HAND-BOOK
OF
PUNCTUATION,
WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR
CAPITALIZATION, LETTER-WRITING,
AND
PROOF-READING,
BY
W. J. COCKER, A. M.
[Illustration]
A. S. BARNES & CO.,
NEW YORK, CHICAGO, AND NEW ORLEANS.
1878.
Copyright, 1878, by W. J. Cocker.
PREFACE.
As the pronunciation of words is determined by the usage of the best
speakers, so, in a great measure, the punctuation of sentences is based
on the usage of the best writers. Recognizing this fact, the author has
aimed,—
1. To state such general rules as are recognized by most writers of good
English.
2. To illustrate these rules by examples taken from many of our best
English classics.
3. To give some of the differences in usage that exist even among the
best of writers.
It is frequently asserted that even good writers differ so much in
their use of punctuation marks that it is impossible to lay down any
general rules, and that it is better for each one to consult his own
taste and judgment. With equal reason it might be said that inasmuch as
good speakers, and even lexicographers, differ in the pronunciation of
words, therefore each speaker should make his own taste and judgment the
standard for correct pronunciation. A writer’s mode of expressing his
thoughts will determine the character and number of the punctuation marks
that he uses, and it is chiefly owing to this that even good writers
differ somewhat in punctuating what they have written. There are some
rules that are invariable under all circumstances; the use of others
depends on the mental characteristics of the writer; and there are still
other rules, the application of which is determined by the writer’s taste
alone.
By gestures, tones of voice, oratorical pauses, emphasis, and in various
ways, a speaker can make his meaning clear to his listeners; and so a
writer should certainly use all the aids which punctuation, capitals,
and italics afford, in presenting clearly what he has written for the
perusal of others. Business men, however, seem to think that they are not
amenable to the rules that govern good writers. They affirm that they
have no time to punctuate their letters, and yet they subject others to
the necessity of expending time and patience in trying to make out their
meaning. Serious misunderstandings have arisen between business men, in
consequence of the omission or incorrect use of punctuation marks, and
expensive lawsuits have originated in the careless punctuation of legal
instruments.
Very little attention is paid in our public schools to punctuation, and
the rules usually given in English Composition are either disregarded
or not properly understood. This may, perhaps, be accounted for by the
fact that the rules are wanting in clearness, and are not sufficiently
illustrated by examples. The aim of this volume is to remedy, in some
measure, these evils, and to secure more attention to what ought to be a
prominent part of school instruction. The evils of bad punctuation are
really more serious than the evils of bad spelling, and no student can be
said to have learned to read well, much less to write well, who has not
studied punctuation intelligently.
We would suggest that this hand-book be used at Rhetorical Exercises,
and that when essays, orations, criticisms, &c., are handed to the
teacher for correction, he should use a red or a blue pencil, so that
corrections may be the more readily recognized. Besides the corrections
in grammar, spelling, &c., he should be careful to supply punctuation
marks when needed, cross out needless ones, and, of course, make such
other corrections as may be necessary. When the productions are returned
to the pupils, the teacher should first point out the necessity of using
certain marks, in order to define and bring out the meaning, and to show
the relation between the different members of a sentence. Having thus
shown the need of punctuation marks, then reference should be made to
some of the simpler rules, to impress this need on the mind. Great care
should be taken not to perplex the mind with too many rules before the
necessity is created for their use. The great difficulty in the study
of punctuation has been that many rules are committed to memory before
the need of their use has arisen, so that the mind is perplexed and
bewildered instead of enlightened. The rule, it must be remembered, does
not create the necessity; the necessity creates the rule. Then, again,
we think a great mistake is made by having the beginner punctuate what
some one else has written. The better plan is for the pupil, at the very
outset, to punctuate what he himself has composed, and in his effort to
bring out his own meaning clearly, he will, with the aid of a few rules,
almost intuitively fall into the habit of punctuating correctly.
The following suggestions may be of service:—
1. Do not give a pupil a rule to learn, unless it is clearly founded upon
examples taken from what he himself has written.
2. Take, at first, the simplest, most frequently used, and most readily
understood rules.
3. Advance slowly, remembering that a few simple principles clearly
understood, are of much more practical benefit than a number of misty
rules hastily committed to memory.
In the preparation of this hand-book, the author is under obligations
to various authorities, but he is more especially indebted to Wilson’s
“Treatise on Punctuation.”
W. J. COCKER.
ADRIAN, Mich., Dec. 26, 1877.
[Illustration]
Table of Contents.
I. PUNCTUATION pp. 1-53
II. CAPITALS ” 54-70
III. LETTER-FORMS ” 71-100
IV. PROOF-READING ” 101-114
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Punctuation.]
Introduction.
The principal punctuation marks are,—
1. The Comma ,
2. The Semicolon ;
3. The Colon :
4. The Period .
The comma indicates a somewhat close relationship between the parts of a
sentence; the semicolon, a more distant relationship; the colon indicates
that the parts are almost independent of each other; the period marks the
close of a sentence, and indicates that a thought is complete.
In simple sentences, when the words are closely united together, and
the relationship of the words to each other is readily perceived, there
is usually no need of any punctuation marks, except a period at the
close. It should always be borne in mind that punctuation marks are
used primarily to assist in bringing out the meaning of the writer, and
not to embellish a written or a printed page. In sentences made up of
parts that are closely related to each other, but, at the same time,
distinct in character, commas should be used. They are way-marks for the
accommodation of the reader. A production unpunctuated presents as dreary
a prospect to the reader, as the level plain of Chaldæa presents to the
perplexed traveler who has lost himself among the sandy mounds on the
banks of the Euphrates, and has nothing by which to direct his course.
When the different parts of a sentence are somewhat disconnected, and
not closely related to each other, a semicolon or colon should be used.
Sentences are sometimes very long and complicated. It is then necessary
to separate the main divisions by semicolons, and the smaller by commas.
Sometimes the smaller parts of a sentence are separated by commas and
semicolons, and the main divisions by colons.
The other marks in use are,—
1. The Interrogation Point ?
2. The Exclamation Point !
3. The Dash —
4. Marks of Parenthesis ( )
5. Brackets [ ]
6. Quotation Marks “ ‘ ’ ”
7. The Apostrophe ’
8. The Hyphen -
9. Miscellaneous marks.
THE COMMA.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
In order to properly understand some of the rules that are given in the
following pages, it is absolutely necessary to have a clear understanding
of the difference between a sentence and a clause. A sentence is a
combination of words expressing a complete thought, and usually followed
by a period; a clause is a distinct part of a sentence. Some sentences
are simple in form, and have but one subject and one finite verb; as,
“Language is part of a man’s character.”—_Coleridge._ Other sentences
are made up of clauses, each clause having a subject and a verb; in
other words, several clauses are sometimes joined together to form one
sentence; as, “New forms of beauty start at once into existence, and all
the burial places of the memory give up their dead.”—_Macaulay._ It will
be easily seen that clauses will be more readily recognized with the eye,
and more easily comprehended, if they are separated from each other by
punctuation marks. This will be especially so, if the clauses are long.
In preparing this hand-book, the aim has been to avoid, as much as
possible, the use of technical terms. Whenever such terms are used,
explanations will usually be found under the head of _Remarks_.
RULE I. _Independent Clauses._—Independent clauses should be separated
from each other by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Savage was discomposed by the intrusion or omission of a comma, and
he would lament an error of a single letter as a great calamity.”—_Dr.
Johnson._
“Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.”—_Goldsmith._
“Take short views, hope for the best, and trust in God.”—_Sydney Smith._
REMARKS.
1. An independent clause is one that is not dependent on any other clause
for the completion of its meaning; as, Take short views | hope for the
best | and trust in God. Independent clauses are frequently connected by
_and_, _or_, _nor_, _but_.
2. When the clauses are short and closely united, the comma may be
omitted; as, “Death had lost its terrors and pleasure its charms.”
3. When the clauses are long and divided into smaller portions by commas,
they should be separated from each other by semicolons. See Rule I. p. 23.
RULE II. _Dependent Clauses._—Dependent clauses should be separated from
each other by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he
will soon find himself left alone. A man, Sir, should keep his friendship
in constant repair.”—_Dr. Johnson._
“When Dr. Franklin wished to gain his enemy, he asked him to do him a
favor.”
“Clap an extinguisher upon your irony, if you are unhappily blest with a
vein of it.”—_Lamb._
“Although we seldom followed advice, we were all ready enough to ask
it.”—_Goldsmith._
REMARKS.
1. A clause is said to be dependent, when it depends on some other clause
to complete its meaning; as, When Dr. Johnson wished to gain his enemy |
he asked him to do him a favor. The first clause of this sentence would
not be complete in meaning without the second. Dependent clauses usually
commence with _if_, _when_, _since_, _because_, _until_, &c.
2. When clauses are closely connected, the comma may be omitted; as,
Mozart published some music when seven years of age.
RULE III. _Relative Clauses._—1. A relative clause should be separated
from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
2. But the comma should be omitted, when the relative clause is so
closely connected with what precedes that it cannot be dropped without
destroying the sense.
EXAMPLES.
1. “Men in a corner, who have the unhappiness of conversing too little
with present things.”—_Swift._
“The waters are nature’s storehouse, in which she locks up her
wonders.”—_Izaak Walton._
“He had on a coat made of that cloth called thunder-and-lightning, which,
though grown too short, was much too good to be thrown away.”—_Goldsmith._
2. “Althworthy here betook himself to those pleasing slumbers which
a heart that hungers after goodness is apt to enjoy when thoroughly
satisfied.”—_Fielding._
“A man who is good for making excuses is good for nothing else.”—_Dr.
Franklin._
“Like Cæsar, Cortes wrote his own commentaries in the heart of the
stirring scenes which form the subject of them.”—_Prescott._
REMARKS.
1. Relative clauses are generally introduced by the relative pronouns
_who_, _which_, _that_, or _what_.
2. A comma should be placed before the relative clause, even when it is
necessary to complete the meaning of the antecedent,—
_a._ When the relative is immediately followed by a word or an
expression inclosed in commas; as, “As a man, he may not have
deserved the admiration which he received from those, who,
bewitched by his fascinating society, worshiped him nightly in
his favorite temple at Button’s.”—_Macaulay._
_b._ When the relative has several antecedents that are
separated from each other by commas; as, “All those arts,
rarities, and inventions, which vulgar minds gaze at, the
ingenious pursue, and all admire, are but the relics of an
intellect defaced with sin and time.”—_South._
3. The words _of which_ are sometimes preceded by a comma, even when they
are necessary to complete the meaning of the antecedent: as, “His mind
was formed of those firm materials, of which nature formerly hammered
out the Stoic, and upon which the sorrows of no man living could make an
impression.”—_Fielding._
RULE IV. _Parenthetical Words and Phrases._ When single words and phrases
break the connection between closely related parts of a sentence, they
should usually be separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
1. Words used parenthetically,—
therefore,
indeed,
perhaps,
namely,
finally,
consequently,
however,
moreover,
nevertheless, &c.
2. Phrases used parenthetically,—
in short,
in truth,
of course,
in fact,
in a word,
you know,
in reality,
no doubt,
as it were, &c.
EXAMPLES.
1. “As an orator, indeed, he was not magnetic or inspiring.”—_G. W.
Curtis._
“There is, perhaps, no surer mark of folly, than to attempt to correct
the natural infirmities of those we love.”—_Fielding._
“There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a
virtue.”—_Burke._
2. “I had grown to my desk, as it were, and the wood had entered my
soul.”—_Lamb._
“In short, he is a memorable instance of what has been often observed,
that the boy is the man in miniature.”—_Boswell._
REMARKS.
1. Words and phrases are said to be used parenthetically, when they
obstruct, as it were, the flow of the sentence, and might be dropped
without destroying the sense.
2. Whenever parenthetical words and phrases readily coalesce with the
rest of the sentence, it is better to omit punctuation marks; as, “I am
therefore exceedingly unwilling that anything, however slight, which my
illustrious friend thought it worth while to express, with any degree of
point, should perish.”—_Boswell._
3. A distinction should be made between words used parenthetically, and
adverbs qualifying particular words; as, “And with learning was united a
mild and liberal spirit, too often wanting in the princely colleges of
Oxford.”—_Macaulay._
“That, too, has its eminent service.”—_Burke._
RULE V. _Parenthetical Expressions._—Expressions of a parenthetical
character should be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“She was tumbled early, by accident or design, into a spacious closet
of good old English reading, without much selection or prohibition, and
browsed at will upon that fair and wholesome pasturage.”—_Lamb._
“He [Sheridan] who, in less than thirty years afterward, held senates
enchained by his eloquence and audiences fascinated by his wit, was,
by common consent both of parent and preceptor, pronounced a most
impenetrable dunce.”—_Moore._
“It is clear that Addison’s serious attention, during his residence
at the university, was almost entirely concentrated on Latin
poetry.”—_Macaulay._
REMARKS.
1. A distinction should be made between parenthetical words and
parenthetical expressions.
_a._ Parenthetical words can be omitted without destroying the
sense. See examples under Rule IV.
_b._ Parenthetical expressions obstruct the flow of the
sentence, but can not be omitted without either destroying the
sense, or changing the meaning intended to be conveyed. See
examples given above.
2. When parenthetical expressions are short, or closely connected with
the rest of the sentence, it is better to omit punctuation marks.
3. Writers differ very much in omitting or using commas in parenthetical
expressions. It is sometimes immaterial whether punctuation marks are
used or not, but, in many cases, there are few rules so well adapted to
bring out the meaning of the writer.
RULE VI. _Inverted Expressions._—Expressions which are not in their
natural order, are frequently separated from the rest of the sentence by
a comma.
EXAMPLES.
“In everything that relates to science, I am a whole Encyclopædia behind
the rest of the world.”—_Lamb._
“In all unhappy marriages I have seen, the great cause of evil has
proceeded from slight occasions.”—_Steele._
REMARKS.
1. The natural order of the first sentence is, I am a whole Encyclopædia
behind the rest of the world in everything that relates to science.
2. When the inverted expression is closely connected with what follows,
the commas should be omitted; as,—
“Of Addison’s childhood we know little.”—_Macaulay._
“That inward man I love that’s lined with virtue.”—_Beaumont and
Fletcher._
RULE VII. _Short Quotations._—Short quotations should be separated from
what precedes by a comma.
EXAMPLES.
The Italians say, “Good company in a journey makes the way to seem
shorter.”
A writer in _Lippincott’s Magazine_ says, “It is the little courtesies
that make up the sum of a happy home.”
Schiller has said, “Men’s words are ever bolder than their deeds.”
REMARKS.
1. An expression resembling a quotation should be preceded by a comma;
as, “Therefore the question still returns, What is the First Principle of
all things?”
2. Quotations and general statements introduced by _that_ are frequently
preceded by a comma; as, “Tacitus says of Agricola, that he governed
his family, which many find to be a harder task than to govern a
province.”—_Arthur Helps._
3. When single words or a part of a sentence are quoted, a comma should
not be used; as, “His wife was a domesticated, kind-hearted old soul, who
had come with him ‘from the queen city of the world,’ which, it seemed,
was Philadelphia.”—_Dickens._
4. Quotation divided. “A man could not set his foot down,” says Cortes,
“unless on the corpse of an Indian.”—_Prescott._
5. When the quotation is a long one, it should be preceded by a colon.
RULE VIII. _Person or Thing Addressed._—The name of the person or thing
addressed, together with its modifying words, should be separated from
the rest of the sentence by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Now, Macaulay, when I am gone, you’ll be sorry that you never heard me
speak.”—_Sydney Smith._
“Why, Romeo, art thou mad?”—_Shakespeare._
“My lords, we are called upon, as members of this house, as men, as
Christians, to protest against such horrible barbarity!”—_Pitt._
REMARK.
When strong emotion is expressed, an exclamation point should be used;
as, “O Hamlet! thou hast cleft my heart in twain.”—_Shakespeare._
RULE IX. _Participial Clauses._—Participial clauses, having no
grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence, should be separated
from what follows, and, if they do not commence a sentence, from what
precedes, by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Success being now hopeless, preparations were made for a
retreat.”—_Alison._
“Such being their general idea of the gods, we can now easily understand
the habitual tone of their feelings towards what was beautiful in
nature.”—_Ruskin._
REMARK.
_Being_ or _having been_ is usually the sign of a participial clause.
RULE X. _Verb Omitted._—When a verb, previously used, is omitted, a comma
usually takes its place.
EXAMPLES.
“Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle;
natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to
contend.”—_Bacon._
“Chaucer painted persons; Spenser, qualities.”
REMARKS.
1. When the comma takes the place of an omitted verb, the main clauses or
numbers should be separated by semicolons.
2. Sometimes a comma does not take the place of an omitted verb; as,
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be
chewed and digested.”—_Bacon._
“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact
man.”—_Bacon._
RULE XI. _Appositives._—A noun in apposition and its modifiers should be
separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
EXAMPLES.
“When death, the great Reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness
we repent of but our severity.”—_George Eliot._
“The exploits of Mercury himself, the god of cunning, may be easily
imagined to surpass everything achieved by profaner hands.”—_Leigh Hunt._
REMARKS.
1. An appositive is a word, placed by the side of some other word to
explain or characterize it.
2. The comma should be omitted,—
_a._ When two nouns without modifiers are in apposition; as,
Cicero the orator was born near Arpinum. If the sentence was,
Cicero, the greatest of Roman orators, was born near Arpinum,
commas would be necessary.
_b._ When a noun and a pronoun are in apposition; as, Mercury
himself surpassed everything achieved by profaner hands.
_c._ When two pronouns are in apposition; as, He himself did
this.
_d._ Between the parts of a person’s name; as, George William
Curtis.
3. In annexing titles to a person’s name, whether the titles are
abbreviated or written in full, commas must be used; as, Richard Whately,
D. D., Archbishop of Dublin.
RULE XII. _Words in Pairs._—Words in pairs should have a comma between
each pair.
EXAMPLES.
“In all the characters, patriots and tyrants, haters and lovers, the
frown and sneer of Harold were discernible in an instant.”—_Macaulay._
“Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable.”—_Webster._
RULE XIII. _Unconnected Words._—When two words, of the same part of
speech, are not connected by a conjunction, a comma should be placed
between them.
EXAMPLES.
“He had in himself a radiant, living spring of generous and manly
action.”—_Burke._
“A still, small voice.”—_Kings._
“Where sits our sulky, sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.”—_Burns._
REMARKS.
1. When two nouns, the subjects of a verb, are not connected by a
conjunction, a comma should be placed between the two words and also
after the second; as, “Indignation, expostulation, were powerless upon
him as a mist upon a rock.”—_Macdonald._
2. When two adjectives come together, the first qualifying the second
adjective and also the noun, a comma should not be used; as, A beautiful
white horse.
3. A word repeated for emphasis usually has a punctuation mark before and
after it; as,—
“Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”—_Coleridge._
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that
I do shall he do also.”—_John xiv. 12._
RULE XIV. _A Series of Words._—1. When a series of words, of the same
part of speech, are connected by _and_, _or_, _nor_, they should not be
separated from each other by punctuation marks.
“The fruits and flowers and shrubs sent forth grateful
perfumes.”—_Irving._
Some writers place a comma before each _and_. This, however, is not
necessary.
2. When a conjunction is used only with the last word in the series, a
comma should be placed before the conjunction and between the other words.
The fruits, flowers, and shrubs sent forth grateful perfumes.
3. When the conjunctions are omitted, a comma should be placed between
each word and also at the end of the series.
The fruits, flowers, shrubs, sent forth grateful perfumes.
REMARKS.
1. When the last word in the series precedes only a single word, the
comma should be omitted; as, “A refined, thoughtful, warm-hearted,
pure-souled Englishman.”
2. When two words or expressions are connected by _or_, the latter
explaining the former, the explanatory word or expression should be
separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas; as, “The
love of variety, or curiosity of seeing new things, which is the same, or
at least a sister passion to it, seems woven into the frame of every son
and daughter of Adam.”—_Sterne._
RULE XV. _Phrases and Clauses._—Phrases and clauses, either with or
without conjunctions, having a mutual relation to some other word in the
sentence, should be separated from each other and from what follows by
commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Purity of style, and an easy flow of numbers, are common to all
Addison’s Latin poems.”—_Macaulay._
“The unbought grace of life, the chief defense of nations, the nurse of
manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is gone.”—_Burke._
“The little that is known, and the circumstance that little is known,
must be considered as honorable to him.”—_Macaulay._
“Books that you can carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are
the most useful after all.”—_Dr. Johnson._
REMARKS.
1. A phrase is one of the smaller divisions of a sentence, and consists
of two or more words. Apart from the rest of the sentence, it is
incomplete in meaning. It does not, like a clause, include a subject and
a verb.
2. When two brief expressions are connected by a conjunction, it is
better to omit punctuation marks; as, “Good company and good discourse
are the very sinews of virtue.”—_Izaak Walton._
3. When words and phrases form a series, a conjunction being used
only with the last phrase, they should be separated from each other
and from what follows by commas; as, “Virtue, merit, and everything
that is praiseworthy, will be made the subject of ridicule and
buffoonery.”—_Addison._
RULE XVI. _Logical Subject._—When the logical subject ends with a verb,
or is separated into parts by commas, or is unusually long, a comma
should be placed between the logical subject and the main verb.
EXAMPLES.
“This imaginary promise of divine aid thus mysteriously given, appeared
to him at present in still greater progress of fulfillment.”—_Irving._
“The voice of praise, too, coming from those to whom we had thought
ourselves unknown, has a magic about it that must be felt to be
understood.”—_Charles Lever._
“Those who can put the best countenance upon the outrages of this nature
which are offered them, are not without their secret anguish.”—_Addison._
REMARKS.
1. The logical subject consists of the name of the person or thing, of
which something is affirmed, together with its modifying words. It is
“the subject according to the real meaning or logic of the sentence.”
2. Some writers always place a comma before the verb, when its subject
consists of many words.
RULE XVII. _Contrasted Expressions._—Contrasted expressions or
comparisons should be separated by a comma.
EXAMPLES.
“Of the other two men, one was a species of giant, the other a sort of
dwarf.”—_Hugo._
“The more I reflected upon it, the more important it
appeared.”—_Goldsmith._
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God.”—_Psalms._
“Master books, but do not let them master you. Read to live, not live to
read.”—_Bulwer._
REMARKS.
1. When the comparison is short and the words closely connected, the
comma may be omitted.
2. When _so—that_, _so—as_, _rather—than_, _more—than_, connect
expressions, the comma is usually omitted; as, “Ingratitude never so
thoroughly pierces the human heart as when it proceeds from those in
whose behalf we have been guilty of transgression.”—_Fielding._
When, however, the expressions themselves are divided into smaller parts
by commas, or are unusually long, they should be separated by a comma;
as,—
“So over-violent, or over-civil,
That every man with him was God or Devil.”—_Dryden._
3. When two short expressions are united by _as_ or _than_, a comma
should not be used; as,—
“He knew what’s what, and that’s as high
As metaphysic wit can fly.”—_Butler._
When, however, the expressions are long, it is better to use a comma; as,
“I have no more pleasure in hearing a man attempting wit and failing,
than in seeing a man trying to leap over a ditch and tumbling into
it.”—_Dr. Johnson._
4. When the first expression is negative and the other affirmative, a
comma should be placed between the expressions and before the negative
word, if it does not commence a sentence; as, “The world generally gives
its admiration, not to the man who does what nobody else even attempts to
do, but to the man who does best what multitudes do well.”—_Macaulay._
If, however, a finite verb immediately precedes the negative word, the
comma should be omitted; as, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.”—_Confucius._
RULE XVIII. _Numeral Figures._—Arabic numbers should be separated into
periods of three figures each, commencing at the right.
EXAMPLE.
2,509,909,456.
REMARK.
Dates should not be separated into periods; as, 1877.
RULE XIX. _Expressions at the End of Sentences._—It is frequently
necessary, at the end of a sentence, to separate an expression beginning
with a preposition from the rest of the sentence, in order to avoid
ambiguity.
EXAMPLES.
“He trudged along, unknowing what he sought,
And whistled as he went, for want of thought.”—_Dryden._
“Angling is always to be considered as a stick and a string, with a fly
at one end and a fool at the other.”—_Swift._
GENERAL REMARK.
A comma should always be used, when it aids in bringing out the meaning
of the writer, or in avoiding ambiguity.
THE SEMICOLON.
RULE I. _Long Sentences._—When the smaller divisions of sentences are
separated by commas, the main divisions should be separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“Sheridan, Pitt, and Fox all drank hard and worked hard; they were all
great in the councils of the nation, but not one could rule his own
household.”—_London Athenæum._
“Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong;
Was every thing by starts, and nothing long.”—_Dryden._
“Nor is it always in the most distinguished achievements that men’s
virtues or vices may be best discerned; but very often an action of
small note, a short saying, or a jest, shall distinguish a person’s
real character more than the greatest sieges, or the most important
battles.”—_Plutarch._
RULE II. _Expressions Complete in Themselves._—Short expressions,
complete in themselves but slightly connected in meaning, may be
separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“We do not want precepts so much as patterns; an example is the softest
and least invidious way of commanding.”—_Pliny._
“It is a beautiful thing to model a statue and give it life; to mould an
intelligence and instil truth therein is still more beautiful.”—_Hugo._
“There are on every subject a few leading and fixed ideas; their tracks
may be traced by your own genius as well as by reading.”—_Sheridan._
REMARK.
When _as_ introduces an example, a semicolon should be placed before and
a comma after it.
RULE III. _Series of Expressions._—When several clauses follow each other
in succession, having a common dependence on some part of the sentence,
they should be separated from each other by semicolons, and from the
clause on which they depend, by a comma.
EXAMPLE.
“If such men will make a firm and solemn pause, and meditate
dispassionately on its importance; if they will contemplate it in all its
attributes, and trace it to all its consequences, they will not hesitate
to part with trivial objections to a constitution, the rejection of which
would, in all probability, put a final period to the Union.”—_Hamilton._
REMARK.
Commas may be used instead of semicolons, when the clauses are short;
as, “When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when
great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is
valuable in speech farther than it is connected with high intellectual
and moral endowments.”—_Webster._
GENERAL REMARK.
When the members of a sentence seem to be loosely connected, they are
frequently separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“Honest name is goodly; but he that hunteth only for that, is like him
that hath rather seem warm than be warm.”—_Sir Thomas Wyatt._
“Some blemishes may undoubtedly be detected in his character; but the
more carefully it is examined, the more will it appear sound in the noble
parts.”—_Macaulay._
Some writers use commas in the examples given above in preference to
semicolons, and usage varies so much among our best writers that it is
impossible to lay down a general rule that will be applicable in all
cases. If it is desirable to indicate a somewhat close connection between
the members of a sentence, a comma should be used; if the connection is
slight, it is better to use a semicolon.
THE COLON.
RULE I. _Long Sentences._—When the smaller divisions of sentences are
separated by semicolons, the main divisions should be separated by a
colon.
EXAMPLES.
“Emulation is a dangerous passion to encourage, in some points, in
young men; it is so linked with envy: if you reproach your son for
not surpassing his school-fellows, he will hate those who are before
him.”—_Sheridan._
“A man over ninety is a great comfort to all his elderly neighbors: he is
a picket-guard at the extreme outpost; and the young folks of sixty and
seventy feel that the enemy must get by him before he can come near the
camp.”—_O. W. Holmes._
RULE II. _A Quotation._—A colon should precede a long quotation. If,
however, the quotation is short, it is better to use a comma.
EXAMPLES.
Socrates recommended to one of his disciples the following prayer: “O
Jupiter, give us those things which are good for us, whether they are
such things as we pray for, or such things as we do not pray for; and
remove from us those things which are hurtful, though they are such
things as we pray for.”
When the Earl of Dudley took leave of Sydney Smith, on going from London
to Yorkshire, he said: “You have been laughing at me constantly, Sydney,
for the last seven years, and yet, in all that time, you never said a
single thing to me that I wished unsaid.”
REMARK.
1. When the quotation is long, or it begins a new paragraph, a dash is
frequently placed after the colon.
2. When a direct quotation is introduced into the middle of a sentence, a
comma should be used; as, “He was surprised, but replied, ‘I am not the
king, he is there,’ pointing at the same time to a different part of the
hall.”—_Lingard._
RULE III. _Enumeration of Particulars._—A colon should precede an
enumeration of particulars, when they are formally introduced by _thus_,
_following_, _as follows_, _this_, _these_, _&c._
EXAMPLES.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights: that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”—_Jefferson._
“The penalty is graduated thus: the mildest, confiscation; the moderate,
closing the shop; the severest, exposure.”—_Lippincott’s Magazine._
REMARKS.
1. When the particulars are preceded by a colon, they are usually
separated from each other by semicolons, as in the examples given above.
2. If the particulars are not introduced by _thus_, _following_, &c.,
they should be preceded by a semicolon; as, “Grammar is divided into four
parts; Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.”
3. When the particulars are preceded by a semicolon, they are usually
separated from each other by commas.
4. Sometimes a comma and dash are used instead of a semicolon; as,
“Grammar is divided into four parts,—Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and
Prosody.”
GENERAL REMARK.
The colon is used by some writers to separate short expressions that are
complete in themselves, but slightly connected in meaning.
EXAMPLES.
“But men are men: the best sometimes forget.”—_Shakespeare._
“It [the Seine] is the wash-tub and summer bath-tub of its citizens;
it was the birthplace of Paris, and it is too often the grave of her
children.”—_Lippincott’s Magazine._
If a conjunction is used, it is better to use a semicolon; as,—
“She cannot separate her name from his without lessening it; for it is
equally incrusted with his greatness as with his faults.”—_Lamartine._
She cannot separate her name from his without lessening it: it is equally
incrusted with his greatness as with his faults.
The colon is not as commonly used as formerly. A semicolon would be
preferred by very many writers in all sentences similar to the examples
given above. See Rule II. p. 23.
THE PERIOD.
RULE I. _Complete Sentences._—A period should be placed at the end of
a sentence, when it is complete in meaning and construction, and is
declarative or imperative in its nature.
EXAMPLES.
“Swift boasted that he was never known to steal a hint.”—_Macaulay._
“But evil is wrought by want of thought,
As well as want of heart.”—_Hood._
“It is a great evil not to be able to bear an evil.”—_Bion._
REMARK.
A period should always be placed after the title of an essay, oration,
after a signature, an address of a person, &c.
RULE II. _Abbreviations._—A period should be used after every
abbreviation.
EXAMPLES.
Dr. Samuel A. Jones. Mr. C. R. Miller. Mrs. T. S. Applegate. Miss Hattie
E. Knapp.
Esq., Esquire.
Jan., January.
Mich., Michigan.
Hon., Honorable.
Pro tem., for the time being.
Ans., Answer.
D. D., Doctor of Divinity.
B. C., before Christ.
Rev., Reverend.
P., page; pp., pages.
Pres., President.
Rec. Sec., Recording Secretary.
N. Y., New York.
A. D., in the year of our Lord.
A. M., Master of Arts.
M. C., Member of Congress.
No., in number, number.
Co., County.
&c. or etc., and so forth.
REMARKS.
1. It should be remembered that the period thus used, simply indicates
an abbreviation, and that punctuation marks are to be used, in addition
to the period, when required. When a word, written in full, requires a
punctuation mark after it, the same punctuation mark should be used after
the word, when it is abbreviated; as, Adrian, Michigan, January 5, 1877;
Adrian, Mich., Jan. 5, 1877.
2. Some proper names are not abbreviations, and consequently a period
should not be used; as, Ben Jonson, Fred Knapp. When Ben. stands for
Benjamin, and Fred. for Frederick, a period should be used.
3. When numerals are represented by the letters of the alphabet, periods
are placed after them; as, Gen. vii. 1, 7, 8.
4. In numbering pages, no mark should be placed after 1, 2, 3, 4, &c.
5. When a letter, used as an abbreviation, is doubled to indicate the
plural, the period should be placed after the last letter; as, pp. for
pages, LL. D. for Doctor of Laws.
6. In abbreviating words, sometimes the first letters are used, sometimes
the first and last, and sometimes the first and some letter near the
middle of the word; as, Ala. for Alabama, Chas. for Charles, Wm. for
William, MS. for manuscript.
7. A list of abbreviations will be found at the close of any good
dictionary.
INTERROGATION POINT.
RULE I. _Direct Question._—A direct question must be followed by an
interrogation point.
EXAMPLES.
“Who ever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open
encounter?”—_Milton._
“Are you good men and true?”—_Shakespeare._
EXCLAMATION POINT.
RULE I. _Strong Emotion._—The exclamation point is used after expressions
denoting strong emotion.
EXAMPLES.
“Discipline of mind! say rather starvation, confinement, torture,
annihilation.”—_Macaulay._
“My valor is certainly going! it is sneaking off! I feel it oozing out,
as it were, at the palms of my hands.”—_Sheridan._
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child!”—_Shakespeare._
REMARK.
To express an unusual degree of emotion, more than one exclamation point
may be used.
RULE II. _Interjections._—All interjections except _O_ may be followed by
an exclamation point.
EXAMPLES.
“But, alas! to make me
The fixed figure of the time, for scorn
To point his slow unmoving finger at.”—_Shakespeare._
“Oh! blessed temper, whose unclouded ray
Can make to-morrow cheerful as to-day.”—_Pope._
“O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by,
let us call thee devil!”—_Shakespeare._
REMARKS.
1. When the connection between the interjection and what follows is very
close, it is sometimes better to put the exclamation point at the end of
the sentence; as,—
“Oh for that ancient spirit
Which curbed the Senate’s will!”—_Macaulay._
2. When it is desirable to express strong feeling through-out an entire
sentence, the exclamation point should be placed at the end; as,—
“Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note!
Ho, lictors, clear the way!”—_Macaulay._
RULE III. _Address._—Expressions of address, when emphatic, may be
followed by an exclamation point.
EXAMPLES.
“Lord! what music hast thou provided for the saints in heaven, when thou
affordest bad men such music [music of the nightingale] on earth.”—_Izaak
Walton._
“Hail, candle-light! without disparagement to sun or moon, the kindest
luminary of the three.”—_Lamb._
“Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain.”—_Goldsmith._
“Ah! happy years! once more who would not be a boy.”—_Byron._
THE DASH.
RULE I. _Broken Sentences._—When a sentence is broken off abruptly, or
there is an unexpected change in the sentiment, or hesitation is to be
indicated, a dash should be used.
EXAMPLES.
_Prince._—“I tell you what, my cousin Buckingham,—”
_Buck._—“What, my gracious lord?”—_Shakespeare._
“I only feel—Farewell—Farewell!”—_Byron._
“You will think me foolish;—but—but—may it not be that some invisible
angel has been attracted by the simplicity and good faith with which our
children set about their undertaking? May he not have spent an hour of
his immortality in playing with those dear little souls?”—_Hawthorne._
“Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it;
anything but—_live for it_.”—_Colton._
RULE II. _Concluding Clause._—When several expressions follow each other
in succession, having a common dependence on the concluding part of the
sentence, a dash is frequently placed before the clause on which they
depend.
EXAMPLES.
“If you think it a crime in this writer that his language has not been
braided and festooned as elegantly as it might be; that he has not
pinched the miserable plaits of his phraseology, nor placed his patches
and feathers with that correctness of millinery which became him,—then
find a civil and obliging verdict against the printer!”—_Curran._
“To foster industry, to promote union, to cherish religious
peace,—these were the honest purposes of Lord Baltimore during his long
supremacy.”—_Bancroft._
REMARKS.
1. A dash is sometimes used to give prominence or emphasis to an
emphatic conclusion; as, “Fortune, friends, kindred, home,—all were
gone.”—_Prescott._
2. When such words as _namely_, _that is_, &c., are omitted, a dash is
sometimes used; as, “Many actions, like the Rhone, have two sources,—one
pure, and the other impure.”—_Hare._
3. When a word or an expression is repeated for emphasis, a dash should
be placed before it; as, “It is this, I conjure Your Lordships, for your
honor, for the honor of the nation, for the honor of human nature, now
intrusted to your care,—it is this duty that the Commons of England,
speaking through us, claims at your hands.”—_Sheridan._
RULE III. _Subjects._—When the subject of a general statement, or the
subject of a quotation, is in the same paragraph with the subject-matter,
a dash should separate the subject from what follows.
EXAMPLES.
The Bible.—“A person who professes to be a critic in the niceties
of the English language ought to have the Bible at his fingers’
ends.”—_Macaulay._
Letter-Writing.—“Common interests are necessary to give permanent
stability to epistolary connections. We may love a man dearly, and yet
find no time to write ten lines to him.”—_From the German of Rudolph
Lindau._
REMARKS.
1. A subject is a word or expression about which some statement is made.
2. A dash should be placed between a quotation and the author from whom
the quotation is taken.
3. When a question and an answer are in the same paragraph, a dash is
frequently inserted between the two; as, “Saw you my lord?”—“No, lady.”
4. When _as_, _thus_, _as follows_, &c., introduce an example or a
quotation, a dash should be placed after the comma or colon, if what
follows commences a new paragraph; as,—
“All we possess, and use not on the road,
Adds to the burden we must bear.”—_Goethe._
RULE IV. _Letters or Figures Omitted._—When letters or figures are
omitted, a dash should be used to indicate the omission.
EXAMPLES.
“Why, to comfort me, must Alice W⸺n be a goblin?”—_Lamb._
Mark xi. 1-10. Gen. v. 3-9.
REMARK.
3-9 is equivalent to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
GENERAL REMARK.
The dash is frequently used to give prominence or emphasis to an
expression.
EXAMPLES.
“In the quiet air, there was a sound of distant singing,—shepherd
voices.”—_Dickens._
“Wealth has its temptations,—so has power.”—_Robertson._
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the
crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through
it; the storms may enter, the rains may enter,—but the king of England
cannot enter! all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined
tenement.”—_Pitt._
RULE V. _Parenthesis._—Two dashes are sometimes used instead of the usual
marks of parenthesis.
EXAMPLES.
“A yellow claw—the very same that had clawed together so much
wealth—poked itself out of the coach window, and dropt some copper coins
upon the ground.”—_Hawthorne._
“Jackson—the omniscient Jackson he was called—was of this period. He had
the reputation of possessing more multifarious knowledge than any man of
his time.”—_Lamb._
REMARKS.
1. When the sentence, without the parenthesis, would require a comma
where the dashes are used, each dash should be preceded by a comma; as,
“See that aged couple,—a sad sight, truly,—John Proctor, and his wife
Elizabeth.”—_Hawthorne._
2. If the parenthetical expression is a question or expresses emotion, an
interrogation or an exclamation point should be placed before the second
dash; as, “The laurel of the hero—alas for humanity that it should be
so!—grows best on the battle field.”
MARKS OF PARENTHESIS.
RULE I. _Parenthesis._—When an expression breaks the connection between
the different parts of a sentence, and might be omitted without affecting
the sense or the construction, it should be inclosed in parenthetical
marks.
EXAMPLES.
“Of all sound of all bells (bells, the music nighest bordering
heaven) most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old
Year.”—_Lamb._
“The tuneful Nine (so sacred legends tell)
First waked their heavenly lyre these scenes to tell!”—_Campbell._
“Their intellectual wardrobe (to confess fairly) has few whole pieces in
it.”—_Lamb._
REMARKS.
1. When parenthetical marks are used, it is sometimes necessary to use
additional marks.
_a._ When the sentence, without the parenthesis, requires a
punctuation mark where the parenthetical marks are used, the
punctuation mark should be placed after the last mark of the
parenthesis; as,—
“Know then this truth (enough for man to know),
‘Virtue alone is happiness below.’”—_Pope._
_b._ Sometimes the parenthesis requires a punctuation mark
before the last mark of the parenthesis; as, “Spill not the
morning (the quintessence of the day!) in recreations.”—_Thomas
Fuller._
_c._ When a punctuation mark immediately precedes the last
mark of the parenthesis, and a punctuation mark is also needed
where the parenthetical marks are used, it should be placed
before the first mark of the parenthesis; as, “F. was the
most gentlemanly of oilmen. He had two Latin words almost
constantly in his mouth, (how odd sounds Latin from an oilman’s
lips!) which my better knowledge since has enabled me to
correct.”—_Lamb._
2. An interrogation point inclosed in parenthetical marks (?) implies
that an assertion is doubtful.
3. An exclamation point inclosed within parenthetical marks (!) expresses
irony or contempt.
4. Parenthetical marks are not as frequently used as formerly, the comma
and dash being often preferred.
BRACKETS.
RULE I. _Quoted Passage._—When words are inserted by another into a
quoted passage, either to correct a mistake or explain the meaning, they
should be inclosed in brackets.
EXAMPLES.
“A variety of pleasing objects meet [meets] the eye.”