Quotations and the dreaded 'however'

I’ve combined two mini-lessons for today. They may be small, but size is no measure of importance.

This first tip is about the quotation mark. It’s easy enough, right? Everyone knows to put quotations marks around quotations, don’t they? That is possible, but it is a little more complicated than that.

First, there is the issue of the single- vs. double-quote. Start with the double quote (“ “). If there is another quote being used inside that one, then use the single quote (‘ ‘). REMEMBER to close each quote and to make your quotation marks match!

You’ll never guess what Brian told me yesterday. He said, “So, I was talking to April, and she told me that you said that ‘Brian is an idiot.’”

Notice that the single, or inside, quote has to end before you can end the double, or outside, quote.

The other quotation issue is punctuation (and its placement), but I’ll save that for another day.

The second grammar faux pas that I would like to bring up today is the use of ‘however.’ Plenty of people can use the word itself, but few get the punctuation around it correct.

Your first punctuation option occurs when the sentence begins with the word ‘however.’ Simply place a comma after the word.

She thinks that he is the cutest boy she has ever seen. However, I have seen better.

If the ‘however’ us being used in the middle of a phrase, however, it will be surrounded on both sides by commas.

If the words before AND after ‘however’ are clauses (basically, if they have a subject and a verb), a semicolon (;) comes before and a comma (,) comes after. This is simply because two independent clauses are separated by a semicolon (or , and/, but).

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain; however, by hair never gets wet.

By the way… the last ‘however’ example, when used correctly, can make a person sound extra intelligent.

YOUR vs. YOU'RE and then some

Todays tip, well, series of tips, is pretty easy to master. I'm going to show you the subtle differences between some words that are confused way too often. It's not that I think you're stupid or anything -- people really do confuse these (and frequently).

Okay, this lesson is any easy one, but it is also easy to mess up. Even though he is dating a grammar nerd, my boyfriend can’t seem to get this one right. (I love you!) Funny? Slightly. Not really – everyone should be able to get this one right. If you don’t, your boss will laugh when he reads that memo you sent him (before you read this, of course).

YOUR = possessive adjective
YOU’RE = contraction of you + are

Is that YOUR coffee on the table?
YOU’RE the nicest, most intelligent person I’ve ever met!

This next simple mistake is similar, but it can throw your credibility down the tubes if you commit it.

THERE = indication of place
THEIR = possessive adjective (like YOUR)
THEY’RE = contraction of they + are (like YOU’RE)

Have you seen my pencil? Sure, it’s over THERE on the table.
Is this THEIR first date?
THEY’RE so cute together!

Following the same pattern:

ITS = possessive adjective (like YOUR)
IT'S = contraction of it + is (like YOU'RE)

Look at that dog! IT'S chasing ITS tail!

And finally:

WHOSE = possessive adjective (like YOUR)
WHO'S = contraction of who + is (like YOU'RE)

WHOSE cookie is that?
WHO'S coming with me to the pool?

I know this was a short one, but it really is important. I also realize that no one will congratulate you for correctly spelling THEIR, but at least no one will make fun of you for spelling it THERE.

The First

Hello!

To begin I will post just a little bit about myself. I am an intelligent, energetic and goofy student, trying to find ways to pay for college (translation: I have put ads on my site – you can click anytime). I am majoring in French and, possibly, minoring in Creative Writing. I thought about being a lawyer, but I think I have decided to be a French teacher (which is why I can’t afford student loans) or a translator…or both. I have a twisted love for all things grammar, and I love, love, LOVE correcting papers for people!

I'm still deciding what direction I want to take this blog. One idea is to offer grammar tips to help readers write papers for school or to sound more professional by correctly commanding the English language in memos, etc. Any comments?

Of course I have to offer my services - if anyone has a paper they would like me to proofread...let me know! I actually have experience not only from correcting papers for my friends, but also from working as a copy editor for my school's online magazine.
I am also a very random person, so Disney, poetry, music, just about anything might end up here at some point in time.