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planning any dramatic gestures.
It is, however, usual to use the subjective forms
None of them has had enough practical experi- when a relative clause (introduced by who or that)
ence to run the company.
follows:
and as plural when the emphasis is on the collec-
t It was I who did it.
tion or group as a whole:
Neither his mother nor his father earn much
money now.
None of the staff were aware of the ransom
5. PUNCTUATION
demand.
The purpose of punctuation is to make writing
clear, by clarifying the structure of continuous
Plural pronouns used in the singular writing and indicating how words relate to each
There is often uncertainty about what possessive other.
guide to good english
The money, which totals more than half a million,
Full stop
comes from three anonymous donors.
The principal use of the full stop is to mark the
A single comma sometimes follows adverbs,
end of a sentence that is a statement:
phrases, and subordinate clauses that come at the
Bernard went over to the bookcase and took
beginning of a sentence:
down an atlas.
Moreover, they had lied about where they had
This applies to sentences when they are not com-
been.
plete statements or contain ellipsis:
When the sun began to sink, she could take the
London. Implacable November weather.
riverside walk to the hotel.
If an abbreviation with a full stop comes at the
A comma is always needed with however when it
end of a sentence, another full stop is not added:
means  by contrast or  on the other hand :
Bring your own pens, pencils, rulers, etc.
However, a good deal of discretion is left in the
hands of area managers.
Comma
At word level
The role of the comma is to give detail to the
A comma is used to separate adjectives having the
structure of sentences and to make their meaning
same range of reference coming before a noun:
clear by marking off words that either do or do not
belong together. It usually represents the natural a cold, damp, badly heated room
breaks and pauses that you make in speech, and
The comma is omitted when the adjectives have a
operates at phrase level and word level:
different range of reference (for example, size and
colour) or when the last adjective has a closer rela-
At phrase level tion to the noun:
You should use a comma to mark off parts of a sen-
his baggy green jacket
tence that are separated by conjunctions (and, but,
a distinguished foreign politician
yet, etc.). This is especially important when there
is a change or repetition of the subject, or when
Commas are used to separate items in a list or
the sentence is a long one:
sequence:
Mokosh could foretell the future, and she could
The visitors were given tea, scones, and cake.
change herself into any form she pleased.
(The final comma before and is regarded by many
Readings are taken at points on a grid marked
people as unnecessary and left out; this dictionary
out on the ground, and the results are usually
always includes one.)
plotted in the form of computer-drawn diagrams.
Leave out the comma between nouns that occur
together in the same grammatical role in a sen-
It is not normally correct to join the clauses of a
tence (called apposition):
compound sentence without a conjunction:
My friend Judge Peters was not at home.
p His was the last house, the road ended with
him.
But use one when the noun is a piece of extra
information that could be removed from the
Nor is it correct to separate a subject from its verb
sentence without any noticeable effect on the
with a single comma:
meaning:
p Those with the lowest incomes and no other
His father, Humphrey V. Roe, was not so
means, should get the most support.
fortunate.
A comma also separates parts of a sentence that
balance or complement each other, and can intro-
duce direct speech, especially in continuation of
Semicolon
dialogue:
The main role of the semicolon is to mark a gram-
He was getting better, but not as fast as his
matical separation that is stronger in effect than a
doctor wished.
comma but less strong than a full stop. Normally
Then Laura said,  Do you mean that?
the two parts of a sentence divided by a semicolon
balance each other, rather than leading from one
An important function of the comma is to prevent
to the other:
ambiguity or momentary misunderstanding:
The sky grew bright with sunset; the earth
Mr Hogg said that he had shot, himself, as a small
glowed.
boy.
Commas are used in pairs to separate elements in Honey looked up and glared; the man scurried
a sentence that are asides or not part of the main away.
statement:
You can also use a semicolon as a stronger division
All history, of course, is the history of wars. in a sentence that already contains commas:
Commas are also used to separate a relative clause What has crippled me? Was it my grandmother,
that is non-restrictive (see relative clauses frowning on my childish affection and turning it
above): to formality and cold courtesy; or my timid,
guide to good english
fearful mother, in awe of everyone including,
Hyphens
finally, me; or was it my wife s infidelities, or my
own? In print a hyphen is half the length of a dash, but
in writing there is often little noticeable differ-
ence. While the dash has the purpose of separat-
ing words and groups of words, the hyphen is
Colon
meant to link words and parts of words. The use of
Whereas a semicolon links two balanced state-
hyphens is very variable in English, but the fol-
ments, a colon leads from the first statement to
lowing guidelines reflect generally agreed princi-
the second. Typically it links a general or intro-
ples.
ductory statement to an example, a cause to an
The hyphen is used to join two or more words so
effect, or a premise to a conclusion.
as to form a single word (often called a compound
He was being made to feel more part of the
word), e.g. free-for-all, multi-ethnic, right-handed,
family: the children kissed him goodnight, like a
and punch-drunk. Straightforward noun com-
third parent.
pounds are now much more often spelled either as
two words (boiling point, credit card, focus group)
You also use a colon to introduce a list:
or as one, even when this involves a collision of
The price includes the following: travel to
consonants, which used to be a reason for putting
London, flight to Venice, hotel accommodation,
in the hyphen (database, earring, breaststroke). In
and excursions.
American English compound nouns generally
written as two words in British English are often
written as one word.
Apostrophe
There are two cases in which a compound
The principal role of the apostrophe is to indicate
spelled as two words is made into a hyphened
a possessive, as in Tessa s house and the town s
form or a one-word form:
mayor.
2 when a verb phrase such as hold up or back up is
Singular nouns form the possessive by adding  s
made into a noun (hold-up, backup);
(the dog s bark = one dog), and plural nouns end- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]