Q&A for How to Use English Punctuation Correctly

Keep practicing. Read a lot of English text and pay attention to how they are used. A/An are very easy to distinguish - they're the same thing, the 'n' is just added if the article comes before a word that starts with a vowel sound (eagle, angry, honest, Indian, etc.). For explanation and examples of the different uses of A/An and The, check out www.englishpage.com/articles/a-an-vs-the.htm.

You can use it immediately after an error in a quotation (commonly a misspelling). This is something most people are relatively unlikely to ever need to use; it's mainly used by journalists or authors when they quote writing that contains an error and want to make clear that the error was present in the original source, not made by the current writer/publication. For example: A statement released by the Trump campaign said, "We need too [sic] make America great again."

Known as a "tilde," the ~ symbol is often used in a mathematical context to indicate approximation or proportionality.

It means, "I looked at it. I will do as you have suggested. I will respond to Fred in detail."

If you want to show ownership for one person, you would add an " 's" at the end of the name (e.g., John Doe's house). If you'd like to show ownership for more than one person, you'd add an "s' " (e.g., the Does' house).

No, the "them" at the end of your sentence refers to the cookbook, a single object. So "them" should become "it."

In a title, capitalize the first word and all other main words. Do not capitalize prepositions.

Yes. Always use commas to separate phrases that are extra information. In other words, if the sentence still makes sense without the phrase, commas should be used to separate it from the rest of the sentence, just as you have done.

"There was a huge traffic jam on the motorway. It stretched for miles. It took us three hours to get to the airport. This left us feeling exhausted." or "There was a huge traffic jam on the motorway; it stretched for miles. It took us three hours to get to the airport. This left us feeling exhausted." A better way to write it: There was a miles-long traffic jam on the motorway. It took us three hours to get to the airport and left us feeling exhausted.

A question mark followed by an exclamation point.

A "period" or "full stop" is placed at the end of a declarative sentence and at the end of abbreviations such as "Mr." and "etc." It is also used as a decimal point in mathematics and as a "dot" in Internet addresses.

Mortiz's.

Yes, it's commonly done in informal (but not formal) writing.

Grace's.

If you specify a number, use an "s" when there is more than one item. Use "(s)" if you don't specify a number but want to allow for the possibility of one item or more than one item.

Usually, most authors use "[" and "]" to indicate where they omitted certain parts of a long quote. "John, who was in the [...] said that all animals are equal". If the author only needs this specific part of the source quoted to get the point across, then this method can be used to shorten the quote. It works the other way around, too, adding your own words to the quote to make the structure of the original sentence clear. "John [said that] all animals are equal". This is used when the original quote is so complex that those words ("said that") do not appear in that position in the original quote.

It is fine the way you have it. If it's a direct quote from the newspaper, you can add quotation marks around "the biggest blockbuster of the decade."

There aren't really other cases where @ is used in proper English grammar. Many times @ is used informally, but it wouldn't be correct in academic/professional writing.

You can if you are quoting within a quote or dialogue; for example, "Mom, Jane said I was a 'sneaky, slithery snake.' " The modern British system is the opposite: first a single quotation mark, then a double mark inside the single mark.

Place a colon after "follows." You can capitalize "go" if you wish. Place an article ("a" or "the") in front of "T-junction." Some people would hyphenate "five-hundred."

Yes, if you're writing informally.

If you want to emphasize a direct quote, use quotation marks. If you're merely displaying a line of thinking, the quotation marks are not needed.

Both American and British systems make sense. This is similar to the Oxford comma argument. There are many issues of far greater importance to fuss about, but I would say go with the system in place where you are! When in Rome...

The definition of "acronym" is a bit loose. Some say -- as you suggest -- that an acronym is a coined word that is pronounced as a word, such as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) or SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States). Others, however, accept as acronyms abbreviations (like NSA, CIA, and USA) in which the individual letters are pronounced.

Both are known as an ellipsis (plural: ellipses). The three-dot variation is used within a quotation to indicate the omission of one or more words. The four-dot variation is used at the end of a quotation, suggesting an uncompleted thought.

A comma would be used there. A semicolon simply implies a slightly longer pause than a comma does.

Use an ellipsis (dots) to indicate that additional material in the passage is not being quoted. There is no need for the semicolon in this case.

Brackets typically enclose letters or words that have been changed from the original piece of writing or speech. If the first letter is changed, it was most likely just a change in capitalization either to correct erroneous capitalization or to better fit the flow of the current piece of writing the quote is being included in.

Only if it is used as an official title. If you are using a general term, it should not be capitalized.

First, it is proper to put yourself last when listing more than one person; it's "John, Cindy and I", not "I, John and Cindy." Second, the choice of pronounce depends on its place in the sentence: if it is used before the verb, then "I" is correct; if its used after the verb, then "me" is correct. Compare: "John and I went to the beach" to "Ann saw John and me at the beach." So you're correct, and this isn't an optional rule; "John and me went to the beach" is just not grammatically correct. Your friend wouldn't say "Me went to the beach," would he? The same rule applies.