Category Archives: Writing: Punctuation

Apostronectomies

Posted on February 18, 2009 by dave

I posted previously here about a city in the UK that has decided to do away with apostrophes on its street signs. Well, they appear to have started a flood of such procedures, presumably known as an apostronectomies. And now … Continue reading →

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Birmingham, England, Sets New Grammar Rules

Posted on February 2, 2009 by dave

Are you ready for this? The city of Birmingham, England, has (by decree) decided to drop possessive apostrophes. See the story on the London Times website. Actually, they’re addressing a real problem: the inclusion of apostrophes in street names. Their … Continue reading →

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The Oxford Comma

Posted on December 31, 2008 by dave

The Oxford comma is known by several names, such as serial comma or Harvard comma, and is the comma that goes just before a conjunction in a list. If you’d like to get a flavor for the controversy over its … Continue reading →

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Those (%$&*@) Parentheses!

Posted on December 29, 2008 by dave

One critique I get at all writing workshops is that I use parentheses too much. In fact, one critiquer, an excellent writer, commented that reading my work was like shoveling snow off a walk–every so often he hits an uneven … Continue reading →

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