue book of grammar and punctuation. The blue book of grammar and punctuation jane straus. Among such rare grammar books is the one written by jane straus, named as the blue book of grammar and punctuation.