shottothesun asked: I'm really mad at myself for not remembering this correctly. Could you remind me if it's people that lay and objects that lie, or vice versa?
Don’t worry - it’s a common problem!
this this this this!
We find this funny… but we’ll clarify:
You’re means “you are” (good job, Ross!), as in, “You are studying grammar,” or “You are tall.”
Your is the second person possessive, as in “That is your book.”
Keep this in mind, readers dear!
(Source: catnissevergreen)
Anonymous asked: Knowing me when you could have so easily known me.
OR
Knowing me when you could so easily have known me.
As far as we can tell, both varieties are grammatically correct! However, if any of our followers have any other input, please let us know, and we’ll correct our position.
Ladies and Gents:
We will soon be tackling the semicolon and the trauma that is writing a good topic sentence. In the meantime, do you have any more requests?
rosalindstarlings asked: What is the proper use of "too?" I learned that it was only used when you mean "also" however I've seen it used differently.
And how would I punctuate that first sentence there? Do I put the question mark inside or outside the parentheses?
In answer to your first question: “Categorize “too” as an adverb. An adverb is similar to an adjective, but rather than modifying a noun or pronoun, an adverb modifies all words that are not nouns or pronouns. The word that an adverb modifies most often is a verb. “Too” is used to denote something as excessive (too expensive, too young) or to indicate an addition (I want a puppy, too. We need milk, too).” (Taken from ehow.com.)
If you have other questions on the homonyms of “too,” check out this article. How to Use To, Too and Two Correctly | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2049046_to-two-too.html#ixzz1HMw8GWfN
In regards to whether punctuation should be placed within or without quotation marks: it actually depends on where you are! If you’re writing in the American style, then keep your punctuation inside the quotation marks. If you’re in the UK (or, frankly, anywhere that is not the US), place your punctuation outside the quotation marks when you are inserting a quote said by someone else. However, when you are using quotation marks in your own work, place the punctuation within the quotation marks.
Example (US): One of Benjamin Franklin’s best-known proverbs says, “early to bed, early to rise.”
Example (UK): One of Benjamin Franklin’s best-known proverbs says, ”early to bed, early to rise”.
Thank you for your request!
Anonymous asked: "Day Month Year (ie. 15 March 2011)"
You mean e.g. here; i.e. means 'that is' (finite, so it only refers to the things in the list), while e.g. means 'for example' (allowing for items outside the list).
Our apologies, we must have published the wrong draft. We’ll edit straightaway.
MLA Formatting Cheat Sheet
Here’s a little cheat sheet for all your MLA formatting needs!
General Guidelines:
- Margins: 1 inch all the way around your paper
- Times New Roman font ALL THE TIME
- 12 pt font ALL THE TIME
- ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDELINES. If they want something a certain way, do it their way. If they don’t specify anything and just say, ‘go with MLA format’ then go with MLA format
Headers:
Your Name
Teacher’s Name
Class (eg. English 1100 or 7th pd American Lit or whatever your class is called)
Day Month Year (eg. 15 March 2011)
Citing:
- Make sure you use MLA citations for your citations. Place them on a separate paper titled “Bibliography” and order them in alphabetical order.
example:
“History of Santa Claus.” The North Pole Web Site. Web. 03 Dec. 2009. <http://www.the-north-pole.com/history/index.htm>.
Moore, Clement C. “Twas the night before Christmas Poem.” Christmas Carols. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.carols.org.uk/twas_the_night_before_christmas.htm>.
“Other Names for Santa - History.com - St. Nicholas, Kris Kingle, & La Befana.” The History Channel - Home Page. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. <http://www.history.com/content/christmas/history-of-santa/the-many- names-of-santa>
Citing in Your Paper:
when citing a source in a paragraph, directly following your quoted material from the source, place in parentheses the last name of the author/editor/title of work or the page number if that is all that your teacher is asking for followed by a period. All periods go after the parentheses. Always. Place any other punctuation (! ? , etc) before the parentheses. Also, quotation marks go before the parentheses.
example:
- He says “You have stolen my heart, my sister,/ you have stolen it, my bride” (213).
^ page number
- Sundblom took many concepts of Santa, including the bright red coat, and solidified his image (Santa: Coca Cola).
^ title of work
- …called by Allmusic to be “a near-perfect song, with an aching melody, sentiment, and performance” (Janovitz).
^author/editor
As always check with your teacher to be sure that they don’t have any specific way for you to format their paper. If they do have a specific way, do it their way. Always listen to your teacher’s directions.
(Source: owl.english.purdue.edu)
What are your grammar questions?
Leave ‘em here! We need plenty of topics to write about!
Commas: Direct Address
Commas should always be used in direct address - no matter where that address falls in a sentence.
For example, at the beginning of a sentence:
Hey, Elizabeth, let’s go get coffee.
In the middle of a sentence:
Let’s go, Elizabeth, and get coffee.
And at the end of a sentence:
Let’s go get coffee, Elizabeth.
This also applies to the oft-used phrase “Hello [name].”
INCORRECT: Hello Elizabeth!
CORRECT: Hello, Elizabeth!
