# English in Use/Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections

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## Preposition

A **preposition** is a word used to express some relation of different
things or thoughts to each other, and is generally placed before a noun
or a pronoun: as,

-   \"The paper lies before me on the desk.\"

In that sentence, *before* is the preposition, *me* is the **governed
term** of a preposition, \"before me\" is a **prepositional phrase**,
and the verb *lies* is the **prior term** of a preposition. \"On the
desk\" is the other prepositional phrase, and *lies* is its prior term.

To a preposition, the prior term may be a noun, an adjective, a pronoun,
a verb, a participle, or an adverb; and the governed term may be a noun,
a pronoun, a pronominal adjective, an infinitive verb, or a participle.

Although overlooked in common speech, prepositional phrases should not
be placed at the end of a question: as,

-   \"Who do I give this *to*?\"
-   Say, \"*To whom* do I give this?\"

Prepositional phrases can be placed at the end of a sentence: as,

-   \"She did not sign up *for tennis*.\"

**See also:** List of English
prepositions

Some words are linked with their prepositions, e.g. *compared* *with*,
*similar* *to*, and *different* *from* (possibly *different* *than* in
USA).

Commonly used prepositions include:

-   **About**---In concern with; engaged in; intent on; on the point or
    verge of; in act of; concerning; with regard to; on account of.
-   **Above**---In or to a higher place; on or over; superior to;
    surpassing; beyond; higher in measure or degree.
-   **Across**---From side to side; athwart; crosswise; quite over.
-   **After**---Behind in place; below in rank; later in time;
    subsequent to; following; in search of; in pursuit of; concerning;
    in relation to; in imitation of; in conformity with; after the
    manner of; according to; in accordance with; in proportion to.
-   **Against**---Abreast; opposite to; facing; towards; in opposition
    to; counter to; in contrariety to; adverse to; by of before the
    time; in preparation for.
-   **Along**---By the length.
-   **Amid(st)**---In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed
    by; among.
-   **Among**---Conjoined; associated with; making part of.
-   **Around**---On all sides of; encircling; encompassing; at random
    through; about; on another side of.
-   **As**---Similar of like. It can be used as conjunction and
    preposition.
-   **At**---Expresses the relations of presence, proximity to, nearness
    in place or time, age or order, state or condition, employment or
    action, point or position, rate or value, source, occasion, reason,
    consequence or effect, direction toward an object or end; occupied
    with.
-   **Before**---In front of; preceding in space, order, rank, right,
    worth, or time; ahead of; earlier than; previously to; anterior to;
    an advance of; farther onward; in presence or sight of; face to face
    with; under the jurisdiction of; open for; free of access to; in the
    power of.
-   **Behind**---At the back part; in the rear; toward the back part or
    rear; backward; out of sight; remaining.
-   **Below**---Under, or lower in place; beneath; inferior to; unworthy
    of; unbefitting.
-   **Beneath**---Lower in place; under; underneath; lower in rank,
    dignity, or excellence.
-   **Beside(s)**---Over and above; separate or distinct from; in
    addition to; other than; else than.
-   **Between**---In the space which separates; betwixt; from one place
    to another; shared by both; affecting mutual relation; with relation
    to two.
-   **Beyond**---On the further side of; further on or away than; at a
    place or time not yet reached; out of the reach or sphere of;
    further than; greater than; exceeding or surpassing.
-   **During**---In the time of; as long as the action or existence of.
-   **Except**---With exclusion of; leaving or left out; excepting.
-   **For**---In consideration of; in view of; with reference to; the
    cause, occasion, motive or inducement of; the reason of; in favor
    of; in promoting which; on account of which; indicating the object
    of an act; toward which; in the character of; instead of which;
    during; in or through the space or time of; in prevention of which.
-   **From**---Lessening or losing proximity to; leaving behind; by
    reason of; out of; by aid of; indicates the point of space or time
    at which the action or state is regarded as setting out or
    beginning; the source; the cause; the correlative of to.
-   **In**---With reference to space or place, circumstances or
    conditions, a whole, physical surrounding, personal states, reach,
    scope, movement or tendency, limit of time.
-   **Into**---To the inside of; expressing penetration beyond the
    outside or surface; indicating insertion, inclusion, or passing to
    another form or condition.
-   **Like**---Similar of as. It can be used as conjunction and
    preposition.
-   **Of**---Out from; proceeding from; belonging to; relating to;
    concerning; about; belonging to; connected with; indicating origin,
    source, descent, possession or ownership, relation of subject to
    attribute, material, part, source of a purpose or action, distance
    in space or time, identity or equivalence, agent, or passage from
    one state to another.
-   **Off**---Not on; away from.
-   **On**---At, to or against the surface; by means of; with; adjacent
    to; in addition to; besides; indicating dependence or reliance; at
    or in the time of; during; in consequence of; toward; for; at the
    peril of; for the safety of; by virtue of; with the pledge of; to
    the account of; in reference or relation to; occupied with; in the
    performance of; in the service of; connected with; of the number of;
    forward; onward; in continuance; without interruption or ceasing;
    adhering; not off; attached to the body; in progress; proceeding.
-   **Over**---Above, or higher than; across; from side to side of; on
    the whole surface of; throughout the whole extent of; superiority in
    excellence, dignity, condition, value or authority; across or during
    the time of; from beginning to end of; beyond; in excess of; in
    addition to; more than; across; crosswise.
-   **Past**---Beyond, in position, degree or time; further than; beyond
    the reach or influence of; above; exceeding; more than; by.
-   **Through**---From one end to the opposite; between the sides or
    walls of; by means of; by the agency of; over the whole extent of;
    among or in the midst of; to the end; to a conclusion; to the
    ultimate purpose.
-   **To**---Indicates motion, course, or tendency toward a limit;
    connects adjectives, nouns and verbs with their governed terms and
    contains less the idea of appropriation than for; a sign of the
    infinitive; extent; limit; degree of comprehension; inclusion as far
    as; effect; end; consequence; apposition; connection; antithesis;
    opposition; accord; adaptation; comparison; addition; union;
    accompaniment; character; condition of being.
-   **Toward(s)**---In the direction of; with respect or reference to;
    regarding; concerning; tending to; in behalf of; near; about;
    approaching to.
-   **Under**---Below or lower; lower than; beneath; denoting relation
    to some thing, condition or person that is superior, or to something
    that comprehends, includes or furnishes a cover.
-   **Underneath**---Under; beneath; below.
-   **Until**---To; unto; towards; up to; till; before.
-   **With**---Denotes relation of nearness, proximity, association,
    connection, opposition or hostility, connection of friendship,
    support, alliance, assistance, countenance, accomplishment of cause,
    means, instrument, simultaneous happening, immediate succession,
    consequence, possession or appendage; among; in the company of.
-   **Without**---On or at the outside of; out of; not within; out of
    the limits of; out of reach of; in absence of, separation from, or
    destitution of; not with use or employment of; independently of;
    exclusively of; with omission; unless; except.

### A short syntax

A noun or a pronoun made the object of a preposition, is governed by it
in the objective case, as \"From whom.\"

Prepositions show the relations of words, and of the things or thoughts
expressed by them, as \"He came from Rome,\" except the following cases:
the preposition *to*, as \"To learn to die,\" and the preposition *for*,
as \"For us to learn.\"

## Conjunction

A **conjunction** is a word used to connect words or sentences in
construction, and to show the dependence of the terms so connected: as,

-   \"You and he are happy, because you are good.\"---Murray.

Conjunctions are divided into two general classes, copulative and
disjunctive; and a few of each class are particularly distinguished from
the rest, as being corresponsive.

A **copulative** conjunction is a conjunction that denotes an addition,
a cause, a consequence, or a supposition: as,

-   \"He and I shall not dispute; for, if he has any choice, I shall
    readily grant it.\"

The copulatives: *and, as, both, because, even, for, if, that, then,
since, seeing, so*.

A **disjunctive** conjunction is a conjunction that denotes opposition
of meaning: as,

-   \"Though he were dead, yet shall he live.\"---St. John\'s Gospel.
-   \"Be not faithless, but believing.\"---Id.

The disjunctives: *or, nor, either, neither, than, though, although,
yet, but, except, whether, lest, unless, save, provided,
notwithstanding, whereas*.

The **corresponsive** conjunctions are those which are used in pairs, so
that one refers or answers to the other: as,

-   \"John came neither eating nor drinking.\"---Matt., xi, 18.
-   \"But if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of
    God is come to you.\"---Ib., xii, 28.

The corresponsives: *both, and; as, as; as, so; if, then; either, or;
neither, nor; whether, or; though, yet; although, yet*.

### A short syntax

Conjunctions connect words, sentences, or parts of sentences, as
\"Between me and you,\" except the following cases: introducing a
sentence, as \"That you have wronged me,\" corresponding conjunctions,
as \"Neither sun nor stars,\" and *either* and *neither*, as \"It is not
dangerous neither.\"

## Interjection

An **interjection** is a word that is uttered to indicate a strong or
sudden emotion. The following are the principal interjections, arranged
according to the emotions which they are intended to indicate:

-   Of joy; yoo! hey! oi! yeah!
-   Of sorrow; oh! ah! hoo! alas! alack! lackaday! welladay! or welaway!
-   Of wonder; gotit! ha! strange! indeed!
-   Of wishing, earnestness, or vocative address; (often with a noun or
    pronoun in the nominative absolute;) O!
-   Of praise; well-done! good! bravo!
-   Of surprise with disapproval; whew! hoity-toity! really! no-way!
    what!
-   Of pain or fear; oh! ooh! ah! eh! O dear! Oh, no!
-   Of contempt; fudge! pugh! poh! pshaw! pish! tush! tut! humph! fine!
-   Of aversion; foh! faugh! fie! fy! foy!
-   Of expulsion; out! off! shoo! whew! begone! avaunt! aroynt!
-   Of calling aloud; oi! yo! dude! hollo! holla! hallo! halloo! hoy!
    ahoy! hey!
-   Of exultation; ah! aha! hazza! hey! heyday! harrah!
-   Of laughter; ha, ha, ha; he, he, he; te-hee, te-hee.(lol)
-   Of salutation; welcome! hail! all-hail!
-   Of calling to attention; ho! lo! la! law! look! see! behold! hark!
-   Of calling to silence; hush! hist! whist! \'st! aw! pst! shhh! zip
    it!
-   Of dread or horror; oh! ha! hah! what!
-   Of languor or weariness; heigh-ho! heigh-ho-hum!
-   Of stopping; hold! soft! avast! whoh! halt! stop! hold-on! calm!
-   Of parting; farewell! adieu! good-bye! good-day! see ya!
-   Of knowing or detecting; oho! ahah! ay-ay!
-   Of interrogating; eh? ha? hey? no?

### A short syntax

Interjections are put absolute, either alone, or with other words, as
\"Ah Dennis!\"

## References

-   A part of the text in this article was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.
-   The Public Domain portion of \"The Gutenberg Webster\'s Unabridged
    Dictionary\"


# English in Use/Verbals

## Overview

## Infinitives

See the verbs infinitive mood.

### A short syntax

An infinitive can be joined to every part of speech: a noun, as \"Obtain
felicity,\" an adjective, as \"Desirous to speak,\" a pronoun, as \"What
to accuse,\" a finite verb, as \"Come to seek,\" an infinitive, as \"To
wait to consider,\" a participle, as \"Bent to unhoard,\" an adverb, as
\"How to act,\" a conjunction, as \"More than praise it,\" a
preposition, as \"About to write,\" and an interjection, as \"O to
forget her!\".

An infinitive may stand for the following: a supplement to verb, as \"Go
to seek,\" purpose, as \"Labour not to be rich,\" an object of passion,
as \"He loves to ride,\" a cause of passion, as \"I rejoice to hear
it,\" the subject of proposition, as \"To steal is sinful,\" the object
of proposition, as \"To enjoy is to obey,\" a coming event, as \"Things
to come,\" a necessary event, as \"It is to be remembered,\" something
previously suggested, as \"The gift to know it,\" and measure, as
\"Enough to show.\"

## Gerunds

Gerunds are nouns built from a verb with an *ing* suffix. They can be
used as the subject of a sentence, an object, or an object of
preposition. They can also be used to complement a subject. Often,
gerunds exist side-by-side with nouns that come from the same root but
the gerund and the common noun have different shades of meaning.
Examples: breath and *breathing*, knowledge and *knowing*. Yet,
distinguishing between a gerund, and a verb can sometimes cause trouble.
For example:

-   \"*Swimming* has to be the best sport ever.\" (*Swimming* is
    gerund.)
-   \"I went swimming today.\" (Not a Gerund, because it is not an
    idea.)

Examples of gerunds as the subject of a sentence are:

-   \"*Backpacking* is a rewarding pastime.\"
-   \"*Stretching* can loosen up muscles.\"
-   \"No *smoking*.\" (I.e., no smoking is allowed / you may not smoke
    here.)

As an object:

-   \"We all love to go *bowling* on the weekend.\"
-   \"He loves *eating* chips.\"

An object of preposition:

-   \"They complained of *hearing* strange sounds from the next cabin.\"
-   \"They sang about *being* eaten by bears to allay their fears.\"

And as a complement to a subject:

-   \"One of the most dangerous things to do on the lake is
    *ice-skating*.\"

## Participles

**Participles** are forms of verbs which are used as adjectives. A
participle is a word derived from a verb, participating the properties
of a verb, and of an adjective or a noun; and is generally formed by
adding *ing*, *d*, or *ed*, to the verb: thus, from the verb rule, are
formed three participles, two simple and one compound; as, *ruling,
ruled, having ruled*.

English verbs, not defective, have severally three participles; which
have been very variously denominated, perhaps the most accurately thus:
the present, the past, and the past perfect. Or, as their order is
undisputed, they may be conveniently called the first, the second, and
the third.

The **present participle** is that which ends commonly in *ing*, and
implies a continuance of the being, action, or passion: as, *being,
acting, ruling, loving, defending, terminating*. Therefore:

-   *Talk* becomes *talking*
-   *Jump* becomes *jumping*
-   *Open* becomes *opening*
-   *See* becomes *seeing*

The present participle, when simple, is always formed by adding *ing*,
or it is formed by prefixing being to some other simple participle; as,
*being reading, being read, being completed*.

The **past participle** is that which ends commonly in *ed* or *en*, and
implies a completion of the being, action, or passion: as, *been, acted,
ruled, loved, defended, terminated*. Therefore:

-   *Talk* becomes *talked*
-   *Jump* becomes *jumped*
-   *Open* becomes *opened*
-   However, *See* becomes *seen*

The past participle is always simple, and is regularly formed by adding
*d* or *ed* to the radical verb: those verbs from which it is formed
otherwise, are either irregular or redundant.

The irregular verb *see* also did not have a regular past participle. As
with most irregular words, there is no good \"general rule\" which
applies, but often *ed* is replaced by \'en\'. More irregular verbs with
irregular past participles are:

-   *Be*, *been*
-   *Break*, *broken*
-   *Eat*, *eaten*
-   *Slide*, *slid*

The **past perfect participle** is that which takes the sign having, and
implies a previous completion of the being, action, or passion: as,
*having loved, having seen, having written; having been loved, having
been writing, having been written*.

The past perfect participle is always compound, and is formed by
prefixing having to the past participle, when the compound is double,
and having been to the past or the present participle, when the compound
is triple: as, having spoken, having been spoken, having been speaking.

### A short syntax

Participles relate to nouns or pronouns, as \"Reading Plato,\" except
the following cases: the preceding phrase, as \"To leave them, appearing
a duty,\" an abstract action or being, as \"To seem compelled, is
disagreeable,\" substitute for infinitive, as \"Afraid of trying,\" and
substitute for a noun, as \"This is talking.\"

## Examples

-   He is **talking** to her.
-   They are **jumping** into the pool.
-   We had **eaten** the pie.

Each of these cases has a verb acting as an adjective, describing the
subject.

In case you were wondering, *had* plus a past participle is called a
**past perfect**, or in the United Kingdom, the **pluperfect**.

## References

-   A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.


# English in Use/Sentences Overview

This section will serve as a basic overview of sentences. Each topic
will be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters.

### Phrases

A **phrase** is a group of words which contains neither a subject nor a
verb. (It may, however, contain a verbal form such as an infinitive, a
participle, or a
gerund.)1

### Clauses

A **clause** is a group of words containing at least a subject and a
verb (the baby ate), and frequently it lets its hair down by containing
some kind of a complement as well (the baby ate the goldfish). There are
two kinds of clauses: independent and
dependent.2

## Forms

There are three forms of a sentence: simple, compound, and complex, and
one combined form: compound-complex.

### Simple

### Compound

### Complex

### Compound-complex

It is a sentence which is made to by joining two or more simple
sentences.

## Purposes

Sentences are created for four main reasons: to declare, to command, to
question, and to exclaim.

### Declarative

### Imperative

### Interrogative

### Exclamatory

## Sentence diagrams


# English in Use/Clauses

Clause can be defined as a group of words that carries a finite verb but
do not act as a sentence. It acts like a part of a sentence that can not
express its meaning without being depended on the other part. as in
\'Rahul, who lives in London, is my friend. In the above sentence \'who
lives in London\' is the part that has to be depended on the part
\"Rahul is my friend\' to expresses its proper meaning. Clauses can be
divided into two parts;

1.  Principal Clause
2.  Sub-ordinate Clause

Sub-Ordinate Clauses are divided into three parts:

1.  Noun Clause
2.  Adjective Clause
3.  Adverb Clause


# English in Use/Adjective and Adverb Usage

An adjective is simply a word which modifies the noun it is related to.
Adjectives usually come before the modified noun. An adjective could
also be a phrase or a clause instead of being a single word. John bought
a *blue* shirt. (single word) Last night, a man *in a blue coat* stole
my wallet. (phrase) I love the car *which just crossed the street*.
(clause)

Adverbs are like adjectives, but they modify the verb. Ordinarily, there
are three types of adverbs (see above examples).

He *carefully* left the room. He left the room *with a scared face*. He
left the room *which was located on the seventh floor.*

Most single word adverbs are made simply by adding -ly to the end of the
respective adjective: Careful-ly = in a careful manner Usually = in a
usual manner (often) Simply = in a simple way


# English in Use/Pronoun Usage

Pronoun Usage

A pronoun comes from a Latin word that means \'for a noun\'. It is a
word that stands in for a noun. The English language has lots of
different kinds of pronouns.

Pronouns are often divided into first, second and third person, singular
and plural. First person refers to the speaker, second person refers to
the person or thing being spoken to, and third person refers to a person
or thing neither speaking nor being spoken to.

The first person pronoun (referring to the speaker) is \'I\' or \'me\'
in the singular, and \'we\' or \'us\' in the plural. The first of each
set, \"I/we\", is used as the subject of a verb; the second, \'me/us\',
is used as the object of a verb or preposition. There are also reflexive
pronouns which can be made (i.e. they are the same person as the
subject) by adding the suffix \'-self\' to the possessive
(myself/ourselves).

The second person pronoun (referring to the person being spoken to) is
\'you\' in singular and plural, as subject or object. The reflexive is
\"yourself\" in the singular and \"yourselves\" in the plural.


# English in Use/Subject-verb Agreement

English features a loose conjugation and declension pattern. For this
reason, subject-verb agreement is of paramount importance.

Subject-Verb agreement is a rule which states that the number present in
a noun must agree with the number shown in the conjugated form of the
verb that is being used, and that the person of the noun must agree with
the person of the conjugated form of the verb that you are using.

Proper Subject-Verb agreement:

-   **TO BE**: I am - you are - he is - we are - you are - they are
-   **TO WORK**: I work - you work - he works - we work - you work -
    they work

Where the subject is a pronoun or complex or modified as part of an
adjectival phrase, or modified by parenthetic expressions, or clarified
in meaning by common knowledge or something that occurs later in the
sentence, then subject-verb agreement can become a little more
complicated. Some grammar rules say that the complex part of the subject
closest to verb in the sentence should determine the verbal agreement.
However, many examples can be found that make this sound funny. A better
rule is to consider the entire complex subject phrase as one subject,
and then think about what kind of thing it represents.

The basic idea in idiomatic English is to make the verb agree with the
idea that the subject REPRESENTS, which could have different plurality
than the actual subject as a word. This is actually helpful in
understanding meaning since it gives subject-verb agreement a role that
is not simply redundant (in echoing the pluarity of the subject).
Whatever the subject represents can be considered singular or plural,
and that is what the verb should agree with.

-   The president and the children (plural) are at the party.
-   Neither the president nor the children (plural) are at the party.
-   Either the president or the children (plural) are at the party.
-   Neither the children nor the president (singular) is at the party.
-   Somebody (singular) is at the party.
-   Nobody (singular) is at the party.
-   We (plural 1st person) are at the party.
-   I (singular 1st person) am at the party.
-   The Three Musketeers (singular-book) is a good book.
-   Ten dollars (singular) is enough to buy the book.
-   Ten dollars (plural) are in my pocket.
-   Economics (singular subject of study) is an interesting subject.
-   Bryans and Hastings (singular supermarket) is a great place to shop.
-   The idea of serving frankfurters (singular idea) is a good one.
-   My sister is (singular) with my friend, Roberta, at the party.
-   My sister and my friend are (both) at the party.

In many cases, the author decides whether the subject represents
something singular or plural, depending upon which idea is desired to be
expressed. For example, a group can act as a whole (singular) or as a
group of individuals (plural), and despite many attempts at making rules
for this, there is no simple rule that covers all cases:

-   All of my family is going camping.
-   Most of my family is at the party.
-   All of my family are fans.
-   Some of my family are fans.
-   Most of my family is at the party.
-   Most of my family are at the party.
-   Some of my family are in their homes.
-   The sounds the car makes, the ways they irritate (singular idea
    stated with 2 phrases)\--it is all the same idea no matter how you
    say it.

Another needed example is one in which the noun that is clearly singular
until the entire sentence is read, and something near the end changes
the meaning of the noun so that it clearly represents a plural thing.


# English in Use/Verb Usage

A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (\"bring\",
\"read\"), occurrence (\"to decompose\" (itself), \"to glitter\"), or a
state of being (\"exist\", \"live\", \"soak\", \"stand\"). Depending on
the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors,
possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It may also agree
with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (what we
usually call subject, object, etc.).

Verbs can be conveyed in many ways. Lets look in particular at the word
\"wear\"

She wears a pink dress - This sentence is made up of three main parts,
she, being the noun. Wears, being an action or \'doing\' word. Pink,
describing the noun about to be added to the sentence and, Dress, the
noun which pulls all these words together (giving them all one key
point) to complete the sentence.


# English in Use/End Marks

## Period

The period, or full stop, is used to mark an entire and independent
sentence, whether simple or compound.

### Distinct sentences

When a sentence, whether long or short, is complete in respect to sense,
and independent in respect to construction, it should be marked with the
period: as,

-   \"Every deviation from truth is criminal. Abhor a falsehood. Let
    your words be ingenuous. Sincerity possesses the most powerful
    charm.\"
-   \"The force of a true individual is felt through every clause and
    part of a right book; the commas and dashes are alive with
    it.\"---R. W. Emerson.
-   \"By frequent trying, Troy was won. All things, by trying, may be
    done.\"---Lloyd, p. 184.

### Allied sentences

The period is often employed between two sentences which have a general
connection, expressed by a personal pronoun, a conjunction, or a
conjunctive adverb: as,

-   \"The selfish man languishes in his narrow circle of pleasures. They
    are confined to what affects his own interests. He is obliged to
    repeat the same gratifications, till they become insipid. But the
    man of virtuous sensibility moves in a wider sphere of
    felicity.\"---Blair.
-   \"And whether we shall meet again, I know not. Therefore our
    everlasting farewell take.\"---Shak., J. C.

### Abbreviations

The period is generally used after abbreviations, and very often to the
exclusion of other points; but, as in this case it is not a constant
sign of pause, other points may properly follow it, if the words written
in full would demand them: as, A. D. for Anno Domini; Pro tem. for pro
tempore; Ult. for ultimo; i.e. for id est, that is;

-   \"Add., Spect, No. 285.\"
-   For \"Addison, in the Spectator, Number 285th.\"
-   \"Consult the statute; \'Quart.\' I think, it is, \'Edwardi sext.,\'
    or \'prim. et quint. Eliz.\'\"---Pope, p. 399.

## Note of interrogation

The eroteme, or note of interrogation, is used to designate a question.

### Questions direct

Questions expressed directly as such, if finished, should always be
followed by the note of interrogation: as,

-   \"Was it possible that virtue so exalted should be erected upon
    injustice? that the proudest and the most ambitious of mankind
    should be the great master and accomplished pattern of humility?
    that a doctrine so pure as the Gospel should be the work of an
    uncommissioned pretender? that so perfect a system of morals should
    be established on blasphemy?\"---Jerningham\'s Essay, p. 81.
-   \"In life, can love be bought with gold? Are friendship\'s pleasures
    to be sold?\"---Johnson.

### Questions united

When two or more questions are united in one compound sentence, the
comma, semicolon, or dash, is sometimes used to separate them, and the
eroteme occurs after the last only: as,

-   \"When---under what administration---under what exigencies of war or
    peace---did the Senate ever before deal with such a measure in such
    a manner? Never, sir, never.\"---D. Webster, in Congress, 1846.
-   \"Cannot you, and honoured with a christian name, buy what is
    woman-born, and feel no shame; trade in the blood of innocence, and
    plead expedience as a warrant for the deed?\"---Cowper.
-   \"Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land? All fear, none aid
    you, and few understand.\"---Pope.

### Questions indirect

When a question is mentioned, but not put directly as a question, it
loses both the quality and the sign of interrogation: as,

-   \"The Cyprians asked me why I wept.\"---Murray.

## Note of exclamation

The ecphoneme, or note of exclamation, is used to denote a pause with
some strong emotion of admiration, joy, grief, or other feeling; and, as
a sign of great wonder, it is sometimes, though not very elegantly,
repeated: as,

-   \"Grammatical consistency!!! What a gem!\"---Peirce\'s Gram.,
    p. 352.

### Interjections

Emphatic interjections, and other expressions of great emotion, are
generally followed by the note of exclamation: as,

-   \"Hold! hold! Is the devil in you? Oh! I am bruised all
    over.\"---Molière: Burgh\'s Speaker, p. 250.
-   \"And O! till earth, and seas, and heaven decay, never may that fair
    creation fade away!\"---Dr. Lowth.

### Invocations

After an earnest address or solemn invocation, the note of exclamation
is now generally preferred to any other point: as,

-   \"Whereupon, O king Agrippa! I was not disobedient to the heavenly
    vision.\"---Acts, xxvi, 19.
-   \"Be witness you, immortal Lord of all! Whose thunder shakes the
    dark aerial hall.\"---Pope.

### Exclamatory questions

Words uttered with vehemence in the form of a question, but without
reference to an answer, should be followed by the note of exclamation:
as,

-   \"How madly have I talked!\"---Young.
-   \"An Author! It is a venerable name! How few deserve it, and what
    numbers claim!\"---Id., Br. Po., viii, 401.

## References

-   A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.


# English in Use/Commas

The **comma** is used to separate those parts of a sentence, which are
so nearly connected in sense, as to be only one degree removed from that
close connection which admits no point.

## Introductory phrases

## Appositives

Appositives are always separated from the main body of the sentence by
punctuation, usually commas, but sometimes---when greater separation is
desired---dashes are used.

Words in **apposition**, especially if they have adjuncts, are generally
set off by the comma: as,

-   \"He that now calls upon you, is Theodore, the hermit of
    Teneriffe.\"---Johnson.
-   \"Lowth, Dr. Robert, bishop of London, born in 1710, died in
    1787.\"---Biog. Dict.
-   \"Home, Henry, lord Kames.\"---Ib.
-   \"What next I bring shall please you, be assured, your likeness,
    your fit help, your other self, your wish exactly to your heart\'s
    desire.\"---Milton, P. L., viii, 450.
-   \"And he, their prince, shall rank among my peers.\"---Byron.

## Parenthetical expressions

### Adjectives

Adjectives, when something depends on them, or when they have the import
of a dependent clause, should, with their **adjuncts**, be set off by
the comma: as,

-   \"Among the roots of hazel, pendent over the plaintive stream, they
    frame the first foundation of their domes.\"---Thomson.
-   \"Up springs the lark, shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of
    morn.\"---Id.

### Adjective which follows its noun

When an adjective immediately follows its noun, and is taken in a
restrictive sense, the comma should not be used before it: as,

-   \"And on the coast averse from entrance or cherubic
    watch.\"---Milton, P. L., B. ix, l. 68.

### Finite verbs

Where a finite verb is understood, a comma is generally required: as,

-   \"From law arises security; from security, curiosity; from
    curiosity, knowledge.\"---Murray.
-   \"Else all my prose and verse were much the same; this, prose on
    stilts; that, poetry fallen lame.\"---Pope.

### A pause for the omitted verb

As the semicolon must separate the clauses when the comma is inserted by
this rule, if the pause for the omitted verb be very slight, it may be
left unmarked, and the comma be used for the clauses: as,

-   \"When the profligate speaks of piety, the miser of generosity, the
    coward of valour, and the corrupt of integrity, they are only the
    more despised by those who know them.\"---Comstock\'s Elocution,
    p. 132.

### Infinitives

The infinitive, when it follows a verb from which it must be separated,
or when it depends on something remote or understood, is generally, with
its adjuncts, set off by the comma: as,

-   \"One of the greatest secrets in composition is, to know when to be
    simple.\"---Jamieson\'s Rhet., p. 151. \[?\]
-   \"To confess the truth, I was much in fault.\"---Murray\'s Gram.,
    p. 271.
-   \"The Governor of all---has interposed, not seldom, his avenging
    arm, to smite the injurious trampler upon nature\'s law.\"---Cowper.

### Participles

Participles, when something depends on them, when they have the import
of a dependent clause, or when they relate to something understood,
should, with their adjuncts, be set off by the comma: as,

-   \"Law is a rule of civil conduct, prescribed by the supreme power in
    a state, commanding what is right, and prohibiting what is
    wrong.\"---Blackstone: Beattie\'s Moral Science, p. 346.
-   \"Young Edwin, lighted by the evening star, lingering and listening
    wandered down the vale.\"---Beattie.
-   \"United, we stand; divided, we fall.\"---Motto.
-   \"Properly speaking, there is no such thing as chance.\"

### Participle which follows its noun

When a participle immediately follows its noun, and is taken in a
restrictive sense, the comma should not be used before it: as,

-   \"A man renowned for repartee, will seldom scruple to make free with
    friendship\'s finest feeling.\"---Cowper.

### Adverbs

Adverbs, when they **break the connection** of a simple sentence, or
when they have not a close dependence on some particular word in the
context, should, with their adjuncts, be set off by the comma: as,

-   \"We must not, however, confound this gentleness with the artificial
    courtesy of the world.\"
-   \"Besides, the mind must be employed.\"---Gilpin.
-   \"Most unquestionably, no fraud was equal to all
    this.\"---Lyttelton.
-   \"But, unfortunately for us, the tide was ebbing already.\"
-   \"When buttress and buttress, alternately, seem framed of ebon and
    ivory.\"---Scott\'s Lay, p. 33.

### Conjunctions

Conjunctions, when they are separated from the principal clauses that
depend on them, or when they introduce examples, are generally set off
by the comma: as,

-   \"But, by a timely call upon religion, the force of habit was
    eluded.\"---Johnson.
-   \"They know the neck that joins the shore and sea, or, ah! how
    changed that fearless laugh would be.\"---Crabbe.

### Prepositions

Prepositions and their objects, when they break the connection of a
simple sentence, or when they do not closely follow the words on which
they depend, are generally set off by the comma: as,

-   \"Fashion is, for the most part, nothing but the ostentation of
    riches.\"
-   \"By reading, we add the experience of others to our own.\"
-   \"In vain the sage, with retrospective eye, would from the apparent
    what conclude the why.\"---Pope.

### Interjections

Interjections that require a pause, though more commonly emphatic and
followed by the ecphoneme, are sometimes set off by the comma: as,

-   \"For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the
    north.\"---Jeremiah, i, 15.
-   \"O, it was about something you would not understand.\"---Columbian
    Orator, p. 221.
-   \"Ha, ha! you were finely taken in, then!\"---Aikin.
-   \"Ha, ha, ha! A facetious gentleman, truly!\"---Id.
-   \"Oh, when shall Britain, conscious of her claim, stand emulous of
    Greek and Roman fame?\"---Pope.

### Words emphatically repeated

A word emphatically repeated, is generally set off by the comma: as,

-   \"Happy, happy, happy pair!\"---Dryden.
-   \"Ay, ay, there is some comfort in that.\"---Shak.
-   \"Ah! no, no, no.\"---Dryden.
-   \"The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, the moss-covered
    bucket, which hung in the well!\"---Woodworth.

### Dependent quotations

A quotation, observation, or description, when it is introduced in close
dependence on a verb, (as, say, reply, cry, or the like,) is generally
separated from the rest of the sentence by the comma: as,

-   \"\'The book of nature,\' said he, \'is before
    you.\'\"---Hawkesworth.
-   \"I say to all, watch.\"---Mark.
-   \"\'The boy has become a man,\' means, \'He has grown to be a man.\'
    \'Such conduct becomes a man,\' means, \'Such conduct befits
    him.\'\"---Hart\'s Gram., p. 116.
-   \"While man exclaims, \'See all things for my use!\' \'See man for
    mine!\' replies a pampered goose.\"---Pope.

### Words put absolute

Nouns or pronouns put **absolute**, should, with their adjuncts, be set
off by the comma: as,

-   \"The prince, his father being dead, succeeded.\"
-   \"This done, we parted.\"
-   \"Zaccheus, make haste and come down.\"
-   \"His proctorship in Sicily, what did it produce?\"---Cicero.
-   \"Winged with his fears, on foot he strove to fly, his steeds too
    distant, and the foe too nigh.\"---Pope, Iliad, xi, 440.

## Series

### More than two words

When more than two words or terms are connected in the same
construction, or in a **joint dependence** on some other term, by
conjunctions expressed or understood, the comma should be inserted after
every one of them but the last; and, if they are nominatives before a
verb, the comma should follow the last also: as,

-   \"Who, to the enraptured heart, and ear, and eye, teach beauty,
    virtue, truth, and love, and melody.\"---Beattie.
-   \"Ah! what avails\... all that art, fortune, enterprise, can bring,
    if envy, scorn, remorse, or pride, the bosom wring?\"---Id.
-   \"Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible; you, stern, obdurate,
    flinty, rough, remorseless.\"---Shak.
-   \"She plans, provides, expatiates, triumphs there.\"---Young.
-   \"So eagerly the fiend over bog, or steep, through strait, rough,
    dense, or rare, with head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way,
    and swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies.\"---Milton.

### Only two words

When only two words or terms are connected by a conjunction, they should
not be separated by the comma: as,

-   \"It is a stupid and barbarous way to extend dominion by arms; for
    true power is to be got by arts and industry\"---Spectator, No. 2.
-   \"Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul.\"---Goldsmith.

### Two words with several adjuncts

When the **two words** connected have several **adjuncts**, or when one
of them has an adjunct that relates not to both, the comma is inserted:
as,

-   \"I shall spare no pains to make their instruction agreeable, and
    their diversion useful.\"---Spectator, No. 10.
-   \"Who is applied to persons, or things personified.\"---Bullions.
-   \"With listless eyes the dotard views the store, he views, and
    wonders that they please no more.\"---Johnson.

### Contrasted words or phrases

When two connected words or phrases are **contrasted**, or emphatically
distinguished, the comma is inserted: as,

-   \"The vain are easily obliged, and easily disobliged.\"---Kames.
-   \"Liberal, not lavish, is kind nature\'s hand.\"---Beattie.
-   \"It is certain he could write, and cipher too.\"---Goldsmith.

### Alternative of names

When there is merely an alternative of names, or an explanatory change
of terms, the comma is usually inserted: as,

-   \"We saw a large opening, or inlet.\"---W. Allen.
-   \"Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other
    apostles?\"---Cor., ix, 5.

### Understood conjunction

When the conjunction is understood, the comma is inserted; and, if two
separated words or terms refer alike to a third term, the second
requires a second comma: as,

-   \"Reason, virtue, answer one great aim.\"---L. Murray, Gram.,
    p. 269.
-   \"To him the church, the realm, their powers consign.\"---Johnson.
-   \"She thought the isle that gave her birth. The sweetest, wildest
    land on earth.\"---Hogg.

### Words in pairs

When successive words are joined in **pairs** by conjunctions, they
should be separated in pairs by the comma: as,

-   \"Interest and ambition, honour and shame, friendship and enmity,
    gratitude and revenge, are the prime movers in public
    transactions.\"---W. Allen.
-   \"But, whether ingenious or dull, learned or ignorant, clownish or
    polite, every innocent man, without exception, has as good a right
    to liberty as to life.\"---Beattie\'s Moral Science, p. 313.
-   \"Then say how hope and fear, desire and hate, overspread with
    snares the crowded maze of fate.\"---Dr. Johnson.

### A compound name

When several words, in their common order, are used as one compound
name, the comma is not inserted: as,

-   \"Dr. Samuel Johnson,\"
-   \"Publius Gavius Cosanus.\"

### United common and proper name

When a common and a proper name are closely united, the comma is not
inserted: as,

-   \"The brook Kidron,\"
-   \"The river Don,\"
-   \"The empress Catharine,\"
-   \"Paul the Apostle.\"

### A mere emphasis and distinction

When a pronoun is added to an other word merely for emphasis and
distinction, the comma is not inserted: as,

-   \"You men of Athens,\"
-   \"I myself,\"
-   \"You flaming minister,\"
-   \"You princes.\"

### Name acquired by action or relation

When a name acquired by some action or relation, is put in apposition
with a preceding noun or pronoun, the comma is not inserted: as,

-   \"I made the ground my bed;\"
-   \"To make him king;\"
-   \"Whom they revered as God;\"
-   \"With modesty your guide.\"---Pope.

## Clarity

### Simple sentences

A **simple sentence** does not, in general, admit the comma: as,

-   \"The weakest reasoners are the most positive.\"---W. Allen\'s
    Gram., p. 202.
-   \"Theology has not hesitated to make or support a doctrine by the
    position of a comma.\"---Tract on Tone, p. 4.
-   \"Then pain compels the impatient soul to seize on promised hopes of
    instantaneous ease.\"---Crabbe.

### Nominative accompanied by adjuncts

When the **nominative** in a long simple sentence is accompanied by
inseparable **adjuncts**, or when several words together are used
instead of a nominative, a comma should be placed immediately before the
verb: as,

-   \"Confession of sin without amendment, obtains no
    pardon.\"---Dillwyn\'s Reflections, p. 6.
-   \"To be totally indifferent to praise or censure, is a real defect
    in character.\"---Murray\'s Gram., p. 268.
-   \"O that the tenor of my just complaint, were sculpt with steel in
    rocks of adamant!\"---Sandys.

### Simple members

The **simple members** of a compound sentence, whether successive or
involved, elliptical or complete, are generally divided by the comma:
as,

-   \"Here stand we both, and aim we at the best.\"---Shak.
-   \"I, that did never weep, now melt in woe.\"---Id.
-   \"Tide life, tide death, I come without delay.\"---Id.
-   \"I am their mother, who shall bar me from them?\"---Id.
-   \"How wretched, were I mortal, were my state!\"---Pope.
-   \"Go; while you may, avoid the dreadful fate.\"---Id.
-   \"Grief aids disease, remembered folly stings, and his last sighs
    reproach the faith of kings.\"---Johnson.

### Relative that follows its antecedent

When a relative immediately follows its antecedent, and is taken in a
restrictive sense, the comma should not be introduced before it: as,

-   \"For the things which are seen, are temporal; but the things which
    are not seen, are eternal.\"---2 Cor., iv, 18.
-   \"A letter is a character that expresses a sound without any
    meaning.\"---St. Quentin\'s General Gram., p. 3.

### Closely connected simple members

When the simple members are short, and **closely connected** by a
**conjunction** or a **conjunctive adverb**, the comma is generally
omitted: as,

-   \"Honest poverty is better than wealthy fraud.\"---Dillwyn\'s Ref.,
    p. 11.
-   \"Let him tell me whether the number of the stars be even or
    odd.\"---Taylor: Joh. Dict., w.
-   \"It is impossible that our knowledge of words should outstrip our
    knowledge of things.\"---Campbell: Murray\'s Gram., p 359.

## Omissions

### Simple immediately united members

When two simple members are immediately united, through **ellipsis** of
the relative, the antecedent, or the conjunction that, the comma is not
inserted: as,

-   \"Make an experiment on the first man you meet.\"---Berkley\'s
    Alciphron, p. 125.
-   \"Our philosophers do infinitely despise and pity whoever shall
    propose or accept any other motive to virtue.\"---Ib., p. 126.
-   \"It is certain we imagine before we reflect.\"---Ib., p. 359.
-   \"The same good sense that makes a man excel, still makes him doubt
    he never has written well.\"---Young.

## References

-   The organization of this chapter was adapted from the 1977 edition
    of *Building English Skills Handbook* by McDougal, Litell & Company.
-   A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.


# English in Use/Apostrophes

An **apostrophe** can be used to form possessives for nouns, indicate
the omission of letters in a word for stylistic purposes or as a
colloquial form of a word, and be used to indicate plurality.

The term is derived from the Latin word **apostrophus** itself derived
from the Greek words **αποστροφος** meaning *accident of elision*
**αποστρεφειν** meaning *a turning away.*

The apostrophe usually denotes either the possessive case of a noun, or
the elision of one or more letters of a word: as,

-   \"The girl\'s regard to her parents\' advice;\"

\'Gan, lov\'d, e\'en, thro\'; for *began, loved, even, through*.

It is sometimes used in pluralizing a mere letter or sign: as,

-   \"Two a\'s---three 6\'s.\"

**Apostrophe** is also a figure of speech in which an absent person, a
personified inanimate being, or an abstraction, is addressed as though
present.

This sense is maintained when a narrative or dramatic thread is broken
in order to digress by speaking directly to someone not there, e.g.,

-   "Envy, be silent and attend!"---Alexander Pope.
-   "On a Certain Lady at Court."


# English in Use/Quotations

The **quotation points** distinguish words that are exhibited as those
of an other author or speaker. A quotation within a quotation, is
usually marked with single points; which, when both are employed, are
placed within the others: as,

-   \"And again he said, \'Rejoice, you gentiles, with his
    people.\'\"---Rom., xv, 10.

## English Quotations

In English quotations and direct speech is donated using quotation
marks:

-   **\"** is used as an opening quotation mark,
-   **\"** is also used as a closing quotation mark.

Converting direct speech follows a pattern in English which may differ
to reported speech in other languages. This pattern concerns statements
(there are different rules for imperatives and questions).

  Tense Changes
  -------------------------
  Direct Speech
  \"I am from England\"
  \"I am going to Italy\"
  \"I have read it\"

Note that when converting from direct speech to indirect speech you
usually have to move the tense backwards:

  Tense Changes
  -------------------
  Direct Speech
  Present Simple
  Present Perfect
  Past Simple
  Will + Infinitive
  Be + Going to

Similarly there are some changes to be made to other words in the
sentence. Because we are reporting what someone said in the past we must
use other words to talk about the past, e.g. \"today\" becomes \"that
day\", \"here\" becomes \"there\", \"next week\" becomes \"the following
week\" and \"last week\" becomes \"the previous week\". There are other
similar changes too.

  Examples
  ----------------------------------------
  \"I am here\"
  \"I am from England\"
  \"I will return next week\"
  \"I have worked here since last week\"


# English in Use/Other Common Punctuation Marks

## Semicolon

The semicolon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence,
which are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished
by the comma, nor so little dependent as those which require the colon.

### Complex members

When two or more **complex members**, or such clauses as require the
comma in themselves, are constructed into a period, they are generally
separated by the semicolon: as,

-   \"In the regions inhabited by angelic natures, unmingled felicity
    forever blooms; joy flows there with a perpetual and abundant
    stream, nor needs any mound to check its course.\"---Carter.
-   \"When the voice rises, the gesture naturally ascends; and when the
    voice makes the falling inflection, or lowers its pitch, the gesture
    follows it by a corresponding descent; and, in the level and
    monotonous pronunciation of the voice, the gesture seems to observe
    a similar limitation, by moving rather in the horizontal direction,
    without much varying its elevation.\"---Comstock\'s Elocution,
    p. 107.
-   \"The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me; but shadows,
    clouds, and darkness, rest upon it.\"---Addison.

### Simple members

When two or more simple members, or such clauses as **complete** their
sense without subdivision, are constructed into a period; if they
require a pause greater than that of the comma, they are usually
separated by the semicolon: as,

-   \"Straws swim on the surface; but pearls lie at the
    bottom.\"---Murray\'s Gram., p. 276.
-   \"Everything grows old; everything passes away; everything
    disappears.\"---Hiley\'s Gram., p. 115.
-   \"Alexander asked them the distance of the Persian capital; what
    forces the king of Persia could bring into the field; what the
    Persian government was; what was the character of the king; how he
    treated his enemies; what were the most direct ways into
    Persia.\"---Whelpley\'s Lectures, p. 175.
-   \"A longer care man\'s helpless kind demands; that longer care
    contracts more lasting bands.\"---Pope.

### Apposition

Words in apposition, in **disjunct pairs**, or in any other
construction, if they require a pause greater than that of the comma,
and less than that of the colon, may be separated by the semicolon: as,

-   \"Pronouns have three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and the
    objective.\"---Murray\'s Gram., p. 51.
-   \"Judge, judgement; lodge, lodgement; acknowledge,
    acknowledgement.\"---Butler\'s Gram., p. 11.
-   \"Do not the eyes discover humility, pride; cruelty, compassion;
    reflection, dissipation; kindness, resentment?\"---Sheridan\'s
    Elocution, p. 159.
-   \"This rule forbids parents to lie to children, and children to
    parents; instructors to pupils, and pupils to instructors; the old
    to the young, and the young to the old; attorneys to jurors, and
    jurors to attorneys; buyers to sellers, and sellers to
    buyers.\"---Wayland\'s Moral Science, p. 304.
-   \"Make, made; have, had; pay, paid; say, said; leave, left; dream,
    dreamt; mean, meant; reave and bereave have reft.\" ---Ward\'s Gr.,
    p. 66.

## Colon

The colon is used to separate those parts of a compound sentence, which
are neither so closely connected as those which are distinguished by the
semicolon, nor so little dependent as those which require the period.

### Additional remarks

When the preceding clause is complete in itself, but is followed by some
additional remark or **illustration**, especially if no conjunction is
used, the colon is generally and properly inserted: as,

-   \"Avoid evil doers: in such society, an honest man may become
    ashamed of himself.\"
-   \"See that moth fluttering incessantly round the candle: man of
    pleasure, behold your image!\"---Art of Thinking, p. 94.
-   \"Some things we can, and others we cannot do: we can walk, but we
    cannot fly.\"---Beanie\'s Moral Science, p. 112.
-   \"Remember heaven has an avenging rod: to smite the poor, is treason
    against God.\"---Cowper.

### Greater pauses

When the semicolon has been introduced, or when it must be used in a
subsequent member, and a still greater pause is required within the
period, the colon should be employed: as,

-   \"Princes have courtiers, and merchants have partners; the
    voluptuous have companions, and the wicked have accomplices: none
    but the virtuous can have friends.\"
-   \"Unless the truth of our religion be granted, a christian must be
    the greatest monster in nature: he must at the same time be
    eminently wise, and notoriously foolish; a wise man in his practice,
    and a fool in his belief: his reasoning powers must be deranged by a
    constant delirium, while his conduct never swerves from the path of
    propriety.\"---Principles of Eloquence, p. 80
-   \"A decent competence we fully taste; it strikes our sense, and
    gives a constant feast: more we perceive by dint of thought alone;
    the rich must labour to possess their own.\"---Young.

### Independent quotations

A quotation introduced without a close dependence on a verb or a
conjunction, is generally preceded by the colon: as,

-   \"In his last moments, he uttered these words: \'I fall a sacrifice
    to sloth and luxury.\'\"
-   \"At this the king hastily retorted: \'No put-offs, my lord; answer
    me presently.\'\"---Churchill\'s Gram., p. 367.
-   \"The father addressed himself to them to this effect: \'O my sons,
    behold the power of unity!\'\"--- Rippingham\'s Art of Speaking,
    p. 85.

## Dash

The dash is mostly used to denote an unexpected or emphatic pause, of
variable length; but sometimes it is a sign of faltering, or of the
irregular stops of one who hesitates in speaking: as,

-   \"Then, after many pauses, and inarticulate sounds, he said: \'He
    was very sorry for it, was extremely concerned it should happen
    so---but---a---it was necessary---a---\' Here lord E--- stopped him
    short, and bluntly demanded, if his post were destined for
    another.\"---Churchill\'s Gram., p. 170.

### Abrupt pauses

A sudden interruption, break, or transition, should be marked with the
dash: as,

-   \"\'I must inquire into the affair; and if\'---\'And if!\'
    interrupted the farmer.\"
-   \"Whom I---But first it is fit the billows to restrain.\"---Dryd.
    Virg. 3.
-   \"Here lies the great---False marble! where? Nothing but sordid dust
    lies here.\"---Young.

### Emphatic pauses

To mark a considerable pause, greater than the structure or the sentence
or the points inserted would seem to require, the dash may be employed:
as,

-   \"I pause for a reply.---None?---Then none have I offended.---I have
    done no more to Caesar, than you should do to
    Brutus.\"---Shakspeare: Enfields Speaker, p. 182.
-   \"Tarry a little. There is something else.---This bond---doesn\'t
    give you here---no jot of blood.\" ---ID.: Burgh\'s Sp., p. 167.
-   \"It thunders;---but it thunders to preserve.\"---Young.
-   \"Behold the picture!---Is it like?---Like whom?\"---Cowper.

### Faulty dashes

Dashes needlessly inserted, or substituted for other stops more
definite, are in general to be treated as errors in punctuation: as,

-   \"Here Greece stands by itself as opposed to the other nations of
    antiquity---She was none of the other nations---She was more
    polished than they.\"---Lennie\'s Gram., p. 78.
-   \"Here Greece stands by herself, as opposed to the other nations of
    antiquity. She was none of the other nations: she was more polished
    than they.\"---Bullions, E. Gram., p. 114.

If this colon is sufficient, the capital after it is needless: a period
would, perhaps, be better.

## Curves

The curves, or marks of parenthesis, are used to distinguish a clause or
hint that is hastily thrown in between the parts of a sentence to which
it does not properly belong: as,

-   \"Their enemies (and enemies they will always have) would have a
    handle for exposing their measures.\"---Walpole.
-   \"To others do (the law is not severe) what to yourself you wish to
    be done.\"---Beattie.

The incidental clause should be uttered in a lower tone, and faster than
the principal sentence. It always requires a pause as great as that of a
comma, or greater.

### Parenthesis

A clause that breaks the unity of a sentence or passage too much to be
incorporated with it, and only such, should be inclosed within curves,
as a parenthesis: as,

-   \"For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good
    thing.\"---Rom., vii, 18.
-   \"Know then this truth, (enough for man to know,) virtue alone is
    happiness below.\"---Pope.

### Included points

The curves do not supersede other stops; and, as the parenthesis
terminates with a pause equal to that which precedes it, the same point
should be included, except when the sentences differ in form: as,

-   \"Now for a recompense in the same, (I speak as to my children,) be
    you also enlarged.\"---2 Cor., vi, 13.
-   \"Man\'s thirst of happiness declares it is: (for nature never
    gravitates to nought:) that thirst unquenched, declares it is not
    here.\"---Young.
-   \"Night visions may befriend: (as sung above:) our waking dreams are
    fatal. How I dreamt of things impossible! (could sleep do more?) of
    joys perpetual in perpetual change!\"---Young.

## Hyphen

The hyphen connects the parts of many compound words, especially such as
have two accents: as, ever-living. It is also frequently inserted where
a word is divided into syllables: as, con-tem-plate. Placed at the end
of a line, it shows that one or more syllables of a word are can led
forward to the next line.

## References

-   A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.


# English in Use/Less Common Typographical Marks

-   the **Acute accent** \[**´**\]
-   the **Asterisk** \[**\***\]
-   the **Asterism** \[**⁂**\]
-   the **Brace**, or **Curly Brackets** \[**{}**\]
-   the **Breve** \[**˘**\]
-   the **Caret** \[**\^**\]
-   the **Cedilla** \[**¸**\]
-   the **Circumflex** \[**ˆ**\]
-   the **Crotchets**, or **Brackets** \[**\[\]**\],
-   the **Diaeresis** \[**¨**\]
-   the **Diesis**, or **Double Dagger** \[**‡**\]
-   the **Ellipsis** \'\'\'...\'\'\'
-   the **Grave accent** \[**\`**\]
-   the **Guillements**, or **Angle Quotes** \[**«»**\]
-   the **Index** \[**☞**\]
-   the **Macron** \[**¯**\]
-   the **Obelisk**, or **Dagger** \[**†**\]
-   the **Paragraph** \[**¶**\]
-   the **Quotation Marks** \[**""**\]
-   the **Parallels** \[**\|\|**\]
-   the **Section** \[**§**\]

## Acute accent \[ **´** \]

The acute accent marks the syllable which requires the principal stress
in pronunciation: as, e\'qual, equal\'ity. It is sometimes used in
opposition to the grave accent, to distinguish a close or short vowel:
as, *Fancy*; or to denote the rising inflection of the voice: as,

-   \"Is it he?\"

## Asterisk ( **\*** )

The asterisk, or star, the obelisk, or dagger, the diesis, or double
dagger, the section, the parallels, and the paragraph, refer to marginal
notes. Where many references are to be made, the small letters of the
alphabet, or the numerical figures, in their order, may be conveniently
used for the same purpose.

## Asterism \[**⁂**\]

The asterism, or three stars, a sign not very often used, is placed
before a long or general note, to mark it as a note, without giving it a
particular reference.

## At sign at sign ( @ )

The *at sign* is variously used in various conventions. Originally it
was an accountancy abbreviation for \"at\", as:

-   \"One load of erunam @ \$7.50 per bucket\"

and still used informally to represent \'at\'\
On the Internet it commomly indicates the start of an email address

## Brace or Curly Brackets \[**{}**\]

The brace serves to unite a triplet; or, more frequently, to connect
several terms with something to which they are all related.

## Brackets of various types ( **( ) \[ \] { }〈 〉**)

The crotchets, parentheses or brackets generally enclose a parenthetic
correction or remark, but sometimes the sign or subject to be explained:
as,

-   \"He \[Mr. Maurice\] was of a different opinion.\"---Allen\'s Gram.,
    p. 213.

In formal notation it can delimit an expression to be used as a term or
logical unit in a larger expression, to be evaluated out of the lexical
sequence before being included in the encompassing expression. eg, in
the following expression, the addition must be performed before the
multiplication or division:

-   \"The assessment is to be calculated as: Contribution \* (age +
    diameter) / mean weighting\"

## Breve \[ **˘** \]

The breve, or stenotone, is used to denote either the close, short, shut
sound of a vowel, or a syllable of short quantity: as, l˘ive, to have
life; r˘av\'en, to devour; c˘al˘am˘us, a reed.

## Caret \[**\^**\]

The caret, used only in writing, shows where to insert words or letters
that have been accidentally omitted.

## Cedilla \[**¸**\]

The cedilla is borrowed from the French. It is placed under the letter
*c*, to give it the sound of *s*, before *a* or *o*: as, *Façade*,
*Alençon*. It is sometimes attached to other letters, to denote their
soft sounds: Ģ as *J*; Ş as *Z*.

## Circumflex**ˆ**

The circumflex generally denotes either the broad sound of a or an
unusual sound given to some other vowel: as in *all, heir, machine*.
Some use it to mark a peculiar wave of the voice, and when occasion
requires, reverse it: as,

-   \"If you said s\^o, then I said so.\"

## Degree sign

The degree sign ( **`<big>`{=html}°`</big>`{=html}** ) : marks several
different units: arc degrees, temperature degrees, and (rarely) hours of
time. Different from the masculine ordinal indicator, used to abbreviate
ordinal numbers in some languages

## Diaeresis \[**¨**\]

The diaeresis, or dialysis, placed over either of two contiguous vowels,
shows that they are not a diphthong: as, *Danaee, aerial*.

## Ellipsis (**...**)

The ellipsis, or suppression, denotes the omission of some letters or
words: as, K...g, for King; c...d, for coward; d...d, for damned.

## Grave accent \[**\`**\]

The grave accent is used in opposition to the acute, to distinguish an
open or long vowel: as, *Favour*; or to denote the falling inflection of
the voice: as,

-   \"Yes; it is he.\"

It is sometimes placed over a vowel to show that it is not to be
suppressed in pronunciation: as,

-   \"Let me, though in humble speech, your refined maxims
    teach.\"---Amer. Review, May, 1848.

## Index \[**☞**\]

The index, or hand, points out something remarkable, or what the reader
should particularly observe: as,

-   \"**`<big>`{=html}☞`</big>`{=html}** On odd dates it is a criminal
    offence to bring a wheeled vehicle into the controlled area

## Macron \[**¯**\]

The macron, or macrotone, is used to denote either the open, long,
primal sound of a vowel, or a syllable of long quantity: as, l¯ive,
having life; r¯a\'ven, a bird; ¯e\'qu¯ine, of a horse.

## Number sign, octothorpe, pound sign, or hash ( **\#** )

The number sign is variously used in different conventions. Commonly
means \"number\" when preceding ordinal numbers, but weight when
following numbers

## Paragraph mark or pilcrow \[**¶**\]

The paragraph denotes the commencement of a new subject. Those parts of
discourse that usually are called paragraphs, generally are sufficiently
distinguished by beginning a new line, often with the first word or the
body text indented. However, when referring to numbered paragraphs in
books, the pilcrow may be used as an abbreviation for the word
\"paragraph\".

## Section \[**§**\]

The section marks the smaller divisions of a book or chapter; and, with
the help of numbers, serves to abridge references.

## Slash/Solidus (**/**) and backslash (**\\**)

Forward slashes are used to indicate alternatives, connect words, and
form abbreviations. For example, black/white, either/or, w/o (without).\
Slashes also are used variously in technical notation, for example to
denote division, rates or fractions, or to denote files within different
folders on an Internet server.

## Other marks

ampersand ( & ) : a substitute for the word \'and\'. Most common in signs, titles, and informal writing.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

bullet ( •, more ) : used to mark items in lists

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

currency ( ¤ ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

dagger ( † ‡ ) : commonly used to mark footnotes (along with the asterisk)

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

interrobang ( ‽ ) : A superimposed exclamation point and question mark, sometimes used in place of !? to denote a surprised question.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

percent and related signs ( % ) ( ‰ ) ( ‱ ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

prime ( ′ ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

spaces ( ) (   ) (   ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

tilde ( \~ ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

umlaut/diaresis ( ¨ ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

underscore/understrike ( \_ ) :

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```

vertical line/pipe/broken bar ( \| ) ( ¦ ) :

## References

-   A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.


# English in Use/Time and Date

Here are some hints on **how to express the date and time in
English**:

## Date

-   The day of the month, the month, and the year:
    -   Use *on* + ordinal of the day. *On the 1st of June*.
    -   Use *in + only* and the month. *In June*.
    -   Use *about the* + date (for approximate dates). *About the 25th
        of December*.
-   Day of the week: precedes *on*. Example: *open on Sundays*.
-   Ask the date: *what\'s the date* and *what day is it (or today)?*.
-   Answer a date asking: *today\'s the* + ordinal. *Today\'s the 16th.*
-   Century: *in the* + the ordinal of the century. Example: *in the
    20th century*.
-   Decade:
    -   Precedes *in* with the number in plural: *in the 1990s*.
    -   Follows *something* for undetermined year of the decade, in
        other words: *in 1980 something*.
-   Era:
    -   A.D. = *Anno Domini*, Latin for *in the year
        of the Lord*, in other words the Christian Era.
    -   B.C. = *Before Christ*, in other words *before Christian Era*.

## Time

-   Ask the time: *What time is it?* and *What is the time?*
-   Answer: *It is* and the part of the hour or the minutes, seconds:
    *It is five o\'clock*.
-   Parts of the day:
    -   morning: *in the morning*
    -   afternoon: *in the afternoon*
    -   evening: *in the evening*
    -   night: *at night*
    -   Halves:
        -   AM
        -   PM
-   Parts of the hour:
    -   O\'clock, for example: *It is
        one o\'clock* (1:00).
    -   Past and
        to:
        -   *It is 4 minutes past 5 (5:04)* (or *4 minutes after 5* in
            USA).
        -   *It is 20 to 5 (4:40)* (or *20 before 5* in USA).
    -   Quarter:
        -   A quarter past, for example: *It is a quarter past 9 (9:15)*
            (or *a quarter after 9* in USA).
        -   A quarter to, for example: *It is a quarter to 12 (11:45)*
            (or *a quarter before 12* in USA).
    -   Half past, for example: *It is
        half past 9 (9:30)*.
-   Answer to *when?*:
    -   Certain time: *At*, for example: *At 5 p.m.*.
    -   Proximity:
        -   Nearly, about : *It is about 10 o\'clock*.
        -   Just after: *It is just after 10* (a few minutes past 10).
-   Synonyms for times:
    -   *Noon*, *Midday*: 12:00 in the 24 hour clock. *It is 5 past
        noon* (12:05).
    -   *Midnight*: 0:00 in the 24 hour clock. *Half past midnight*
        (00:30).


# English in Use/Capitalization

The use of capital letters in English is generally similar to in other
Germanic and Romance languages with a few exceptions. The following list
shows when you should use a capital letter:

## Capitalization

Capitalize the first word in every sentence.\
EXAMPLE: **S**he said, \"It will be hard to go home after this fun
vacation.\"

Capitalize the pronoun I.\
EXAMPLE: Ira said that **I** was the best dancer in the show.

Capitalize the interjection O.\
EXAMPLE: Guide and direct us,**O** Lord.

Capitalize the first word in both the salutation and the closing of a
letter.\
EXAMPLES: **D**ear Mr. Novato: **S**incerely

Capitalize the names of persons and animals.\
EXAMPLES: **F**ranklin **D.** **R**oosevelt **W**illem **d**e Kooning

Capitalize geographical names

EXAMPLES: the **G**ulf of Mexico the **S**outhwest **P**rince
**W**illiam **F**orest

Capitalize the names of planets, stars, constellations, and other
heavenly bodies.

EXAMPLES: **N**eptune **P**olaris **G**reat Nebula

Capitalize the names of teams, organizations, institutions, and
government bodies.

EXAMPLES: **K**ansas **C**ity **C**hiefs **F**uture **T**eachers of
**A**merica

Capitalize the names of historical events and periods, special events,
holidays, and other calendar items.

EXAMPLES: the **E**ighties the **C**ivil **W**ar **H**annukah my
**B**irthday

Capitalize the names of nationalities, races, and peoples

EXAMPLES: **I**ndian **C**hinese **B**edouin

Capitalize the names of religions and their followers, holy days and
celebrations, sacred writings, and specific deities.

EXAMPLES: **A**llah **H**indus **C**hristmas **K**oran

Capitalize the names of buildings and other structures.

EXAMPLES: **C**olleyville **H**eritage **H**igh **S**chool **W**orld
**T**rade **C**enter

Capitalize the names of monuments, memorials, and awards

EXAMPLES: **L**incoln **M**emorial **N**obel **P**eace **P**rize

Capitalize the names of trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft

EXAMPLES: **E**nola **G**ay **U**.**S**.**S**. **E**nterprise
**C**hallenger

Capitalize the names of businesses and the brand names of business
products

EXAMPLES: **C**ontinental **A**irlines **M**icrosoft **W**indows

## Notes

The use of medial capitals (those in the middle of words)is generally
considered poor English, although this is quite common on the Internet
and in advertisements. It\'s not necessary to capitalize styles of music
(e.g. \"indie\"), adjectives, or the name of companies if they
themselves don\'t use a capital letter (e.g. eBay) although the first
letter will sometimes be capitalized on the Internet due to technical
reasons.


# English in Use/Figures of Syntax

A **figure of syntax** is an intentional deviation from the ordinary
construction of words. The principal figures of syntax are five; namely,
el-lip\'-sis, ple\'-o-nasm, syl-lep\'-sis, en-al\'-la-ge, and
hy-per\'-ba-ton.

## Ellipsis

Ellipsis is the omission of some word or words which are necessary to
complete the construction, but not necessary to convey the meaning. Such
words are said, in technical phrase, to be understood.

Of compound sentences, a vast many are more or less elliptical.
Sometimes, for brevity\'s sake, even the most essential parts of a
simple sentence, are suppressed: as,

-   \"But more of this hereafter.\"---Harris\'s Hermes, p. 77.
-   This means, \"But I shall say more of this hereafter.\"
-   \"Prythee, peace.\"---Shak.
-   That is, \"I pray you, hold you your peace.\"

There may be an omission of any of the parts of speech, or even of a
whole clause, when this repeats what precedes. But the omission of mere
articles or interjections can scarcely constitute a proper ellipsis,
because these parts of speech ought to be expressed.

### Of the article

-   \"A man and \[a\] woman.\"
-   \"The day, \[the\] month, and \[the\] year.\"
-   \"She gave me an apple and \[a\] pear, for a fig and \[an\]
    orange.\"---Jaudon\'s Gram., p. 170.

### Of the noun

-   \"The common \[law\] and the statute law.\"
-   \"The twelve \[apostles\].\"
-   \"The same \[man\] is he.\"
-   \"One \[book\] of my books.\"
-   \"A dozen \[bottles\] of wine.\"
-   \"Conscience, I say; not your own \[conscience\], but \[the
    conscience\] of the other.\"---1 Cor., x, 29.
-   \"Every moment subtracts from \[our lives\] what it adds to our
    lives.\"---Dillwyn\'s Ref., p. 8.
-   \"Bad actions mostly lead to worse\" \[actions\].---Ib., p. 5.

### Of the adjective

-   \"There are subjects proper for the one, and not \[proper\] for the
    other.\"---Kames.
-   \"A just weight and \[a just\] balance are the Lord\'s.\"---Prov.,
    xvi, 11.

True ellipses of the adjective alone, are but seldom met with.

### Of the pronoun

-   \"Leave \[you\] there your gift before the altar, and go \[you\]
    your way; first be \[you\] reconciled to your brother, and then come
    \[you\] and offer \[you\] your gift,\"---Matt., v, 24.
-   \"Love \[you\] your enemies, bless \[you\] them that curse you, do
    \[you\] good to them that hate you.\"---Ib., v. 44.
-   \"Chastisement does not always immediately follow error, but \[it\]
    sometimes comes when \[it is\] least expected.\"--- Dillwyn, Ref.,
    p. 31.
-   \"Men generally put a greater value upon the favours \[which\] they
    bestow, than upon those \[which\] they receive.\"---Art of Thinking,
    p. 48.
-   \"Wisdom and worth were all \[that\] he had.\"---Allen\'s Gram.,
    p. 294.

### Of the verb

-   \"The world is crucified to me, and I \[am crucified\] to the
    world.\"---Gal., vi, 14.
-   \"Hearts should not \[differ\], though heads may,
    differ.\"---Dillwyn, p. 11.
-   \"Are you not much better than they\" \[are\]?---Matt., vi, 26.
-   \"Tribulation works patience; and patience \[works\] experience; and
    experience \[works\] hope.\"---Romans, v, 4.
-   \"Wrongs are engraved on marble; benefits \[are engraved\] on
    sand.\"---Art of Thinking, p. 41.
-   \"To whom thus Eve, yet sinless\" \[spoke\].---Milton.

### Of the participle

-   \"That \[being\] over, they part.\"
-   \"Animals of various natures, some adapted to the wood, and some
    \[adapted\] to the wave.\"---Melmoth, on Scripture, p. 13.
-   \"His knowledge \[being\] measured to his state and place, His time
    \[being\] a moment, and a point \[being\] his space.\"---Pope.

### Of the adverb

-   \"He can do this independently of me, if not \[independently\] of
    you.\"
-   \"She shows a body rather than a life; a statue, \[rather\] than a
    breather.\"---Shak., Ant. and Cleo., iii, 3.

### Of the conjunction

-   \"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, \[and\] joy, \[and\] peace,
    \[and\] long suffering, \[and\] gentleness, \[and\] goodness,
    \[and\] faith, \[and\] meekness, \[and\] temperance.\"---Gal., v,
    22.

The repetition of the conjunction is called polysyndeton; and the
omission of it, asyndeton.

### Of the preposition

-   \"It shall be done \[on\] this very day.\"
-   \"We shall set off \[at\] some time \[in\] next month.\"
-   \"He departed \[from\] this life.\"
-   \"He gave \[to\] me a book.\"
-   \"We walked \[through\] a mile.\"
-   \"He was banished \[from\] the kingdom.\"---W. Allen.
-   \"He lived like \[to\] a prince.\"---Wells.

### Of the interjection

-   \"Oh! the frailty, \[oh!\] the wickedness of men.\"
-   \"Alas for Mexico! and \[alas\] for many of her invaders!\"

### Of phrases or clauses

-   \"The active commonly do more than they are bound to do; the
    indolent \[commonly do\] less\" \[than they are bound to do\].
-   \"Young men, angry, mean less than they say; old men, \[angry,
    mean\] more\" \[than they say\].
-   \"It is the duty of justice, not to injure men; \[it is the duty\]
    of modesty, not to offend them.\"---W. Allen.

## Pleonasm

Pleonasm is the introduction of superfluous words: as,

-   \"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not
    eat of it.\"---Gen., ii, 17.

This figure is allowable only, when it abruptly introduces an emphatic
word, or repeats an idea to impress it more strongly: as,

-   \"He that has ears to hear, let him hear.\"---Bible.
-   \"All you inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the
    earth.\"---Id.
-   \"There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be
    thrown down.\"---Id.
-   \"I know you who you are.\"---Id.

A pleonasm is sometimes impressive and elegant; but an unemphatic
repetition of the same idea, is one of the worst faults of bad writing.

## Syllepsis

Syllepsis is agreement formed according to the figurative sense of a
word, or the mental conception of the thing spoken of, and not according
to the literal or common use of the term: as,

-   \"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his
    glory.\"---John, i, 14.
-   \"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ
    unto them.\"---Acts, viii, 5.
-   \"The city of London have expressed their sentiments with freedom
    and firmness.\"---Junius, p. 159.
-   \"And I said \[to backsliding Israel,\] after she had done all these
    things, turn you to me; but she returned not: and her treacherous
    sister Judah saw it.\"---Jer., iii, 7.
-   \"And he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of
    thunder.\"---Mark, iii, 17.
-   \"While Evening draws her crimson curtains round.\"---Thomson,
    p. 63.
-   \"The Thunder raises his tremendous voice.\"---Id., p. 113.

## Enallage

Enallage is the use of one part of speech, or of one modification, for
another. This figure borders closely on solecism. There are, however,
several forms of it which can appeal to good authority: as,

-   \"You know that you are Brutus, that say this.\"---Shak.
-   \"They fall successive\[ly\], and successive\[ly\] rise.\"---Pope.
-   \"Than whom \[who\] a fiend more fell is nowhere found.\"---Thomson.
-   \"Sure some disaster has befell\" \[befallen\].---Gay.
-   \"So furious was that onset\'s shock, destruction\'s gates at once
    unlock\" \[unlocked\].---Hogg.

## Hyperbaton

Hyperbaton is the transposition of words: as,

-   \"He wanders earth around.\"---Cowper
-   \"Rings the world with the vain stir.\"---Id.
-   \"Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him declare I to
    you.\"---Acts, xvii, 23.
-   \"\'Happy\', says Montesquieu, \'is that nation whose annals are
    tiresome.\'\"---Corwin, in Congress, 1847.

This figure is much employed in poetry, but care should be taken lest it
produce ambiguity or solecism.

## References

-   A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain
    English grammar \"The Grammar of English
    Grammars\" by Goold Brown,
    1851.