One comma or two? Why? I love the picture above, and although it may not seem to connect with showing us some American punctuation rules … it actually does for many rules, especially commas. There’s a rule that says where…
Comma or and?
So, do we use a comma or and before nouns? Brand Message Expert Daisy McCarty asked me recently about using a comma or and in a sentence for one of her clients: The company focuses on creating elegant, sensible solutions that allow…
Are Your American Grammar Skills strong?
Are your American grammar skills strong? The quiz shown below is on the first page of my Brush Up on Your American Grammar Skills workbook, and we start every class with it. It’s the students’ first glimpse of what is in…
Does Good Grammar Matter?
In this day and age, many folks wonder: does good grammar matter? This post came about thanks to an article that Maggi Kirkbride found, read, and shared — and tagged me with. You can read it here. Thanks, Maggi! The article…
Another Pop Quiz!
*********** Yes, it’s quiz time again! I know many of you actually read my posts and perhaps even try to make some changes (if you’re using American grammar), so I hope this little quiz is easy for you! FYI: There…
Are You Practicing Comma Sutra?
Comma sutra is a funny term — more or less based on “karma sutra” — and designed to get your attention. For whatever reason, many writers never learned the simple trick of knowing when and why to use a comma…
The Dreaded Comma Splice
Happy Monday once again, dear colleagues. And since it’s Monday, it must be American Grammar Checkup day. At the risk of belaboring a point, I keep noticing in many professional documents two sentences separated by only a comma. I’m certain…
Commas with Nonessential Information: Which or That?
It’s commas time again, dear readers! Of all the subjects I get comments on, this one is tops. Most folks admit to using way more commas than they think they should, but I’m guessing it’s just because they don’t know…
It’s Quiz Time Again!
Please remember this is based on the American grammar system; if you follow any of the British systems, your rules might be different. ************** Yes, here’s another quiz (previous one here), which explains why I chose that picture for this…
Commas Count!
Today’s lesson is brought to you by the often-misused punctuation mark called the comma. Many of us writers never learned the basic rules for commas, and as we’ve aged we’ve really struggled with them. We’ve heard that if we pause…
Commas in Compound Sentences
OK, folks — listen up! There are at least a gazillion comma rules in American grammar and probably in all other grammar systems, but we don’t have to learn every single dratted one. Really. We don’t. We do, however, have…