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Use of the Hyphen in English Punctuation (-)

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:47:37 GMT

The hyphen (-) is a unique punctuation mark since it is used for both punctuation and spelling. In punctuation, it is used in certain word combinations, where its usage may depend on word order in the sentence. In spelling, it is used as an essential part of the word itself (see hyphen in spelling). The hyphen generally serves to link words or part of words together, signaling the relatedness between the linked parts. Using it may attract some disagreement among writers, as there are often different opinions on hyphen usage.

Be careful not to confuse the short, small hyphen (-) with the dashes (–, ―, —), which are at least twice as long and used for indicating interruptions and additions to a sentence. The WhiteSmoke English grammar software is your best writing tool, as it uses advanced punctuation- and spelling checkers that edit your text to perfection.

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Use of the Hyphen in English Spelling (-)

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:45:25 GMT

The hyphen (-) is a unique punctuation mark since it is used for both spelling and punctuation. In spelling, it is used as an essential part of the word itself. In punctuation, it is used in certain word combinations, where its usage may depend on word order in the sentence (see hyphen in punctuation). The hyphen generally serves to link words or part of words together, signaling the relatedness between the linked parts. Using it has been known to attract some controversy, as there are often alternatives in hyphen usage.

Be careful not to confuse the short, small hyphen (-) with the different kinds of the dash (–, ―, —), which are at least twice as long and used for indicating interruptions and additions to a sentence. The WhiteSmoke English grammar software is your best writing companion, as it uses advanced spelling- and punctuation checkers that proofread your text to perfection.

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About English Verb Tenses But Were Afraid to Ask!

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:10:59 GMT

Our Top Expert has put together another great article, this time a great primer on English verb tenses. Here is an excerpt:

"Some argue that English only actually has two tenses, as only the Present Simple and the Past Simple change the verb form (inflect), while others make use of a variety of auxiliary verbs in order to be formed. However, for the ease of learning the tenses successfully and systematically, we use the below terminology that makes life much easier. The verb tenses in Old English were much more complicated, as verbs inflected for person, tense, aspect, and mood, as still in other languages nowadays. The verb forms in Modern English are relatively simple."

The Verb "To Be" in English

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:17:51 GMT

The verb to be is a key verb in English, playing a major part in many types of constructions, as in all other European languages ( etre in French, sein in German, ser/estar in Spanish). It has many usages and meanings, both as a main verb and as an auxiliary verb. It also acts differently in negative sentences and questions. To know more, read these sections of our review on the verb to be in English.

1. Forms
2. Meaning
3. Uses
4. In negative sentences
5. In questions
6. With time expressions
7. Summary

The Past Progressive Tense

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:19:40 GMT

The Past Progressive tense (or Past Continuous) is a verb tense in English that describes on-going actions that continued for a specific stretch of time in the past and ended. It stresses that the doer was in the middle of a dynamic activity while other activities may have been happening at the same time. To know more, read these sections of our review on the Past Progressive in English. For other related topics, you are welcome to browse our English lessons portal.

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Present Progressive Tense

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:15:48 GMT

The Present Progressive tense (or Present Continuous) is a much-used verb tense in English that describes on-going actions at the moment of speaking, stressing that the doer is in the middle of the activity and hasn't finished yet (the action is incomplete). It is used to refer to a temporary dynamic activity occurring at a specific time in the present, not on a regular basis. To know more, read these sections of our grammar review on the Present Progressive in English. For other related topics, you are welcome to browse our English lessons portal.

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Spelling Rules for Verb Tenses in English

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:11:54 GMT

Forming the main verb in some English verb tenses involves adding endings. Whenever a new element is added to a word, there may be spelling changes occurring as a result of phonological interaction between the word's final letters and the ending's first letter. To know more, read these sections of our review on spelling rules for the English verb tenses.

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The Irregular Verbs in English

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:05:40 GMT

Most verbs in English are regular verbs, meaning that they add the "-ed" ending to form both the simple past and the past participle forms, which are identical, such as play-played-played. However, there is a considerable number of irregular verbs (about 450, but only about 200 in common use) that form their simple past and past participle forms with a vowel change, such as in see-saw-seen. Some irregular verbs do not change form at all ( let-let-let). Irregular verbs originate mostly from Old English, while any new verb coined in later periods tends to be regular. Still, the ten most used verbs in English are irregular.

Another distinction is between weak and strong verbs. In weak verbs, the simple past and past participle forms are identical, bearing a -d or -t ending ( buy-bought-bought). In strong verbs the simple past and past participle are usually distinct, with the past participle having an -en ending ( speak-spoke-spoken). The classification of verbs to weak and strong in Modern English is less important for learners, so you can suffice with the regular-irregular distinction.

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Past Simple Tense

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:00:28 GMT

The Past Simple tense (or Simple Past), sometimes called the preterit in English grammar, is a highly used verb tense for referring to finished past activities. At its core, the Past Simple is used to refer to isolated actions that started and were completed at a well-defined time in the past. To know more, read these sections of our review on the Past Simple in English. For other related topics, you are welcome to browse our English lessons portal.

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The Present Simple Tense

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:56:10 GMT

The Present Simple tense (or Simple Present) is one of the most used verb tenses in English. It describes general facts, states, and habits. At its core, the Present Simple is used to refer to the general state of affairs in the present. Because it is usually the first tense learned in language courses, it is the most remembered. However, bear in mind that there are other verb tenses that target more specific shades of meaning. To know more, read these sections of our review on the Present Simple in English. For other related English grammar topics, you are welcome to browse our English lessons portal.

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English Verbs Part 2 - More Terms

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:35:04 GMT

This article reviews some more terms relating to English verbs. Being familiar with these terms will help you understand language points as they appear in the course of your English studies, as well as other articles on our English lessons portal, and of course the grammar corrections offered by the WhiteSmoke writing software grammar engine.

6. Most verbs are main verbs, i.e. content words that contribute meaning to the sentence they are in ( go, run, eat, prefer, ascertain). In addition, there is a closed class sub-group of auxiliary verbs that merely assist in the technical construction of other verb forms. The auxiliary verbs in English are: to be, to do, and to have. The modal verbs ( can, could, shall, should, may. might, must, will, and would) can also be considered auxiliaries as they modify the meaning of the main verb they accompany.

English Verbs Part 1 - Basic Terms

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:52:54 GMT

This article reviews some basic terms relating to English verbs. Being familiar with these terms will help you understand language points as they appear in the course of your English studies, as well as other articles on our English lessons portal, and of course the grammar corrections offered by the WhiteSmoke writing software grammar engine.

1. A verb is a word that expresses an action ( to run), occurrence ( to happen), or state of being ( to appear). It is one of the nine parts of speech in English grammar. Non-action verbs are also referred to as linking or stative verbs, such as to be, to seem, to sound. Verbs comprise the third largest group of words in English (about 10%) and appear in any sentence as a major mandatory element tying the subject and predicate together. Verbs indicate time (past, present, future) and are used in English in relatively many verb tenses. The verb can be thought of as the center, heart, or anchor of an English sentence.

English Vocabulary: Modern Times

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:42:49 GMT

The Renaissance arrived to England in around 1500 with a burst of literary works being published in Early Modern English thanks to the developments in mass printing. It was only at this time that some initial consolidation was beginning to occur in the language's vocabulary. After centuries of the church dictating religious guidelines for the cultural and spiritual life of Europeans, an increased nostalgic interest in the humanistic values of ancient Greece and Rome produced a torrent of unparalleled creativity.

Scholarly research was written in Latin, as English was considered poor in vocabulary and too crude for expressing abstract ideas. A large portion of such words were originally Latin but entered English through their French manifestation. The education of children, however, was now being carried out in English. This entailed the use of new words from Greek, while Latin continued to be a steady source of vocabulary.

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English Vocabulary: The Beginnings

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:12:36 GMT

The English language has become the international language of the world. In addition to the 400 million people speaking English as a first language, about 800 million use or study English as a second/ foreign language. As English grammar is relatively simple compared to other languages, it is the vast English vocabulary, which poses a real challenge in the quest to master the language. The built-in dictionary of the WhiteSmoke English Writing Software, together with its enrichment engine will help you navigate through this lexical immensity.

Almost every word in English seems to have many synonym sets with rough to subtle differences in meaning between members of each set. For example, to name the place where one lives, you can use home, house, quarters, or lodging (standard); residence, domicile, or habituation (formal); and shack, digs, spot, or pad (informal, slang). A set of words can also be found to describe a person who talks a lot: articulate, eloquent, fluent (positive connotation); vocal, talkative, verbose (neutral connotation); chattering, gossipy, and gabby (negative connotation). There just seems to be no end to English words!

An Introduction to English Spelling

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:57:15 GMT

During the rather complex history of English, the language has been subjected to numerous influences that resulted in it actually becoming a mixture of other languages, benefiting from abundant contributions to its vocabulary, but also blending different spelling systems. These contribute to the irregular and sometimes incredibly inconsistent and confusing spelling of the written language, which in turn interacts with a varied and sometimes unpredictable pronunciation. In order to master English spelling, one needs to learn a great many spelling rules and be aware of the numerous possible letter combinations.

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Parts of Speech in English - A General Overview

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:15:47 GMT

All the words in English can be divided into 8, 9 or more groups according to their function in the language. These groups are traditionally called parts of speech and are today referred to as lexical categories or word classes. The following terms comprise the most basic grammar terminology every English user must be familiar with in order to understand how language works to create meaning.

Nouns (success), verbs (succeed), adjectives (successful), adverbs (successfully) and interjections (wow!) are sub-grouped into content words, namely, words that provide the concepts and ideas underlying the sentence. Content words are constantly being added to or removed from the language (an open word class), as changing usage patterns influence dynamic changes in a language's vocabulary.

Conversely, determiners (the), pronouns (we), prepositions (at) and conjunctions (and) are sub-grouped into structure words, whose number almost always stays constant in a language (closed word class). These are words that tie the content words together into a grammatically correct sentence and reflect the inner grammar rules of the language structure. These, as opposed to content words, change very slowly, if at all, throughout a language's history.

It is vital for any English writer to be familiar with the parts of speech in order to have the terminology to study and analyze the language and identify mistakes in writing. Moreover, a word can function as a different part of speech depending on its role in the sentence structure (the terms of which are also vital for successful writing). This affects the word's meaning and structure, making it important to confirm whether you are using the correct part of speech in the correct position in the sentence.

Using Quotation Marks in English Punctuation - Part3

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:09:37 GMT

Setting Off Titles

1. When referring to short works by their titles, enclose these titles with quotation marks. Short works may consist of short stories, essays, poems, magazine or journal articles, book chapters, brochures, pamphlets, songs and episodes from television or radio series.

2. Longer works, such as titles or names of books, plays, films, magazines, journals, newspapers, and TV or radio series are not enclosed in quotation marks. Instead, they are sometimes italicized or underlined, and sometimes they are given in regular Roman type. As there may be many variations, consult a style guide in case you need to write along the lines of one.

3. Do not use quotation marks with political parties, geographical locations and institutions.

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Using Quotation Marks in English Punctuation - Part 2

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:19:41 GMT

Using Quotation Marks to Set Off Dialog

When writing the exact words (direct words) of a speaker quoted in dialog, you need to set the speech apart from the narrative (the words of the author telling the story) and differentiate between the different speakers' words. Therefore, enclose the words of each speaker's line with both opening and closing quotation marks. Non-dialog text may appear in the same paragraph as dialog.

Also, when writing a dialog, you should start a new paragraph every time the writer changes. If the spoken lines are brief and you prefer to keep all information pertaining to a certain scene together, then you may start a new paragraph at the beginning of a new scene.

If a speaker is being quoted in more than one paragraph, use double quotation marks in the beginning of each paragraph but add the closing quotation marks only at the end of the last paragraph of that speaker's paragraph sequence.

Do not use quotation marks in screenplays and scripts, where every line is dialog. Start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes.

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Use of Quotation Marks in English Punctuation - Part 1

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:58:16 GMT

Quotation marks are important punctuation marks in English that have four different uses. Whenever you quote words, ideas or texts taken from an external source, whether spoken or appearing in print, you have to set them off with quotation marks. This accredits the source to being the origin of the text, a compulsory practice in academic writing, and a recommended one in virtually any type of writing. In standard academic writing, from an essay to a thesis, you must also provide a reference to the actual source of the quote, detailing how the reader may track back to it. This bibliographic referencing should be performed according to strict rules provided in various documentation style guides, such as the MLA, APA, etc.

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Use of the Comma in English Punctuation (,) - Part 3

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:54:02 GMT

The Punctuation Rules for Setting Off Dialogs or Quotations

1. A quote is a text that brings the exact words of a speaker in direct discourse. A text that consists only of dialogue (plays, novels etc.) is punctuated according to regular punctuation rules. However, in a text that combines both dialogue and non-dialogue text, the quotations are separated from introductory words (e.g., said, stated, explained, claimed) with quotation marks, commas and other punctuation marks.

2. The punctuation mark that comes before the quote is left outside the opening quotation mark. The punctuation mark that comes after the quote is put inside the closing quotation marks. The quote itself starts with a capital letter. See the following examples for different positions of the introductory words.

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