The general rule for singular nouns is to use an apostrophe and s at the end to show possession. EXAMPLES: the teacher's, Mom's, and Sahara's. The general rule for regular plural nouns is to use an apostrophe only at the end to show possession. EXAMPLES: the teachers' lounge, the racers' cars, and the singers' voices. … Continue reading ‘s Versus ‘ or s’s: Possessive Apostrophes
Category: Informational
Comma Versus Period
Another problem area I often see while reading and editing is related to commas and periods. There seems to be confusion as to how to use them with dialogue tags and action beats. Below I've attached a great video based on the Chicago Manual of Style as well as one of the best explanations I've … Continue reading Comma Versus Period
Said Versus Asked
I had to weight in here because this literally drives me nuts: said is used for a statement while asked is used when posing a question. Pease stop using said with a question mark as it is NOT proper no matter what the new trends are. Question marks are punctuation used to indicated interrogative clauses … Continue reading Said Versus Asked
Who Versus That
There are a few trends I notice both as a reader and editor. One is the misuse of that in place of who in narrative text or formal scripts. Before you argue - note what I actually said: in narrative text or formal scripts. This means areas of your book that is not dialogue (internal … Continue reading Who Versus That
Assume Versus Presume
It is easy to misuse words, and slang doesn't help. Colloquialisms aside, when you are writing or editing, it is important to understand the rules, even when you intend to break them. So, what's the proper way to use ASSUME versus PRESUME? Let's find out... The simplest answer is this: ASSUME (a verb meaning "to … Continue reading Assume Versus Presume
J.M. NORTHUP 