Punctuation, Continued

Question 1

Where does the period go in a quotation?

Answer 1

Always inside the quotation marks

Question 2

How should you punctuate a quote with a speaker attribution?

Answer 2

Place a comma between the speaker and the words spoken

Question 3

When does punctuation go outside quotation marks?

Answer 3

When the punctuation is part of the whole sentence, not the quote

Question 4

What are three types of titles that use quotation marks?

Answer 4

Chapters, articles, and poems

Question 5

What is the key requirement for using a colon in a sentence?

Answer 5

The portion before the colon must be able to stand on its own as a complete sentence

Question 6

Where you shouldn’t use a colon?

Answer 6

Don’t use a colon immediately after a verb that interrupts the sentence

Question 7

How do you form the possessive of a singular noun?

Answer 7

Add ‘s (apostrophe + s)

Question 8

How do you form the possessive of a plural noun ending in s?

Answer 8

Add only an apostrophe after the s

Question 9

What’s the rule for apostrophes in possessive pronouns?

Answer 9

Possessive pronouns (yours, theirs, ours, hers, his) never use apostrophes

Question 10

What’s the primary use of an ‘en’ dash?

Answer 10

To replace the word “to” when connecting numbers or words

Question 11

How is an ‘em’ dash different from an ‘en’ dash?

Answer 11

‘Em’ dashes set off interrupting thoughts on either side of the phrase

Question 12

When should you hyphenate compound adjectives?

Answer 12

When they come before a noun (e.g., two-way street)

Question 13

What four prefixes/suffixes always require hyphens?

Answer 13

ex- (former), all-, self-, and -elect

Question 14

Why are hyphens sometimes used to avoid confusion?

Answer 14

To distinguish between words with different meanings (e.g., re-sign vs. resign

Question 15

What’s the rule for numbers between 21 and 99?

Answer 15

Hyphenate compound numbers (e.g., twenty-one, ninety-nine)

Question 16

What’s the key test for correct parentheses usage?

Answer 16

The sentence should still make sense if you remove the parenthetical content

Question 17

When using parentheses within a sentence, what shouldn’t you include?

Answer 17

Capital letters or final punctuation (except question marks)

Question 18

When should punctuation go inside parentheses?

Answer 18

Only when the parentheses contain a complete sentence standing alone

Question 19

What’s the rule for using apostrophes to show missing letters?

Answer 19

Place the apostrophe where letters have been omitted (e.g., don’t, isn’t)

Question 20

How do you show the plural of a single letter?

Answer 20

Add ‘s (e.g., “The word has four s’s in it”)