Mechanical Monday: The Dash

by | Jul 11, 2011 | Mechanical Monday

No, no, not the sprint you do when you’re at the grocery store, have one item, an are trying to beat the dude trying to sneak eleven items into the œten only line.  I’m talking about the dash you use in writing, when you want to set something apart”a part...

Monday Mechanics: The Apostrophe

by | Jul 4, 2011 | Mechanical Monday

Apostrophes are used to show possession: Mark’s pen, Joe’s house.If the noun (singular or plural) does not end in ‘s,’ add the ‘s’ and the apostrophe: Mal’s desk; the doctor’s book.If the noun does end in...

Monday Mechanics: Commas

by | Jun 20, 2011 | Mechanical Monday

**Squeak** Monday’s almost over and I forgot to post!  Can you tell what kind of day it’s been? From the desk of Strunk & White, I give you the uses of the comma: In a list (except for the last item): cats, dogs, kangaroos, and donkeys. To enclose...

Monday Mechanics: The Colon

by | Jun 13, 2011 | Mechanical Monday

Ah, the happy, helpful colon. Use this little guy with lists, quotations, or to explain the thing (technical term: clause) that precedes the colon.  So: Things we need for camping: air mattress, tent, stove. I love what  Nietzsche said about perseverance: œYou can...

Mechanical Monday: Misplaced Modifiers

by | Jun 6, 2011 | Mechanical Monday

First of all, what’s a modifier?  Basically it’s a word or phrase that describes what you’re talking about (the grown-up/technical definition: it’s an adverb, adjective, phrase, or clause that acts as a modifier (but I don’t like it when...