A Writer's Dozen - Archive

Twelve Common Punctuation Mistakes
By Marlene First posted November 2006
As we write our stories, our first priority is to concentrate on being creative. And then later we need to go through with a critical eye and check for errors. Here are a few punctuation mistakes to watch for. Commas and Introductory Phrases When a sentence begins with a “verbal modifier” phrase, use a comma after the phrase. Having been burned in the past, she was wary of all men. When a sentence begins with a “verbal phrase” used as a subject, omit the comma. Having been burned in the past made her wary of all men. When a sentence begins with a short phrase, omit the comma. When Claire arrived he was taking a shower. However, if a sentence can be misread without a comma, then use a comma. After dark, animals come out of the woods. (Use the comma so that we don’t read the words “dark animals” as a group.) Commas and Phrases Within a Sentence Don’t use a comma with a restrictive phrase. A hero with a dark past will need the heroine’s help. Use a comma before and after a non-restrictive phrase. Matt Northcott, who had a dark past, needed Chloe’s help. Question Marks Only use a question mark for a direct question. If a question is implied, use a period instead. Would she ever be safe again? She wondered if she’d ever be safe again. Would her brother really punch him out? Would her brother really punch him out, she wondered. Exclamation Points Use exclamation points sparingly—don’t overuse. Never use more than one in a paragraph; never use two at the end of a sentence. Carey saw the shadow at the door and knew the bear was back for revenge! Her heart hammered in her chest. Damn, now she’d never get out of the cabin alive! Molly was livid. “I’m going to kill him!!” Punctuation and Quotation Marks When a phrase is in quotation marks, periods and commas are placed within the quote; all others are outside, i.e. question marks and exclamation points. Sally described her sweater as “teal blue,” but her husband would have said “some kind of greenish color.” Is Sally’s favorite color “aquamarine” or “teal blue”? Single Quotes Use single quotes only for a quote within a quote—otherwise, use double quotes. “When we were kids, my mom would always warn ‘don’t kill the golden goose’ and then we’d go to the bank,” Jesse told her daughter. Apostrophe and Possessive Case Use an apostrophe with indefinite pronouns. the woman’s book the girls’ locker room Do not use an apostrophe with personal pronouns. her book a friend of theirs These are the obvious cases above, but beware of “its.” We can’t find its location. Possessive its never has an apostrophe. We know it’s around here somewhere. A contraction for it is. Em Dashes Use the em dash for emphasis, for an abrupt shift within a sentence. Would she ever—in this lifetime—find a man who would love her more than her Mercedes and her bank account? And use an em dash when dialogue is interrupted. Sara’s narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you ever try and see her again or—“ But Josh cut her off, “If you’re threatening me, I suggest you think again.” NOTE: The em dash consists of two hyphens, with no space on either side. Ellipses Use ellipses if dialogue trails off. “Really, I’m fine, he didn’t actually hit me…well, not really hard…and I’m sure he didn’t mean to…” Semicolons If items in a series contain commas, then use a semicolon to separate them. It seemed everyone had come for a closer look: Joyce and Ian Smith, neighbors from twenty years ago; Mrs. Jones, the prim and proper elementary school teacher; and Winston Junior, a long lost cousin who’d always been the black sheep of the family. Compound Adjectives Whenever two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, use a hyphen between them. She grabbed the staircase and held on, trying to catch her breath after Jake’s mind-numbing kiss. She couldn’t believe her brother’s two-year-old attitude whenever he didn’t get his way. Capitals Beware of unnecessary capitals. She’d never seen her mom so sad. No capital because of the pronoun. She’d never known Mom to be so sad. Use a capital for a proper noun. So…now that we’ve finished our manuscript we need to go back and re-read, to edit and revise, to become aware of the little details. It’s up to each us to have the cleanest draft possible before we mail it off to the editor—remember, this is our first impression so let’s make it the best we can.

November 2006