Grammatically CORRECT. Sample file. Anne Stilman 2ND EDITION THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SPELLING, STYLE, USAGE, GRAMMAR, AND PUNCTUATION REVISED & UPDATED

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1 Grammatically CORRECT 2ND EDITION THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SPELLING, STYLE, USAGE, GRAMMAR, AND PUNCTUATION REVISED & UPDATED Anne Stilman

2 Grammatically Correct 2010 by Anne Stilman. Manufactured in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No other part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Writer s Digest Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio (800) Second edition. For more resources for writers, visit To receive a free weekly newsletter delivering tips and updates about writing and about Writer s Digest products, register directly at Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct, 100 Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada L7G 5S4, Tel: (905) Distributed in the U.K. and Europe by David & Charles, Brunel House, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 4PU, England, Tel: (+44) , Fax: (+44) , postmaster@davidandcharles.co.uk. Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link, P.O. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756 Australia, Tel: (02) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Grammatically correct : the essential guide to spelling, style, usage, grammar, and punctuation / by Anne Stilman. -- 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN (alk. paper) 1. English language--grammar--handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. English language--rhetoric--handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. English language--usage--handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. PE1112.S dc Edited by Nicole Klungle and Scott Francis Designed by Claudean Wheeler Production coordinated by Mark Griffin

3 To the memory of my mother, Ruth

4 CONTENTS Preface...1 Part 1: THE BUILDING BLOCKS: WORD BY WORD Spelling Issues...5 Frequently Misspelled Words...6 Spelling Variations Frequently Confused Homonyms Hyphenation Vocabulary Quirks and Challenges...32 Frequently Misused Words Plural Formations Negative Formations Using Type Style for Effect...50 Uses of Capitalization Uses of Italic Type Uses of Boldface Type Part 2: PUNCTUATION Basic Sentence Structure...72 Subject and Predicate Independent and Dependent Clauses Phrases Sentence Fragments Comma...77 Separating the Main Elements of a Sentence Separating Elements in a Series Setting Off Dialogue and Quotations Indicating Omitted Words Other Uses of the Comma Semicolon Separating Elements

5 Linking Elements Style Conventions Colon Introducing What Follows Adding Emphasis Other Uses of the Colon Colon or Semicolon? Style Conventions Period Ending a Sentence Indicating Abbreviations Other Uses of the Period Question Mark Indicating Queries Indicating Rhetorical Questions Indicating Requests Indicating Uncertainty Style Conventions Exclamation Point Indicating Importance or Emotion Indicating Rhetorical Questions Capturing Attention Cautions About the Exclamation Point Style Conventions Hyphen Indicating Word Breaks Linking the Parts of a Compound Adjective Acting As a Stand-In for a Repeated Word Indicating Intonations or Pronunciations Slash Indicating And or Or Relationships Indicating Other Relationships Separating Lines of Poetry

6 Parentheses Working in Digressions Making Complex Text Easier to Follow Setting Off Details Style Conventions En Dash Linking Ranges Linking Words Style Conventions Em Dash Marking Off An Important Point Or A Digression Marking A Break In Structure Or Turn In Content Indicating Interrupted Or Scattered Speech Style Conventions Em and 3-Em Dashes Em Dash Em Dash Style Conventions Brackets Identifying Changes to Quoted Material Enclosing Digressions Within Parentheses Other Uses of Brackets Style Conventions Quotation Marks Setting Off Dialogue Setting Off Citations Indicating Significance Setting Off Titles Style Conventions Ellipsis Indicating Omissions Indicating Hesitant or Trailing Speech Imparting Significance Style Conventions