How to Speak and Write Correctly Part 10

(5) It is used after the salutation in the beginning of letters: "Sir: My dear Sir: Gentlemen: Dear Mr. Jones:" etc. In this connection a dash very often follows the colon.

(6) It is sometimes used to introduce details of a group of things already referred to in the ma.s.s: "The boy's excuses for being late were: firstly, he did not know the time, secondly, he was sent on an errand, thirdly, he tripped on a rock and fell by the wayside."

The _Period_ is the simplest punctuation mark. It is simply used to mark the end of a complete sentence that is neither interrogative nor exclamatory.

(1) After every sentence conveying a complete meaning: "Birds fly."

"Plants grow." "Man is mortal."

(2) In abbreviations: after every abbreviated word: Rt. Rev. T. C.

Alexander, D.D., L.L.D.

(3) A period is used on the t.i.tle pages of books after the name of the book, after the author's name, after the publisher's imprint: _American Trails_. By Theodore Roosevelt. New York. Scribner Company.

The _Mark of Interrogation_ is used to ask or suggest a question.

(1) Every question admitting of an answer, even when it is not expected, should be followed by the mark of interrogation: "Who has not heard of Napoleon?"

(2) When several questions have a common dependence they should be followed by one mark of interrogation at the end of the series: "Where now are the playthings and friends of my boyhood; the laughing boys; the winsome girls; the fond neighbors whom I loved?"

(3) The mark is often used parenthetically to suggest doubt: "In 1893 (?) Gladstone became converted to Home Rule for Ireland."

The _Exclamation_ point should be sparingly used, particularly in prose.

Its chief use is to denote emotion of some kind.

(1) It is generally employed with interjections or clauses used as interjections: "Alas! I am forsaken." "What a lovely landscape!"

(2) Expressions of strong emotion call for the exclamation: "Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on!"

(3) When the emotion is very strong double exclamation points may be used: "a.s.sist him!! I would rather a.s.sist Satan!!"

The _Dash_ is generally confined to cases where there is a sudden break from the general run of the pa.s.sage. Of all the punctuation marks it is the most misused.

(1) It is employed to denote sudden change in the construction or sentiment: "The Heroes of the Civil War,--how we cherish them." "He was a fine fellow--in his own opinion."

(2) When a word or expression is repeated for oratorical effect, a dash is used to introduce the repet.i.tion: "Shakespeare was the greatest of all poets--Shakespeare, the intellectual ocean whose waves washed the continents of all thought."

(3) The Dash is used to indicate a conclusion without expressing it: "He is an excellent man but--"

(4) It is used to indicate what is not expected or what is not the natural outcome of what has gone before: "He delved deep into the bowels of the earth and found instead of the hidden treasure--a b.u.t.ton."

(5) It is used to denote the omission of letters or figures: "J--n J--s"

for John Jones; 1908-9 for 1908 and 1909; Matthew VII:5-8 for Matthew VII:5, 6, 7, and 8.

(6) When an ellipsis of the words, _namely, that is, to wit_, etc., takes place, the dash is used to supply them: "He excelled in three branches-- arithmetic, algebra, and geometry."

(7) A dash is used to denote the omission of part of a word when it is undesirable to write the full word: He is somewhat of a r----l (rascal).

This is especially the case in profane words.

(8) Between a citation and the authority for it there is generally a dash: "All the world's a stage."--_Shakespeare_.

(9) When questions and answers are put in the same paragraph they should be separated by dashes: "Are you a good boy? Yes, Sir.--Do you love study?

I do."

_Marks of Parenthesis_ are used to separate expressions inserted in the body of a sentence, which are ill.u.s.trative of the meaning, but have no essential connection with the sentence, and could be done without. They should be used as little as possible for they show that something is being brought into a sentence that does not belong to it.

(1) When the unity of a sentence is broken the words causing the break should be enclosed in parenthesis: "We cannot believe a liar (and Jones is one), even when he speaks the truth."

(2) In reports of speeches marks of parenthesis are used to denote interpolations of approval or disapproval by the audience: "The ma.s.ses must not submit to the tyranny of the cla.s.ses (hear, hear), we must show the trust magnates (groans), that they cannot ride rough-shod over our dearest rights (cheers);" "If the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), will not be our spokesman, we must select another. (A voice,--Get Robinson)."

When a parenthesis is inserted in the sentence where no comma is required, no point should be used before either parenthesis. When inserted at a place requiring a comma, if the parenthetical matter relates to the whole sentence, a comma should be used before each parenthesis; if it relates to a single word, or short clause, no stop should come before it, but a comma should be put after the closing parenthesis.

The _Quotation marks_ are used to show that the words enclosed by them are borrowed.

(1) A direct quotation should be enclosed within the quotation marks: Abraham Lincoln said,--"I shall make this land too hot for the feet of slaves."

(2) When a quotation is embraced within another, the contained quotation has only single marks: Franklin said, "Most men come to believe 'honesty is the best policy.'"

(3) When a quotation consists of several paragraphs the quotation marks should precede each paragraph.

(4) t.i.tles of books, pictures and newspapers when formally given are quoted.

(5) Often the names of s.h.i.+ps are quoted though there is no occasion for it.

The _Apostrophe_ should come under the comma rather than under the quotation marks or double comma. The word is Greek and signifies a turning away from. The letter elided or turned away is generally an _e_. In poetry and familiar dialogue the apostrophe marks the elision of a syllable, as "I've for I have"; "Thou'rt for thou art"; "you'll for you will," etc.

Sometimes it is necessary to abbreviate a word by leaving out several letters. In such case the apostrophe takes the place of the omitted letters as "cont'd for continued." The apostrophe is used to denote the elision of the century in dates, where the century is understood or to save the repet.i.tion of a series of figures, as "The Spirit of '76"; "I served in the army during the years 1895, '96, '97, '98 and '99." The princ.i.p.al use of the apostrophe is to denote the possessive case. All nouns in the singular number whether proper names or not, and all nouns in the plural ending with any other letter than _s_, form the possessive by the addition of the apostrophe and the letter _s_. The only exceptions to this rule are, that, by poetical license the additional _s_ may be elided in poetry for sake of the metre, and in the scriptural phrases "For goodness' sake." "For conscience' sake," "For Jesus' sake," etc. Custom has done away with the _s_ and these phrases are now idioms of the language. All plural nouns ending in _s_ form the possessive by the addition of the apostrophe only as boys', horses'. The possessive case of the personal p.r.o.nouns never take the apostrophe, as ours, yours, hers, theirs.

CAPITAL LETTERS

_Capital letters_ are used to give emphasis to or call attention to certain words to distinguish them from the context. In ma.n.u.scripts they may be written small or large and are indicated by lines drawn underneath, two lines for SMALL CAPITALS and three lines for CAPITALS.

Some authors, notably Carlyle, make such use of Capitals that it degenerates into an abuse. They should only be used in their proper places as given in the table below.

(1) The first word of every sentence, in fact the first word in writing of any kind should begin with a capital; as, "Time flies." "My dear friend."

(2) Every direct quotation should begin with a capital; "Dewey said,-- 'Fire, when you're ready, Gridley!'"

(3) Every direct question commences with a capital; "Let me ask you; 'How old are you?'"

(4) Every line of poetry begins with a capital; "Breathes there a man with soul so dead?"