Sonia Jaffe Robbins, Editing Workshop, G54.1123, WEEK III

A Brief History
Period
Exclamation Point
Question Mark
Comma
Semicolon
Colon
Em-dash
En-dash
Hyphen
Parentheses
Brackets
Quotation Marks
Ellipses

A BRIEF HISTORY

The earliest writing had no punctuation, in fact, often had no space between words, until around the 9th century A.D. Some Roman monuments might have centered dots between words. The terms "comma," "colon," and "period" were invented by the librarian in Alexandria in the 3rd century B.C., but the marks corresponding to these terms were different from the marks we use today, and they were not generally accepted. Even when spacing between words was used, it was haphazard, rather like spelling before printing. The hyphen was introduced around the 11th century, to indicate that word was continued on the next line, but these word breaks were not at natural syllables as they are today.

Ancient Greek manuscripts separated units of text by a horizontal line called a paragraphos, so those units came to be called "paragraphs." The policy of indenting the beginning of paragraphs was standard by the 17th century; the Greeks sometimes began paragraphs with an outdent, sometimes called a hanging indent.

In medieval manuscripts, other marks -- like section, dagger, double dagger, and others -- were used either as ornaments or to indicate citations, rather like footnotes today.

All forms of punctuation became standardized with printing, but early punctuation was more related to speaking than to reading. Rhetoric, as the study of speech, needed marks to indicate when the speaker should pause to give emphasis, and that was what early punctuation was based on, rather than being related to the logical structure of written sentences. In elementary school, we still often learn how punctuation is used by thinking of how a sentence is spoken (thus, the injunction to use a comma when you pause). After the invention of printing, grammarians developed a theory of punctuation related to structure rather than sound. While these rules of English punctuation were pretty much established by the end of the 18th century, they are not fixed in stone. Change in punctuation, however, is slower than change in word use.

Punctuation is also not the same in all languages. The quotation marks used to enclose direct quotation in English, for example, are not used by the French, who use either a dash (--) at the opening of a quotation, or angle brackets (<>) to surround it. Where English would use underlining or italics to indicate emphasis, English quotation marks are sometimes used in other languages, like Spanish.

PERIOD

1. Use after a complete declarative or imperative sentence.

exc. 2. "I think I'd better go," she said.

3. They assigned the task of creating a new imprint to Creed Taylor, who reached for his Roget's and found the word Impulse! (the exclamation was his).

Whether abbreviations or organizations have periods depends on the publication style.

4. N.A.A.C.P. or NAACP

5. Mr. A. or Mr. A (for Mr. Abbott)

Don't use periods after headlines, subheads or heads, items in a column, index entries, or captions not in sentence form.
In a list of phrases, if one is a complete sentence with a period the others must have periods.

6.1. Groovy.
2. All right!
3. Have a nice day.

Don't use a period before a question mark unless the period is for an abbreviation.

7. Are you a member of the A.C.L.U.?

Don't use a period after an exclamation point or question.

8. We haven't seen Oh! Calcutta!

*9. I didn't write What, Me Worry?.

Put periods inside quotation marks and double quotation marks, but remember to distinguish a closed single quote from an apostrophe. (British usage distinguishes whether the period is part of the quoted matter; American usage does not.)

10. "The other was 'The Old Folks at Home.'"

11. "Thanks for the second helpin'."

Put a period outside the parentheses if the parenthetical sentence is part of a larger sentence. Put it inside the parentheses if it is not part of another sentence.

12. According to Rabbi Saul Perlmutter of the U Mass Hillel Foundation, though there have been occasional problems with "graffiti, etc." over the past couple of years, there's been no evidence at all that these incidents were linked to third world students (according to the college's Office of Human Relations, the only perpetrator to be identified was white).

You can have more than one sentence within parentheses when the parenthetical is within another sentence, in which case each complete sentence would end in a period (or appropriate end punctuation) except for the final word before the end parenthesis.

13. In the wake of Howard Beach and Forsyth County, this week's New Republic cover bannered the mag's tripronged attack on (well, maybe "embrace of" would be closer. We're talking serious thumb-sucking here) "racism."

Use a period to end a rhetorical question.

14. What's the point of going on.

EXCLAMATION POINT

Use rarely, for strong emotion or after a command.

15. "Leave me alone!" she said.

16. "Wow! That's great," he said.

Use, again rarely, for emphasis or irony.

17. These children--registered voters!--established the course of the nation.

QUESTION MARK

Use for direct questions.

18. That mountain (can you see it?) is named Harry.

19. I ask, do you feel like leaving?

20. Ask yourself, How can we win the war?

Questions within a sentence can be treated in different ways.

21. How tall were you when you began school? when you entered high school? when you graduated from high school?
22. Ask the questions What is it, Who wants it, and How much will they pay, and you will get rich.

23. Are you alone, I wondered?

24. Suppose he gets hurt? or Suppose he gets hurt.
25. What to wear--a question we all answer every day.

26. I often wonder, what am I doing here?
27. I often wonder what I am doing here.

28. She asked herself, When will I learn?
29. When will I learn? she asked herself. (note, no comma)

30. Will you please leave.
31. Won't you stay?

32. "You know what," I said. "I've been having fun."

33. I said, "Who is that?"
34. Did you say, "It's me"?

35. Wie geht's? (meaning, How's it going?) is German.
36. Did you say, "Comment ça va?" (meaning, How's it going?)?
37. I said, "Where's the 'feen'?" Did you mean to say "bean"?
38. Did somebody yell, "Fire!"?
39. What would she say if I said, "Drop dead!"

Do not use a comma after a question mark or exclamation point, unless the stronger punctuation is part of an italicized title.

40. Cited in "Do You Speak Clearly?" 5th ed., 1979
exc. 41. Have you read Charge!?
42. Read Charge!, Why Me?, and What!? (note lack of period)
*43. Have you read Why Me??

COMMA

Writers use commas in either an open or closed style: "open" means using only the commas that are necessary; "closed" means using as many as are grammatically justifiable.

44. The soil, which, in places, overlies the hard rock of this plateau, is, for the most part, thin and poor.

In a series of three or more items, opinion is mixed on whether to use a comma before the conjunction. The Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk and White say "yes." The New York Times and AP say to omit the comma in a simple series, but use it in a complex series. But what constitutes a simple or a complex series? Do the following two sentences have the same meaning?

45. "Mary, John and Harry are here."
46. "Mary, John, and Harry are here."

?47. No one came to the hearing but representatives from the Straphangers' Campaign, a lobbyist against Westway and six attorneys.

?48. Sixty Minutes will include reports on the high cost of getting Alaskan oil to the "Lower 48," radiation pollution caused by everything from highway speed traps to kitchen microwave ovens and Woody Allen.

?49. Inside the orange pagoda entry to the panda moat, north of the giraffes, dozens of zoo workers rushed about yesterday, planting bamboo trees, affixing plastic shields onto tree trunks to prohibit the giant pandas from climbing the trees and fretting about crowd control.
?50. Although casualty estimates vary, it is widely accepted among scholars that after the sudden collapse of the Chinese defense of Nanjing in December 1937, rampaging Japanese soldiers executed thousands of prisoners of war, men suspected of being soldiers and civilians, and burned the homes of Chinese to keep warm.

Use a comma in direct address.

51. "Mr. Mayor, when will you travel to the moon?"

In titles, don't use a comma to separate Jr. from the name it follows.

52. Martin Luther King Jr.

Use commas with dates that include day and year. (Note comma following the year as well.) Usually a comma is not used with dates that include only month and year.

53. January 18, 2005, is the first day of classes for the spring semester at NYU.

54. January 2000 was the first month of the '00s, but was it the first month of the new millennium?

Use commas to separate state from city and state from remainder of sentence.

55. Albany, New York, is this state's capital.

Use a comma to introduce direct questions, but not indirect questions.

56. The problem is how to do it.
57. The problem is, how is it done?

Use commas for appositives (phrases that explain and have the same grammatical relationship in the sentence as they word they explain). You can replace the word with the appositive and the sentence will still make sense.

58. The New Yorker, a weekly magazine, became more "newsy" after Tina Brown became editor.

59. Albany, New York's state capital, is just west of the Hudson.

Use a comma to separate a title from a name only if the name is in true apposition. The use of an article before the title will usually indicate true apposition.

60. NYU president Sexton took office in September 2002.
61. The new NYU president, Sexton, took office in September 2002.
*62. NYU president, Sexton took office in September 2002.

Use a comma before the appositional or, which indicates a different way of saying the same thing.

63. Earnings amounted to $1,500,000, or 20 cents per share.
?64. Earnings amounted to $1,500,000 or 20 cents per share.

Use commas to set off nonessential (or nonrestrictive, or nondefining) clauses and phrases (including appositives). However, note that a true appositive is always nonessential, because it is simply another way of describing the person, place, or thing that is the subject of the sentence. To decide whether a phrase or clause is essential or nonessential, it may help to determine what question is being answered.

65. Men, like Jim and Mike, cannot have babies. (who cannot have babies?)
*66. Men like Jim and Mike cannot have babies. (which men cannot have babies?)

67. The book that is mine is on the table. (whose book is on the table?)
68. The book, which is mine, is on the table. (where is the book?) (Anyone who looked at sentences 66 and 67 before January 2004 may have found the distinction confusing. I have fixed it, January 5, 2004.)

69. The poet, Longfellow, is buried here. (who is buried here?)
70. The poet Longfellow is buried here. (which poet is buried here?)

71. The car, which has three wheels, is cheap. (what is cheap?)
72. The car that has three wheels is cheap. (which car is cheap?)

Notice that that introduces essential clauses, while which introduces nonessential clauses. Now look at the following example.

?73. We therefore oppose any attempt to increase taxes which would harm the recovery and reverse the trend toward restoring control of the economy to individual Americans. [from the 1984 Republican Party draft platform]

Clauses beginning with -ing verbs are usually set off with a comma, because they are usually not defining clauses.

74. "I only did what seemed natural," said Smith, smiling nervously as he recounted his Good Samaritan effort.

*75. Roommates can best get along through compromise appreciating others' differences and being willing to try to solve problems.

Do not use a comma in a sentence with a compound predicate.

76. Former president Clinton has an office in Harlem and a home in Chappaqua.

exc. 77. He stifled the cry that rose to his lips, and lay motionless. [why?]

If the conjunction joining the compound predicate is but, a comma is often used, but may be omitted if the relationship expressed is a close one. The comma is also often omitted in "not only...but also" constructions.

78. I forgot my homework, but will bring it in tomorrow.
79. The comma is small but mighty.
80. The house is not only compact but also cleverly designed for its size.

And conveys a close relationship between ideas of a sentence, while but conveys a separateness in the relationship of ideas. Thus the comma.

Generally, use a comma to separate independent clauses joined by a conjunction. (with and, not an absolute rule, but is with such conjunctions as but or or)

81. Della and Robert are visiting Washington and Jean will meet them there.
82. Della and Robert are visiting Washington, and Jean will meet them there.
83. Della and Robert visited Washington, but they did not see the White House.
*84. Della and Robert visited Washington but they did not see the White House.

*85. The president, as well as his close advisers in the White House and the Cabinet, believe they have a mandate after the 2004 election.

Do not permit writers to separate a subject from its verb with a comma.

*86. On the other side of the street, is a camel.

Introductory clauses and phrases often pose problems.

87. Soon after, they built a new settlement.
88. Soon after they built a new settlement, they selected a village leader.
?89. Soon after they made their first settlement they established a government.
90. They arrived in 1690, and[,] soon after, they built a new settlement. [why might the bracketed comma be optional?]
91. He arrived early and, although she was not yet there, he started rehearsing.

92. When I got in, the car started.
?93. When I got in the car started.

94. If we're going to be late, we'd better hurry.

95. Either we go to the beach today, or we don't.
96. Either way, we go to the beach today.

97. The wind blew the snow about, so that the roads were completely covered.
98. Road barriers were up so that we couldn't pass.

There is usually no need to place a comma after an introductory and and but, unless what follows is an appositive, like an attribution.

*99. But, there was no one behind the door.
100. But, she said, "There's no one behind the door."
*101. And, who would have thought it.
102. And, he wondered, who would have thought it.

Transition words are usually set off with commas.

103. It is, of course, too late to go back.
?104. It is of course too late to go back.

105. What's to be done, then?
106. What's to be done then?

107. However, the secretary of state ignored all questions at the press conference.
108. However the secretary of state responded, his press aides were available to reporters.
109. Negotiations lasted well into the night, however, providing hope the strike could be postponed.
*110. She could feel no respect for anybody who was not a writer, however, she found much to interest her in the dark stranger.

Use commas with parenthetical expressions.

111. Football players, even after they retire, inspire awe.

For strong distance, use em dashes.

112. Copy editors--many never retire--inspire yawns.

For quotations, use a comma after an attribution to introduce simple quotations.

113. She said, "No comment."

Do not use a comma when that introduces the quotation or a partial quotation is used.

114. He said that "there is no reason to believe the officers are lying." Preferable: He said, "There is no reason to believe the officers are lying." 115. Former Secretary O'Neill criticized the "destructive attitude" of Congress on the budget.

Use a colon to introduce a lengthy quotation of a paragraph or more.

Do not use a comma if the quotation is an intrinsic part of the sentence, rather than dialogue.

116. If you say "I'll do it," I'll be very surprised.

Never use a comma preceding a parenthetical phrase.

*117. Though her voice, as a pure instrument, is not in the class of Dionne Warwick, (who first did the tune), Anton gave it a spare and beautiful reading, allowing plenty of room for the song's inherent poignancy to speak for itself.

THE COMMA as PAUSE?

Use commas between adjectives of equal weight (the and test).

118. The bright, red curtains stood out against the dark, gray walls.
119. The bright red curtains stood out against the dark gray walls.

Commas always go inside quotation marks in American usage. Only in British usage do commas go outside quotation marks.

SEMICOLON

The semicolon joins independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction. This punctuation is not common in hard news; these sorts of sentences are usually broken into two separate sentences. But a semicolon might be used to join independent clauses that have a close relationship to each other.

120. Only three families out of the hundreds who lived on the hill have trekked the few miles home. The front door on the adjacent house remains padlocked; it is not known if the owner is alive.

A semicolon could be used with a conjunction if the independent clauses have complicated punctuation.

?121. You wouldn't expect the movie The Name of the Rose to have the same circumlocutory construction and intellectual rigor as the book; but who'd have anticipated this sludgy, narcoleptic horror show?

Use with a series that has internal commas or that might be confusing using only commas.

122. Offerings for breakfast include waffles, juice, and coffee; eggs or eggs with sausage, with or without potatoes, juice, and tea; omelets with a choice of fillings, tea or coffee; or simply juice, coffee, and toast.
?123. Courses in the new publishing program include Introduction to Publishing; Editing; and Business Accounting.

Never use a semicolon in quoted dialogue; people don't speak in semicolons. Use a period instead.

COLON

Use a colon to introduce, but when the phrase such as introduces, don't use a colon.

124. Bacteria are everywhere: in the air, water, . . .

125. Use well-known brands, such as Band-Aids, Rice Crispies, and Coca-Cola.

Don't use a colon to introduce if the introductory words are an incomplete sentence that needs one or more items of the list introduced to complete the sentence. In other words, don't use a colon to separate a verb from its objects.

*126. The best players were: Smith, Jones, and Brown; the Bagley twins; my little brother's best friend; and Margie, who won.

An introductory complete sentence that contains the word follows or following does take a colon.

127. The following aspects of American life will be affected by the new tax bill: (1) ... , (2) ...

Use a colon in expressions of time and biblical references.

128. Joan Benoit's time for the marathon was 2:22:42.

129. Genesis 1:1 is the beginning of the Bible.

A colon may used following run-in subheads, but a period is neater. However, no punctuation may be acceptable if the run-in subhead is visually distinct typographically.

Use a colon to introduce dialogue, as in quotations in a review or coverage of a trial, and in Q and A interviews.

Colons always go outside quotation marks, unless they are part of the quotation itself.

HYPHEN

The hyphen is a short horizontal mark, usually used to join words or join prefixes or suffixes to words. Click here for a fuller discussion of compound words and prefixes. NEVER refer to a hyphen as a "dash."

Hyphens also indicate syllabification or separate letters.

130. The poster spelled out L-O-V-E.

Hyphens are also used to divide words at the end of a typeset line if they won't fit on the same line. Copy editors often need to verify or indicate word breaks on page proofs, when a word not in the computer's dictionary is broken according to mathematical rather than linguistic rules. Always check the dictionary for syllabification, or word breaks.

EM DASH (--)

(HTML does not permit a sure way of formatting an em-dash, so I am forced to rely on the old, manual typewriter, format of two hyphens. Please imagine that the double hyphens below are em-dashes.)

The em dash is a long horizontal mark separating words--referred to by nonprofessionals as simply a "dash." It also marks a suspension of sense, a faltering in speech, a sudden change in construction, or an unexpected turn of thought.

131. We will fly to Paris in June--if I get a raise.

132. Smith offered a plan--it was unprecedented--to raise taxes.

Use an em dash to set off a series that requires commas in the middle of a sentence.

133. He listed the qualities--intelligence, independence, charm, beauty--that he liked in women.

Em dashes are used for stronger separation than commas provide. Parentheses set off phrases that are explanatory.

134. The three elements--earth, air, and water--are mixed in all entities.

135. Black light (popular with kids) and yellow light (making blue appear green) strain the eyes.

Avoid setting off more than one set of words with em dashes in one sentence; it's too easy for the reader to lose track of what's in the dash and what isn't. And don't combine em dashes and commas.

*136. Many things come in pairs: twins, wedding presents--something old, something new; ears, and shoes.

Use an em dash preceding an attribution that follows a direct quotation, as in an epigraph.

137. "In the long dark night of the soul, it is always three o'clock in the morning." --Fitzgerald

Use an em dash with a divided quotation, when the division is narrative rather than attributive.

138. "Happy is the man"--she was being sarcastic--"who laughs at love."

139. "Never," she exclaimed, "never will I agree."

An em dash may be used to indicate an unfinished thought.

140. "But how--" she began. (note, no comma)

Use with datelines.

141. PRAGUE--

Em dashes may be used to introduce items in a list, but numbers or bullets are better.

EN DASH

(HTML does not permit a sure way of formatting an en-dash, so please imagine that the hyphens in this section are en-dashes.)

The en dash is midway in length between a hyphen and an em dash. It may not be available in all fonts. If it is not available, use a hyphen. If it is available, use it as follows:

For suspensive dates

142. the art season of 2004-2005 (or 2004-05)
*143. She attended NYU from 2003-2005.
*144. He lived in Washington between 1995-1998.

For ranges

145. Stock prices were off 2%-4% for the quarter.

Hyphenating words that already have a hyphen.

146. English [en dash] Scotch-Irish descent

Adding a prefix or suffix to a capitalized word or to a two-word compound.

147. post-Lacanian
148. pre-Civil War literature
149. pro-civil rights activity

PARENTHESES

Use parentheses when commas aren't strong enough or em dashes aren't appropriate. May be used to set off numbers or letters used to list:

150. (a) ... , (b) ... , or (1) ... , (2) ...

Do not use a comma, semicolon, or colon before an open parenthesis.

*151. At the end of nearly each program, there is an astonishing departure from standard television, (though MacNeil/Lehrer have done something similar in their stolid way).

Parentheses may be used to indicate political affiliation, but this information may also be shown in appositive form. This is a matter of publication style.

152. Barbara Lee (D.-Calif.) or
153. Barbara Lee, Democrat of California

BRACKETS

Often not used by newspapers, which use parentheses instead. AP cannot send brackets over the newswire, so they never appear in wire copy.

Use brackets for information from other than original writer, e.g., editor's note, or author's interpolation within a quotation, such as providing a first or last name or identifying features, spelling out an abbreviation, etc.

154. "I called up Buck [White] and told him we had been tailed."
155. "Happy is the man [she was being sarcastic] who laughs at love."

Be wary of inserting explanatory words within brackets in a quote. Too many such words distract readers, making them wonder what speaker actually said. If quote is not self-explanatory, fill in the missing information in the narrative.

?156. "[The high school principal] is being held pending inquiries," a police spokesman said.
157. "He is being held pending inquiries," a police spokesman said, referring to the high school principal.

Use for parenthetical element within parentheses.

158. This Po River country was called Cisalpine Gaul (Gaul on this side [i.e., the Italian side] of the Alps) because . . .

QUOTATION MARKS

Use for direct quotations, not for indirect ones. Avoid enclosing individual words in a narrative in quotes simply to indicate they are the words of the person interviewed rather than of the writer.

*159. Kennard says that he did "get the feeling" that people had some "rancor" toward his campaign because he was opposing a "pioneer."

In magazines, long quotations and/or epigraphs that are set in italics do not get quotation marks.

If the words so-called or namely precede a term, there is no need to put quotes around the word or phrase.

*160. He nominated many so-called "poets" to the board.

Words used as words may be put in quotation marks (or italics, depending on publication style), but be careful that quotation marks are not used to indicate opinion or irony that is already conveyed by the rest of the story.

161. The words "popularity" and "success" are synonymous with "commercial" and "sellout" to many WBAI listeners.

*162. The "campaign" headquarters were located at a desk in the corner of her studio apartment.

Quotation marks may be used when a word is used in an unusual sense, but again, be careful of this as a writer's device.

?163. He describes it as a "bed of music" interrupted by short "modules" of information, interviews, short public affairs documentaries ...

Quotation Marks and Other Punctuation

There are six kinds of punctuation used with quotation marks: (1) comma and period, (2) question mark and exclamation point, (3) semicolon and colon. The first four kinds are print translations from speech, commas and periods indicating when to pause or stop, and question marks and exclamation points indicating speech intonation. Semicolons and colons are used in printed text only; there is no speech equivalent for either one.

The punctuation for which there is no speech equivalent always goes outside quotation marks.

164. The BBC quoted the Iraqi Defense Minister as saying, "There are 200,000 insurgents in the country"; the Iraqi Defense Minister denied saying that number, claiming there are only 20,000.
165. An OED citation highlighting current usage is from A. Oakley's "Sex, Gender, and Society": "Sex differences may be 'natural,' but gender differences have their sources in culture."

The punctuation that indicates pause or stop always goes inside quotation marks.

166. "I just can't go on anymore," she said.
167. She said she just "couldn't go on anymore."

The punctuation that indicates intonation (rising for a question mark, emphatic for an exclamation point) goes inside or outside of quotation marks depending on whether the intonation applies to the quoted words or the sentence of which the quoted words are part.

168. "When are you coming to visit?" he asked.
169. What was the purpose of the seminar titled "The Representation of Representation"?

When inserting attribution into the middle of a quotation, the attribution should be followed by a period when the first part of the quotation is a complete sentence. The attribution should be followed by a comma when the first part of the attribution is an incomplete sentence.

170. "If you're going out," he said, "will you pick up some milk?"
171. "I've never thought of it like that," she admitted. "But now that you mention it, I'll take it under advisement."

ELLIPSES

Use for omitted material.

Use for a pause longer than a dash (but do not let a writer overuse this device).

172. The text was trailing off ...

Last revision: January 31, 2005