The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

LESTER KAUFMAN is the author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation and publisher of GrammarBook.com. A lifelong public servant, he served first in the Peace Corps, and eventually completed the final years of his federal career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He married Jane Straus in 1987. After his retirement from the EPA, Kaufman began working with Jane on The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation and the GrammarBook.com website. Following Jane Straus's untimely passing in early 2011, Kaufman assumed the role of author of new editions of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation and continued the publication of GrammarBook.com, which features an informative and entertaining weekly newsletter that encourages readers to ask grammar questions and offer their views on the state of twenty-first-century English.

Preface and Acknowledgments xix

About the Authors xxi

Introduction xxiii

1Grammar 1

Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects 1

Definitions

Noun

Verb

Subject

Gerund

Using verbs to find subjects

Multiple subjects and verbs in a sentence

Infinitives

You as an understood subject

Subject-Verb Agreement 4

Singular vs. plural verbs

Finding subjects before phrases beginning with of With or, either/or, and neither/nor

Two singular subjects

One singular and one plural subject

With and

With interrupting expressions

With here or there

With distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc.

With portion words such as a lot, a majority, percent, some, all

With collective nouns such as group, family, staff

The subjunctive mood

Irregular Verbs 9

Clauses and Phrases 9

Definitions

Clause

Independent clause

Dependent clause

Phrase

Pronouns 10

Definition: Pronoun

Subject pronouns

As the subject of the sentence

Renaming the subject

When who refers to a personal pronoun

Object pronouns

Subject and verb agreement with who, that, and which

Subject and verb agreement with anyone, someone, each, etc.

Following than or as

Possessive pronouns

Its vs. it’s; who’s vs. whose

Reflexives: the -self pronouns

Consistency with singular pronouns

The singular they Pronouns linked with nouns by and

Possessive adjectives vs. possessive pronouns

Who vs. Whom 16

They/Them method

Common whom pitfall

Whoever vs. Whomever 17

Agreement with the verb in the dependent clause

Dependent clause as the subject of the verb following the clause

Who, That, Which 18

Who, that, and which with people, groups, and things

That with essential clauses


Which with nonessential clauses

When which can be used with essential clauses

Adjectives and Adverbs 19

Definitions

Adjective

Adverb

Adjectives modifying nouns and pronouns

Adverbs modifying verbs, adjectives, and adverbs

When to add -ly

Sense verbs: taste, smell, look, feel, etc.

Good vs. well

Well as an adjective when referring to health

Comparisons, such as -er vs. -est and more vs. most This, that, these, and those

Prepositions 22

Definition: preposition

Ending a sentence with a preposition

Avoiding extra prepositions

Like As, as if, as though, the way of vs. have Different from vs. different than In vs. into

Effective Writing 25

Concrete vs. vague language

Active vs. passive voice

Overuse of there is, there are, it is, it was, etc.

Double negatives

Parallel construction

Dangling modifiers

Misplaced modifiers

Fragments

Dialogue

2 Punctuation 31

Spacing with Punctuation 31

Periods 31

With complete sentences

With abbreviations at the end of a sentence

Replacing periods with question marks and exclamation points

Commas 32

To separate three or more items

To separate adjectives

With two independent clauses

Run-on sentences or comma splices

Joined by connectors such as and, or, but, etc.

When the subject does not appear in front of the second verb

With because

Starting a sentence with a dependent clause vs. an independent clause

With nonessential words, clauses, and phrases

With sufficiently identified noun

With introductory words

To set off interrupting expressions

With names

With dates

With city and state

With Jr. and Sr.

With degrees and titles

With quotations

To introduce or interrupt quotations

Following quotations

To separate statements from questions

To separate contrasting parts of a sentence

With certain introductory words

When followed by a series of items

When the series of items ends with etc.

Semicolons 39

To replace a period in two closely linked sentences

With such words as namely, however, therefore, etc., when they

introduce a complete sentence

To avoid confusion where commas already exist

With sentences that have multiple clauses

Capitalization following a semicolon

Colons 41

To introduce a series of items

Except when a series of items directly follows a verb or preposition

With lists

With two independent clauses when the second explains the first

Capitalization following a colon

With long quotations

After the salutation in a business letter

Quotation Marks 43

Use of double quotation marks

Capitalization with quotations

Commas introducing, interrupting, and ending quotations

Periods and commas ALWAYS inside quotation marks

—Question marks and exclamation marks with quotation marks follow logic

With titles of magazines, books, plays, etc.

Use of single quotation marks for quotations within quotations

Spacing between single and double quotation marks

With nonstandard expressions

With technical terms and terms used in an unusual way

Avoiding single quotation marks

With quoted material of more than one paragraph

Question Marks 46

With direct questions

Replacing periods

Capitalization following a question mark

Indirect questions

Rhetorical questions

With sentences that are half statement and half question

With quotation marks

Parentheses and Brackets 48

Not interchangeable

Parentheses

For clarification and asides

With complete sentences

Punctuation inside and outside parentheses

Subject-verb agreement

Comma placement with parentheses

Brackets

With interruptions

Use of [sic]

With quotations

Apostrophes 50

Singular nouns

Possession with singular nouns

Possession with common nouns ending in s Possession with proper nouns ending in s

Possession by inanimate objects

Plural nouns

Plural possession with regular nouns

No apostrophe with plural regular nouns

Plural possession with irregular nouns

Plural possession with names ending in s

No apostrophe with plural names

Possession with singular compound nouns

To show joint or separate possession

Contractions

With initials, capital letters, and numbers used as nouns

With time or money

With personal pronouns

Apostrophes vs. single quotation marks

False possessives

With nouns ending in y

Hyphens 56

No spaces around hyphens

Not the same as dashes

Hyphens between words

With compound adjectives

Suspended hyphens

With compound verbs

With compound nouns

With very and -ly adverbs

With ages

For clarification

With spans of time, distance, or other quantities

With units, abbreviations, or symbols

With compound numbers

With spelled-out fractions

With double last names

Avoiding overuse

Proper nouns of more than one word as compound adjectives

Well-known expressions

Look it up

Hyphens with prefixes and suffixes

Prefixes with proper nouns or proper adjectives

With family relations

Prefixes with double vowels

With self-, ex-, and all- With re-

To avoid confusion

Suffixes not usually hyphenated

Suffixes and double letters

Using discretion and a dictionary

Dashes 63

Em dashes

Em dashes and subject agreement

In place of other punctuation

Spacing

En dashes

With number ranges

With open compound adjectives

Forming dashes

Ellipses 65

Definition and three-dot method

Spacing

With omitted words or sentences

To express hesitation, changes of mood, etc.

Exclamation Points 66

To show emotion, emphasis, or surprise

Replacing periods and mid-sentence commas

Avoidance in formal business writing

Justifiable use

Slashes 66

Technical term: virgule

In formal writing use hyphen or the word or

3 Capitalization 69

First word of a document and after a period

Proper nouns and adjectives derived from proper nouns

Reference list of capitalized categories

Reference list of lowercase categories

Thorny aspects of capitalization

Titles

Titles vs. occupations

Titles in direct address

Kinship names

Nicknames

Geographic regions vs. points of the compass

The before proper nouns

City, town, county, etc., before a proper name

First word of a quotation

Midsentence independent clauses or questions

Course titles vs. academic subjects

Art movements

Lists following colons

Lowercase the national anthem

Titles of books, plays, films, songs, etc.

Subtitles

Gray areas

4 Writing Numbers 79

Using figures vs. spelling out numbers

Numbers beginning a sentence

Hyphenating compound numbers

Hyphenating fractions

Figures of four or more digits

Sums less than a dollar

Noon and midnight

Time of day

Mixed fractions

Large numbers

Decimals

Writing out numbers of three or more digits

When to use and

Do not use commas

Dates

Decades

Use lowercase when spelling out

Using apostrophes with incomplete numerals

Avoiding apostrophe + s with complete numerals

Apostrophes with numbers

5 Confusing Words and Homonyms 85

Good vs. well

Imply vs. infer

Its vs. it’s

Lay vs. lie

Their vs. there vs. they’re

Hundreds more words and homonyms that perplex and confound

6 Quizzes 155

Grammar Pretest 155

Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects Quiz 1 157

Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects Quiz 2 157

Subject and Verb Agreement Quiz 1 158

Subject and Verb Agreement Quiz 2 159

Irregular Verbs Quiz 1 160

Irregular Verbs Quiz 2 160

Pronouns Quiz 1 160

Pronouns Quiz 2 161

Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever Quiz 1 162

Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever Quiz 2 163

Who, Whom, That, Which Quiz 1 163

Who, Whom, That, Which Quiz 2 164

Adjectives and Adverbs Quiz 1 164

Adjectives and Adverbs Quiz 2 165

Prepositions Quiz 1 166

Prepositions Quiz 2 166

Affect vs. Effect Quiz 1 167

Affect vs. Effect Quiz 2 167

Lay vs. Lie Quiz 1 168

Lay vs. Lie Quiz 2 168

Advice vs. Advise Quiz 1 169

Advice vs. Advise Quiz 2 169

Their vs. There vs. They’re Quiz 1 170

Their vs. There vs. They’re Quiz 2 170

More Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz 1 171

More Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz 2 171

Effective Writing Quiz 1 172

Effective Writing Quiz 2 172

Grammar Mastery Test 173

Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Pretest 175

Commas and Periods Quiz 1 177

Commas and Periods Quiz 2 178

Semicolons and Colons Quiz 1 179

Semicolons and Colons Quiz 2 180

Question Marks and Quotation Marks Quiz 1 181

Question Marks and Quotation Marks Quiz 2 181

Parentheses and Brackets Quiz 1 182

Parentheses and Brackets Quiz 2 182

Apostrophes Quiz 1 183

Apostrophes Quiz 2 184

Hyphens Between Words Quiz 1 184

Hyphens Between Words Quiz 2 185

Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes Quiz 1 186

Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes Quiz 2 186

Capitalization Quiz 1 187

Capitalization Quiz 2 187

Writing Numbers Quiz 1 188

Writing Numbers Quiz 2 188

Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Mastery Test 189

7 Answers to Quizzes 193

Grammar Pretest Answers 193

Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects Quiz 1 Answers 195

Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects Quiz 2 Answers 195

Subject and Verb Agreement Quiz 1 Answers 196

Subject and Verb Agreement Quiz 2 Answers 196

Irregular Verbs Quiz 1 Answers 197

Irregular Verbs Quiz 2 Answers 197

Pronouns Quiz 1 Answers 198

Pronouns Quiz 2 Answers 199

Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever Quiz 1 Answers 199

Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever Quiz 2 Answers 200

Who, Whom, That, Which Quiz 1 Answers 201

Who, Whom, That, Which Quiz 2 Answers 201

Adjectives and Adverbs Quiz 1 Answers 202

Adjectives and Adverbs Quiz 2 Answers 202

Prepositions Quiz 1 Answers 203

Prepositions Quiz 2 Answers 204

Affect vs. Effect Quiz 1 Answers 204

Affect vs. Effect Quiz 2 Answers 205

Lay vs. Lie Quiz 1 Answers 205

Lay vs. Lie Quiz 2 Answers 206

Advice vs. Advise Quiz 1 Answers 206

Advice vs. Advise Quiz 2 Answers 206

Their vs. There vs. They’re Quiz 1 Answers 207

Their vs. There vs. They’re Quiz 2 Answers 207

More Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz 1 Answers 208

More Confusing Words and Homonyms Quiz 2 Answers 208

Effective Writing Quiz 1 Answers 209

Effective Writing Quiz 2 Answers 210

Grammar Mastery Test Answers 211

Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Pretest Answers 213

Commas and Periods Quiz 1 Answers 215

Commas and Periods Quiz 2 Answers 216

Semicolons and Colons Quiz 1 Answers 216

Semicolons and Colons Quiz 2 Answers 217

Question Marks and Quotation Marks Quiz 1 Answers 218

Question Marks and Quotation Marks Quiz 2 Answers 219

Parentheses and Brackets Quiz 1 Answers 219

Parentheses and Brackets Quiz 2 Answers 220

Apostrophes Quiz 1 Answers 220

Apostrophes Quiz 2 Answers 221

Hyphens Between Words Quiz 1 Answers 222

Hyphens Between Words Quiz 2 Answers 222

Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes Quiz 1 Answers 223

Hyphens with Prefixes and Suffixes Quiz 2 Answers 223

Capitalization Quiz 1 Answers 224

Capitalization Quiz 2 Answers 224

Writing Numbers Quiz 1 Answers 225

Writing Numbers Quiz 2 Answers 226

Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Mastery Test Answers 226

Index 229