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Ghost Writer Posted 20 years ago
Linguistics Studies
Mechanics: Apostrophe and quotation mark usage
I've been to many websites, but there are still things that confuse me.
I suppose "back in the day" when the Internet could not italicize things, people used some type of punctuation for marking significant words.
The word 'and' can be used intermittently throughout the paper, but the paper may look mediocre.
The word in the other sentence was 'and', and I'm wondering if using the apostrophes correctly. Did I use the apostrophes correctly?
The next situation is a term of my own in a sentence:
Do I like buying clothes from Walmart? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. This "sometimes-clause" is based on what I consider the ideal me and the other me.
I don't suppose I would use the apostrophes; I figure I would use quotation marks. But how can I be sure?
At other times I will write with a word at the end of the sentence. Sometimes I will use question marks within a sentence and question if I should use a comma within the quotation marks.
I'm going to the store to buy that thing you wanted. You said it was "supervantabulous", but someone else said it was the dorkiest thing ever.
Would I have used the comma within the quotation marks? I suppose I would because this example uses said, but what if it didn't use 'said' and was within a different context?
This would be called my "somtimes-clause", and I haven't found a way to deal with it.
I suppose "back in the day" when the Internet could not italicize things, people used some type of punctuation for marking significant words.
The word 'and' can be used intermittently throughout the paper, but the paper may look mediocre.
The word in the other sentence was 'and', and I'm wondering if using the apostrophes correctly. Did I use the apostrophes correctly?
The next situation is a term of my own in a sentence:
Do I like buying clothes from Walmart? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. This "sometimes-clause" is based on what I consider the ideal me and the other me.
I don't suppose I would use the apostrophes; I figure I would use quotation marks. But how can I be sure?
At other times I will write with a word at the end of the sentence. Sometimes I will use question marks within a sentence and question if I should use a comma within the quotation marks.
I'm going to the store to buy that thing you wanted. You said it was "supervantabulous", but someone else said it was the dorkiest thing ever.
Would I have used the comma within the quotation marks? I suppose I would because this example uses said, but what if it didn't use 'said' and was within a different context?
This would be called my "somtimes-clause", and I haven't found a way to deal with it.
Top answer
GW, there are rules for these things (which unfortunately sometimes differ between AmE and BrE usage), and there is an over-riding guideline of clarity: if it gets too messy or iffy, reframe the sentence. With regard to your specific examples: The word 'and' can be used intermittently throughout the paper, but the paper may look mediocre. --This is correct, but they are not apostophes (which are used for contractions and possessives), but 'single quotation marks' (') as opposed to 'double quotation marks' (").
- GW, there are rules for these things (which unfortunately sometimes differ between AmE and BrE usage), and there is an over-riding guideline of clarity: if it gets too messy or iffy, reframe the sentence.
- With regard to your specific examples: The word 'and' can be used intermittently throughout the paper, but the paper may look mediocre.
- --This is correct, but they are not apostophes (which are used for contractions and possessives), but 'single quotation marks' (') as opposed to 'double quotation marks' (").
- Some style manuals reserve single quotation marks only for quotes within quotes: She said, "I like your 'hot' pants" .
- Other style manuals allow you to use them instead of double quotation marks for single words or short phrases that are not direct quotations, but are indicating a special use of the word or phrase-- as you and I have done here with the word 'and'.
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1 Answers
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GW, there are rules for these things (which unfortunately sometimes differ between AmE and BrE usage), and there is an over-riding guideline of clarity: if it gets too messy or iffy, reframe the sentence. With regard to your specific examples:
The word 'and' can be used intermittently throughout the paper, but the paper may look mediocre. --This is correct, but they are not apos
The word 'and' can be used intermittently throughout the paper, but the paper may look mediocre. --This is correct, but they are not apos
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