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Historical style guides before the 20th century typically indicated that wider spaces were to be used between sentences. [3] Standard word spaces were about one-third of an em space, but sentences were to be divided by a full em-space. With the arrival of the typewriter in the late 19th century, style guides for writers began diverging from ...
The article on Tony Blair is therefore an article on a topic closely related to Britain. However, take a person who now lives in a country other than the one of their birth, has dual nationality, and has an international career in two or more countries. An article on that person may not be closely related to one part of the English-speaking world.
All about the Oxford comma, including when it may or may not be necessary.
A comma splice should not be confused, though, with the literary device called asyndeton, in which coordinating conjunctions are purposely omitted for a specific stylistic effect. A much debated comma is the one in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which says "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a ...
Punctuation in the English language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. [1] English punctuation has two complementary aspects: phonological punctuation, linked to how the sentence can be read aloud, particularly to pausing; [2] and grammatical punctuation, linked to the structure of the sentence. [3]
The comma-free approach is often used with partial quotations: The report observed "a 45% reduction in transmission rate". A comma is required when it would be present in the same construction if none of the material were a quotation: In Margaret Mead's view, "we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities" to enrich our culture.
The lack of a comma suggested one meaning, while the omission of the conjunction or before "packing" and the fact that the Maine Legislative Drafting Manual advised against use of the serial comma suggested another. It said "Although authorities on punctuation may differ, when drafting Maine law or rules, don't use a comma between the ...
The serial comma (for example the comma before and in "ham, chips, and eggs") is optional; be sensitive to possible ambiguity arising from thoughtless use or thoughtless avoidance, and be consistent within a given article. Avoid comma splices. Picture captions should not end in a full stop (a period) unless they are complete sentences.