Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [punctuation]

The correct and appropriate usage of punctuation.

Questions about the correct and appropriate usage of punctuation. These usages may vary according to culture and geography. Covers not just "what do I use here?" but "how do I punctuate this so it's clear?"

293 questions
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How many commas is too many?

I find myself often in writing using too many commas, but then going through and editing many of them back out again or restructuring to use full-stops. Is there a rule of thumb I've forgotten from my school days (English language was never pushed…
Neil Barnwell
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What is the preferred way to type out ellipses?

I have seen ellipses written out both with ("Well . . . gosh . . .") and without spaces ("Well...gosh...") between the dots. I've also looked at several different online writing style sites, and found no consensus. Which way do editors of fiction…
nessili
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What's the most effective way to indicate an unknown year in a decade?

I want to indicate that the setting of a story is Los Angeles in the 2030s, but I don't want to specify the year, and I don't want to write it as Los Angeles, 2030s The Possibilities Los Angeles, 203- (an en or an em dash) Los Angeles, 203x or…
Zan700
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Should I be using commas to suggest/enforce cadence?

I always think of commas as indicating pauses in speech, and vice versa. So I was surprised the other day when I saw somebody's typed-out Pledge of Allegiance, which looked like this: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of…
Terrance Shaw
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Em dash: space or no space between words

On the use of em dashes. Is it better to omit the spaces between the words and the dash, or is it preferable to separate them with spaces instead? For example: No spaces: It's time to take a nap—a long nap. With spaces: It's time to take a nap — a…
White Belt Blogger
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Need help to rephrase this sentence to prevent a run-on

I'm writing a narrative and am having a problem structuring the order of events. Here is what I have: Jamie had an 8 am flight so she was out of the house just after 6. Leaving me to wake up, feed and dress the girls, something we typically tag…
ahsteele
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Is the tilde used in English?

The 'tilde' key, or (~) is commonly found in programming and in other languages to express repetition of characters, for example, 'Woooo!' would become 'Woo~!' and in Japanese text, the tilde is commonly used to portray a flirtatious mood. It can…
Kyle Li
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2 answers

Dedication Punctuation - include a period?

For the dedication of my upcoming book, I have written For my child. Do you think that period should be there?
user2430018
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Spaces in the ellipsis in novels

I am having a hard time with the ellipsis. When I enter dot dot dot in Microsoft Word, it automatically makes the spaces between each dot a little longer than they would normally be. However, in so many books I have read or am reading, the length of…
MoniqueH
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Proper way to punctuate "oh so slow"

What is the proper way to punctuate a phrase such as "oh so slow" or "oh so pretty"? I can't find anything in Chicago about it. I think it would be something like this: Blah blah blah happened, oh so slow. Is that correct? Thank you!
user6210
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Using quotes for sarcastic text

Are quotes only for spoken text? Can I use quotes to emphasize sarcasm, like when somebody physically makes quote symbols with their fingers while reading?
vcapra1
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Trouble with punctuation and style of a sentence

I'm having so much trouble figuring this out for some reason: He raised his hands in mock surrender, warranting a raised eyebrow from Simon who proceeded to bid again anyway, setting off another round. I'm having trouble figuring out how to…
Mike C.
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Using hyphen points

I read that bullet points have to be consistent when it comes to content and punctuation. For example, you can't mix full sentence bullet points with fragments. Is this true for hyphen points (if there is something called hyphen points)? I'm trying…
jess
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Do I need the comma before "not" in "X, not Y"? What about when they're quotes?

Unable to find this from googling. The trees seemed to be shouting "I'm dead!" not "I'm alive!" The trees seemed to be shouting "I'm dead," not "I'm alive!" Which one of these sentences is punctuated correctly, and where would I find such a rule…
janey
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When to use single quotes in narrative writing?

I understand there's a certain element of stylistic freedom in using quotes, double quotes, or neither. But what are the specific cases when single quotes are generally recommended?
temporary_user_name
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