Lesson 4 - Punctuation & Mechanics Pt 2

         Greetings fellow writers! It’s been over a month since I’ve written up a grammar lesson, but grab hold of your pens and get out your notebooks! Class is back in session, and we have some more mechanics to tackle.

Apostrophes

         Apostrophes are those little comma-looking things that float above the letters in certain words. There are four uses of the apostrophe that we will cover.

1. We use the apostrophe followed by the letter ‘s’ to make words possessive. I’m not talking about crazy ex-girlfriend possessive. I mean to show that something owns something else.

Examples:
- the wizard’s staff
- the wolf’s fangs

2. Use an apostrophe plus the letter ‘s’ to indicate plurals of letters and numbers. However, you do NOT use apostrophes in years. (ex: 1900’s should be 1900s)

Examples:
- p’s and q’s
- 6’s and 7’s

3. Use an apostrophe without the ‘s’ if the noun is plural AND ends in ‘s’.

Examples:
- the churches’ Celtic crosses
- the riders’ horses

4. We use apostrophes in contractions.

Examples: can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t, etc.

Capitalization

         Knowing when words should be capitalized and when they should not can be difficult. I’m going to run you all through the times when you do and don’t.

1. DO capitalize the first word in a quotation.

Example:
The king said, “Bring forth the prisoners.”

2. DO capitalize proper nouns (ones referring to someone named).

Example:
The heroes asked King Gregory Delencor about the disturbances.

3. DO NOT capitalize a noun if it refers to a class instead of a specific person.

Example:
The king and queen danced across the ballroom.

4. DO capitalize the first word and all other words, except articles (i.e. a, an, the), conjunctions (i.e. and, but, for, nor, etc.), and prepositions in a title.

Example:
The War of Fallen Heroes
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(Pssst, don’tcha like how I put my novel before Tolkien? Dun tell him!)

5. DO capitalize the first word in a subtitle, no matter what it is.

Example:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Hyphens

         Hyphens are difficult to get your head around. They are used to combine two words or bits of words, making it one full word. Most hyphenated words become adjectives. The best way to figure out if a phrase needs a hyphen or not is to consult a dictionary.

         Fractions are tough to write out, because they can and can’t have hyphens. The way to remember if a fraction needs a hyphen is if it’s being used as an adjective. If the fraction is being used as a noun, don’t use a hyphen.

Use a hyphen:
Take a one-half turn to your left.

Don’t use a hyphen:
Two thirds of the treasure was stolen by thieves.

         When you’re using those really long adjective phrases, use hyphens! Examples might be “he has an in-your-face attitude” or “the pump uses a pay-as-you-go system.”

         REMEMBER: Use hyphens for ADJECTIVE phrases, NOT NOUNS!

Italics

         Italics have pushed underlining to the side when it comes to book titles. If you are writing the title of a book, magazine, newspaper, or long/epic poem, italicize or underline it.

Examples:
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings

         Both of those ways are correct. Remember, quotation marks, which we talked about in our last lesson, are not used for book titles. Thus we cannot say “The Lord of the Rings.”

         We also italicize words, numbers, or letters that we use in referencing them as being a word, number, or letter. Confused? Check out the examples.

Examples:
The word sandwich came about due to an actual man named the Earl of Sandwich.
The plural s has three different “pronunciations” in English.

         We also italicize foreign words or phrases.

Example:
She graduated summa cum laude. (“with greatest honor”)

Numbers

         One, two, buckle my shoe. Sorry, got a little carried away with myself. When do we write out the numbers? When do we just write the digits? It’s simple! Numbers expressed in one or two words must be written out. Numbers expressed in three or more words must be represented with digits.

Examples:
I have lived for twenty-two years.
The battle brought about a total of 5,500 casualties.

         The only exception is if a number starts a sentence. In this case, you always write the number out.

Example:
Three hundred twenty-two people jumped for joy.

In Conclusion

         That’s all for me! Thanks again for your patience, and I hope this has helped! As always, leave me feedback or suggestions for next week’s grammar lesson. You can drop me a line at my writing.com name or at [e-mail]. Either way, I will get back to you! Thanks, and stay warm everyone!