Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.

Input: Consider Input: Consider the following two sentences: Statement 1: The parameters were calculated a priori, and the other variables were calculated iteratively. Statement 2: The parameters were calculated a priori, and the other variables were calculated iteratively. This may seem trivial, but the only difference between the two sentences is the way in which the , has been formatted. In the first statement the , is in italics. In the second, the , is not in italics. Does it depend on the writer whether or not to italicize the punctuation marks adjoining the affected words? Or is there a definite rule governing this? The same question can be extended to other types of formatting, e.g. bold.

Output: Here's one style manual's answer to that question: Italics do not include punctuation marks (end marks or parentheses, for instance) next to the words being italicized unless those punctuation marks are meant to be considered as part of what is being italicized: 'Have you read Stephen King's Pet Semetary?' (The question mark is not italicized here.) Also, do not italicize the apostrophe-s which creates the possessive of a title: 'What is the Courant's position on this issue?' This is really a style-manual problem, not an English usage or grammar problem. Each publication has its house style. Newspapers have their own style manuals, academic fields have theirs, and technical fields have theirs. There is no definite rule.


Input: Consider Input: The question is quite straightforward: Which of the following is preferable? 'I keep myself up-to-date on the latest technology.' 'I keep myself up to date on the latest technology.'.

Output: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, as quoted by the site below, you hyphenate if the compound adjective is before the noun and don't hyphenate if it is after the noun. With compound adjectives formed from the adverb well and a participle (e.g., well-known), or from a phrase (e.g., up-to-date), you should use a hyphen (or hyphens) when the compound comes before the noun: well-known brands of coffee; an up-to-date account, but not when the compound comes after the noun: His music was also well known in England. Their figures are up to date. From Oxford Dictionaries via Adverbs and Hyphens by Maeve Maddox for Daily Writing Tips. In this case the noun is myself and before the adjective, so no hyphen. In other styles, this may not necessarily hold true. For instance, in APA style, hyphens are discouraged unless they add clarity.


Input: Consider Input: A few days ago, a friend and I were discussing how every 'rule' of English spelling or pronunciation has an exception, and every exception has an exception as well. Then I brought up the rule of a ph cluster equaling an f sound (as in phonetic, elephant, morph, etc.) as a pronunciation rule that didn't have any exceptions I could think of. Is this a true hard-and-fast rule or does it have some exceptions as well? I'm not counting abbreviations such as pH scale.


Output: The exceptions come in two categories: Greek words that were originally pronounced with an 'f' diphtheria, diphthong, ophthalmology, phthisis but have come to be pronounced with a 'p' by no process I understand. Compound words uphold, saphead, peephole that are just a word ending in 'p' run up against a word beginning with an 'h'. Neither of those really feel like exceptions: mispronunciations that have become accepted and two words being treated as one. Then there is aphelion. Arguably, that's a compound word and a mistake. By analogy with apogee and apastron, it should be apohelion: 'apo' ('from') + 'helion' ('sun'). Several people brought up 'Stephen', which is often pronounced like 'Steven'. Eh, I think we should play with Scrabble rules: no proper names. Finally, there is an example that will really blow your minds: phthalate. The ph- is silent.