Odd and Ends

Apostrophes Plurals Apostrophes should NOT be used to form plurals Example: 1900s ; Saturdays ; PhDs Rare Exception: use an apostrophe when an abbreviation, letters, or words are used as nouns or to avoid confusion Example: He received four A’s and two B’s. Example: Do we have more yes’s than no’s? Contractions When you put contractions in your writing, be sure you are putting in the apostrophes Example: can’t → cannot; won’t → will not; she’s → she is Normally in a formal piece of writing, you should avoid contractions and actually write them out

Apostrophes Shared Possession: when two nouns share the possession of an item, you add an “ ‘s “ to the end of the second noun Example: I want to go to James and Sharon’s house. (they live in the same house) Individual Possession: when two nouns need to show individual possession but are joined by a conjunction, you add an “ ‘s “ to each noun Example: Chris’s and John’s houses were made by the same designer. (individual houses) Possessives Singular Possessives: you show possession by adding an “ ‘s” to the word Example: the lawyer’s fee; the child’s toy; a week’s vacation Plural Possessive: you show possession by adding an “s’” to the word Example: the lawyers’ fees; the children’s toys; two weeks’ vacation

Dashes (-) Dashes can take the place of comma, parentheses, or colons Dashes can be used instead of commas to set off nonessential information Example: And yet, when the car was finally delivered, nearly three months after it was ordered, she decided she no longer wanted it. Example: And yet, when the car was finally delivered--nearly three months after it was ordered--she decided she no longer wanted it. Dashes can be used instead of parentheses to add more information to a sentence Example: Upon discovering the errors (all 124 of them), the publisher immediately recalled all the books. Example: Upon discovering the errors--all 124 of them--the publisher immediately recalled all the books.

Dashes Dashes can be used instead of colons to separate a sentence from a simple phrase Example: After months of deliberation, the jury came back with a verdict: guilty. Example: After months of deliberation, the jury came back with a verdict--guilty. Example: The white sand, the warm water, the sparkling sun: this is what brought them to Hawaii. Example: The white sand, the warm water, the sparkling sun--this is what brought them to Hawaii.

Numbers You should write out all numbers when writing formally. Example: one, ten, thirty-one, sixty cents, one hundred thirty-six dollars, eleven o’clock You can write out years using numbers Example: 1936, 1800s, 2016

Titles of Works Italicized / Underline: use italics/ underline for larger pieces of works Use italics when typing and underlining when writing Examples: Books Full-length plays Long poems Music albums Newspapers Magazines Movies Television and radio shows Airplanes Spacecrafts Trains Court cases Works of art Musical works; operas/musicals Computer and video games Quotation Marks: use quotation marks for smaller pieces of works Examples: Chapters Articles Songs Short Stories Essays Poems Short Films Scenes/Episodes of TV shows