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Tag Archives: punctuation

Punctuating Interrupted Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions join pairs of words, phrases, or clauses, but when such a conjunction is interrupted by an intervening phrase or clause, it can be difficult to know where to put the commas. This is especially true when the conjunction joins the parts of a compound sentence.

6 days ago January 24, 2023 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.

Commas with Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses

If you’ve ever had to learn how to use commas with relative clauses—especially clauses introduced by which or that—you may have also encountered the word restrictive and its opposite, nonrestrictive. What do those two words mean, and what do they have to do with commas?

2 weeks ago January 18, 2023 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.
The words "You said," followed by a comma and an opening double quotation mark

Is a Comma Needed to Introduce Dialogue?

Q. Would you add a comma before the quotation marks in the following sentences?

November 8, 2022 in Fiction+.
A sign pointing in two directions: "Exception" and "Rule."

A Few Exceptions Worth Noting

Even the most straightforward rule will be subject to an exception sooner or later. That’s why CMOS qualifies so many of its rules with usually or generally. But some exceptions are so common that they deserve to be called rules themselves.

October 11, 2022 in CMOS Section in the Spotlight.
A puppy with golden curly hair sits on shag carpeting next to the following quoted words: "Curly quotes are smart."

Chicago Style Workout 67: Quotation Marks

Quotation marks, or “quotes” for short, like to work in pairs. But they’re not all the same. They can be double or single, left or right, curly or straight. Part of an editor’s job is to know which marks to use in which context—and to make sure they’ve been used consistently.

July 26, 2022 in Chicago Style Workouts.
Oops! Word hanging on the ropes

“Erg, no kidding?” Interjections in Creative Writing

Not all fictional characters are meant to be smooth-tongued and lyrical in their speech. Rather, just like us, they sometimes mumble or stumble. Giving a character flawed speech is a way to make dialogue more realistic. And this very human kind of talking often involves the use of interjections.

July 19, 2022 in Fiction+.
Parentheses symbols font shape element made of clouds on blue background over sky

Chicago Style Workout 66: Parentheses (and Brackets)

Parentheses and brackets (specifically, square brackets) normally come in pairs, as do other types of brackets and braces. Their main job is to set things off from their surroundings.

June 28, 2022 in Chicago Style Workouts.
A chalkboard sidewalk sign for a restaurant in Helsinki, Finland. The sign reads "Homemade Burger's, Pitsa's, Wing's. Also Takeaway & Wolt." Note the "grocer’s apostrophe" in three places and the word "pizza" spelled as p-i-t-s-a.

Chicago Style Workout 65: Apostrophes

Apostrophes, like quotation marks, hang out far above the baseline, where they have two main roles: contraction and possession. They also occasionally have a third role: as a marker of the plural.

May 24, 2022 in Chicago Style Workouts.

Chicago Style Workout 64: Semicolons

Semicolons, when they’re not winking at you, can be a useful punctuation mark. Some writers are fans of the mark; others could do without it. But whatever you think of semicolons, it can be helpful to know how they’re used.

April 26, 2022 in Chicago Style Workouts.

Exclamation Points in Creative Writing

Exclamation has always announced straightforward shouting, alarm, surprise, excitement, amazement, disbelief, exasperation, or even just helpless flustering. In the eighteenth century, readers could expect melodrama.

April 19, 2022 in Fiction+.

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