2017-11-01
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Here is the generally accepted rule:
| Put a comma after a conjunctive adverb if it is more than one syllable long. |
I saw her rudeness to her parents; then I lost respect for her.
He decided to consult the map; however, she decided to ask the next pedestrian she saw.
Some Common Conjunctive Adverbs:
| Also | furthermore | nevertheless |
| Anyway | however | on the other hand |
| as a result | in addition | undoubtedly |
| besides | in fact | therefore |
| certainly | incidentally | similarly |
| consequently | meanwhile | indeed |
| finally | otherwise | then |
3. To separate items in a series when the items themselves contain commas:
I had lunch with Linda, my best friend; Mrs. Smith, my English teacher; and Jan, my sister-in-law.
Four Uses for the Colon
1. After a complete sentence when the material that follows is a list, an illustration, or an explanation:
A. a list:
Please order the following items: five dozens pencils, twenty rulers, and five rolls of tape.
Notice that in the sentence below, no colon is used because the sentence before the list is not complete.
The courses I am taking this semester are Freshman Composition, Introduction to Psychology, Art, and American Literature.
B. an explanation or illustration:
The room was in a mess: dirty clothes were piled on the chairs, wet towels were thrown on the floor, and an empty pizza box was tossed in the wastepaper basket.
(In this sentence, all the words after the colon explain what the mess was like.)
2. For the salutation of a business letter:
To whom it may concern:
Dear Madam President:
3. In telling time:
We will eat at 5:15.
4. Between the title and subtitle of a book:
Plain English Please: A Rhetoric
The Exclamation Mark:
The exclamation mark is used at the end of sentences that express strong emotion:
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Appropriate: You've won the lottery!
Inappropriate: We had a great time! (Great already implies excitement.)
Be careful not to overuse the exclamation mark. If your choice of words is descriptive, you should not have to rely on the exclamation mark for emphasis. Use it sparingly, for it is easy to rely on exclamation instead of using better vocabulary.
The Dash and Parentheses
Dash and parentheses can be used to show an interruption of the main idea. The particular form you choose depends on the degree of the interruption.
Use the dash for a less formal and more emphatic interruption of the main idea.
I picked up the crystal bowl carefully, cradled it in my arms, walked softy--and tripped, sending the bowl flying.
Use two dashes to set off dramatic words that interrupt a sentence.
She arrived--I know it for a fact--in a pink Cadillac.
Use parentheses to insert extra information and afterthoughts. Such information is not emphasized.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) composed the "Preludes and Fugues".
Her name (which I have just remembered) was Celestine.
NOTE: Commas in pairs, dashes in pairs, and parentheses are all used as inserters. They set off material that interrupts the flow of the sentence. The least dramatic and smoothest way to insert material is to use commas.
