This is Part Four in our Grammar How-To Series. I’ll be brief. It matters, though maybe not the way you think it does. Or maybe exactly the way you think it does. Take the test and find out. 1. Choose the sentence that makes the most sense. a) Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”…
Tag: grammar
How to Use Semicolons
This is part three in our original grammar series. Semicolons, or, in the words of Kurt Vonnegut, “transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing,” have been given a bad name. You and Kurt may avoid them if you choose. If, however, you’ll open your hearts to the tiny mutants, I think you’ll find they’re really rather “useful little…
How to Use Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes
This is part two in our original grammar series. It turns out the little horizontal lines you’ve been sticking between words when you weren’t sure what sort of punctuation should go there are actually different lengths for a reason. Go figure. Which of the following should fill the blank? 1. The confident student begins the well_proofed…
How to Use Commas
This is part one in our original grammar series. Today, we discuss the comma. It has rules attached to it that are easy to forget, and often hard to understand. Which of these sentences is correctly punctuated? A) Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Tell Tale Heart,” describes the crazy narrator’s murder of the old man…
8 Punctuation Marks You Never Knew You Needed
Sometimes an ellipsis just isn't enough. Sometimes you need... a superellipsis. As we increasingly communicate with each other through the written word, via texts, comments, and online chats, does anyone besides me feel that our choice of punctuation marks is sorely lacking? Well, I suppose College Humor does, since they've given us these suggestions for…
How to Mark National Punctuation Day
Attention, grammarphiles: today is National Punctuation Day! Commemorated every September 24th, National Punctuation Day is the only holiday in existence to celebrate the wonderful, squiggly world of punctuation marks. In a world where punctuation is rapidly in decline, thanks to texting and trendy writers (ahem, ee cummings and James Frey), this day serves to remind…
For Students: eNotes’ Intern Offers Writing Tips
5 Writing Habits to Ditch Now Our fabulous and world-worn eNotes intern returns to share cautionary tales from the battlefield of her college experience. Okay, so really she just graduated from UCLA and is dead smart, but that just means you should pay attention to what she says even more. This time, she covers the five…
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