Comma After Introductory Clauses

Introductory clauses are dependent clauses that are often found at the beginning of the sentence (although they can be moved to the end of the sentence, too, without confusing the meaning of the sentence). After a dependent introductory clause, we use a comma to separate the introductory clause from the independent clause. Consider the examples below:

As the man was walking into the store he came face to face with his childhood sweetheart.

As the man was walking into the store, he came face to face with his childhood sweetheart.

Because the rain was torrential the day’s Little League games were postponed.

Because the rain was torrential, the day’s Little League games were postponed.

As with many other rules in English grammar, the comma-after-introductory-clauses rule comes with an exception. When the introductory clause is short, the comma may be omitted as a matter of style. See the example below:

Grabbing her umbrella, Kate raced out of the house.

Grabbing her umbrella Kate raced out of the house.

Since the introductory clause consists of only three words, the comma separating the introductory clause from the main clause may or may not be used.

Introductory Clauses with Dates

Although it is not strictly required, it is considered good style to follow introductory dependent clauses containing dates with a comma. This is true whether the date given denotes a century, a year, a month, or even a day.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed.

On Tuesday, I received my first paycheck.

In the seventeen hundreds, the minuet was a popular dance style.

In March, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

But if the date does not appear as an introductory clause, no commas are necessary.

The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

I received my first paycheck on Tuesday.

The minuet was a popular dance style in the seventeen hundreds.

We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in March.

7 Homophone Mistakes to Avoid

When you’re speaking out loud, homophones sound alike, but when you’re writing them out, it’s a different story. Though they have the same pronunciation, homophones may have slightly different spellings and totally different definitions. Since using the wrong one can completely change the meaning of your statement, it’s important to make sure you have the right word in mind. Here are seven homophone mistakes to avoid.

Than vs. Then

Despite their single letter of difference, misusing “than” and “then” can change a statement completely. “Than” is the word to use in a comparative statement, such as “You’re a better writer today than you were yesterday.” Use “then” when describing a sequence of events, like “Write a good sentence, and then compose a great paragraph.”

To vs. Too

While “to” and “too” sound the same, remember that the former is a preposition, while the latter is an adverb. “To” typically means “toward,” while “too” can either mean “excessively” or “also.” For example, you could say, “When you go to the beach, take me too.”

Your vs. You’re 

Though it’s a common mistake, using the wrong version of this word can make your writing look sloppy. “Your” is always a possessive pronoun, so when you use this word, be sure you’re declaring ownership. For instance, you could say, “your book” or “your professional writing sample.” “You’re,” on the other hand, is a contraction of the words “you” and “are.” When using this word, check yourself by reading it with the words “you are” in place of the contraction to make sure it makes sense.

Threw vs. Through

“Threw” and “through” may be different parts of speech, but they can be tough to keep straight. The first word in this homophone pair is the past tense of the verb “throw,” or the act of tossing something in the air. “Through,” however, is a preposition that indicates movement across space or time. You could say, for instance, “The pitcher threw the baseball through the air like a pro.”

Stationary vs. Stationery

Many writers confuse these homophones, since the only spelling difference is a single vowel toward the end of the word. “Stationary” and “stationery,” however, have very different meanings. “Stationary” refers to standing still, while “stationery” refers to cards, paper, or other writing materials. Your stationery may be stationary, but never the other way around.

Seas vs. Sees vs. Seize

As if two homophones weren’t enough, you will find three spellings of this sound-alike. “Seas” is a noun that describes oceans and other large bodies of water, while the verb “sees” refers to looking or observing. Finally, “seize” means to take possession of something. “She sees the opposing forces seize the seas” demonstrates the unique meaning of all three.

There vs. Their vs. They’re

You’ll also find three of these tricky homophones. “There” refers to a general location or distance. When describing where you parked your car, for instance, you might say, “My car is in the parking lot over there.” “Their” serves as a possessive form for more than one person. When referring to the vehicles belonging to a group of people, for example, you would say, “their cars.”

Finally, “they’re” is a contraction of the words “they” and “are.” Whenever you use this term, make sure that what you really mean is “they are.” For instance, you could say, “They’re parking.” If you’re really ready to show off your knowledge of homophones, try out the statement “They’re parking their car in that lot over there.”

Homophones may sound the same, but their meanings are very different when you use them in writing. Study up on which words you need to use (and when to use them) because many spelling and grammar checkers cannot correct words that are spelled correctly but used in the wrong context. (Lucky for you, Grammarly can!)

What’s your biggest homophone mistake?

How to Quote a Quote?

• In American English, use double quotation marks for quotations and single quotation marks for quotations within quotations.
• In British English, use single quotation marks for quotations and double quotation marks for quotations within quotations.

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The rules for using quotation marks can seem complicated, but once you understand the basic principles, it’s not so bad. But what do you do when you’ve got a quote within a quote? Read on to find out.

Quotations Within Quotations

Why would you ever have a quotation within a quotation? Lots of reasons. For example, a character in a story may quote someone else aloud.

“Let us explore the meaning of the quote ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,’”said the teacher.

The example above uses American-style quotation marks. The main quote is enclosed in double quotation marks. The quote within the quote, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is enclosed in single quotation marks. (The British convention is the opposite; the main quote would use single quotation marks and the quote within the quote would use double quotation marks.) If your single and double quotation marks end up next to each other (either at the beginning or end of the quote), you don’t need to add a space between them.

Quoting a Quote

How do you quote a quote? That is to say, what do you do when you’re quoting material that already contains a quote? The principle doesn’t change. In American English, use double quotes for the outside quote and single quotes for the inside quote. In British English, do the opposite.

Let’s say you need to quote a book for an essay, and the passage you have in mind contains a quote from some other source.

Imagine the original passage from the book looks like this:

I remember our father having strong opinions about many things. Pop was fond of saying “there’s no such thing as a free lunch, Jimmy,” but it seemed a little disingenuous because he wasn’t much of a lunch-eater anyway.

When you quote from this passage, you might say:

In the introduction of the book, the author describes a memory of his father. “Pop was fond of saying ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch, Jimmy,’ but it seemed a little disingenuous because he wasn’t much of a lunch-eater anyway.”

Notice that the quotes around there’s no such thing as a free lunch, Jimmy were double quotes in the original passage. But when you quote the passage, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, Jimmy becomes a quote within a quote, so you should change them to single quotation marks.

You Can Bet Your Bottom Dollar That We Love Idioms!

In the United States, April 15 is Tax Day, the Internal Revenue Service’s tax filing deadline. While filing taxes can cause stress and frustration, language lovers can find some solace in these creative idioms about money. Here are three of our favorites:

Bet one’s bottom dollar Your “bottom dollar” is the last dollar you have. If you’re betting your bottom dollar, you’re probably very sure that what you’re betting on will turn out the way you think it will. Use of this phrase dates back to the mid-1800s.

Cost an arm and a leg It might seem like a simple explanation, but this phrase likely became popular because arms and legs are very precious. You would think twice about purchasing something if it cost you your arm or your leg! According to Mentalfloss, use of the related phrase, “I’d give my right arm” began as early as the 1600s.

Pay the piper This idiom supposedly originates with the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Germany. According to the tale, the townspeople of Hamelin paid a piper with a magic flute to lure an infestation of rats out of the town with his song. They promised to pay him for his services, but after he rid the town of rats they took back their promise and refused to pay him. In retaliation, the piper used his magic flute to lure the children of the town away from their parents. Nearly all the children in the town were drawn away by the magical song and were never seen again. To “pay the piper” means to make good on your promise or face the consequences.

Squirrel away money This idiom means to store away money with the same intensity as a squirrel preparing for winter. You can squirrel away pretty much anything, but most often this idiom is used with money.

What are your favorite idioms about money? Share them in the comments!

6 Grammatically Questionable Epitaphs

Gravestones are meant to live on long after the person they represent has passed. It’s important to make sure they’re both well-deserved celebrations of life and completely accurate, since correcting these stones can be an arduous and expensive process. In honor of “Plan Your Epitaph Day,” which took place yesterday, here are six famous examples of epitaphs with grave spelling or grammatical errors.

William Gaddis, Writer

For a celebrated author, grammatical or spelling mistakes can be the kiss of death. That’s why it’s both perplexing and unfortunate that the gravestone of renowned author William Gaddis, two-time winner of the National Book Award, includes a spelling error. Gaddis’ epitaph includes not only his birth and death dates, but also an excerpt from his first published novel, The Recognitions. Unfortunately, the engraver misspelled the novel’s title as The Recongnitions. Many suspect that the author’s family members may have overlooked the mistake in this familiar title.

Ed Koch, Politician

Like many men who want to retain control over their legacy, Politician Ed Koch designed his own gravestone. The only pieces of information that the one-time mayor of New York City left out of the final design were the dates. While the finished product included a correct death date, the engraver transposed the numbers within Koch’s birth date. Instead of December 12, 1924, his epitaph reads 1942, shaving about 20 years off his life.

Zora Neale Hurston, Writer

Though she is a beloved writer today, Zora Neale Hurston was originally buried in an unmarked grave. When this misfortune was discovered, and her resting place was moved to a more prestigious burial ground, the engraver unceremoniously misspelled her middle name. Admirer and fellow writer, Alice Walker, arranged for the tombstone to be corrected to read “Neale” instead of “Neil.”

Isaac Bashevis Singer, Writer 

When celebrated writer Isaac Bashevis Singer died, his wife included the title “Noble laureate” in his epitaph. While Singer may have been noble, he actually won the 1978 Nobel Prize for literature. When family members brought the error to his wife’s attention, she requested that the epitaph remain unchanged. It wasn’t until many months later that a new gravestone corrected both Singer’s title and his misspelled middle name.

Stephen Hemlin, Family Man

While the blame for grammatical epitaph errors often lies with grieving and distracted family members, some are clearly the fault of the engraver. The family of British family man Stephen Hemlin designed a gravestone with a customized epitaph, only to find that the engraver inserted both a grammatical error and additional language. Instead of the family’s desired and correct phrase, “too dearly loved,” the epitaph unfortunately read as the cringe-worthy phrase, “to dearly loved to be forgotten.”

Elvis Presley, Crooner 

Fascination and intrigue perpetually surround Elvis Presley’s life and legacy, and his gravestone is no exception. While there’s no argument about the spelling of the singer’s first and last names, his middle name has a history of confusion and botched official documents. Presley’s parents intended for his middle name to be spelled “Aron,” which is how his name appears on his birth certificate.

Later in life, Presley attempted to change the official spelling to the more familiar “Aaron,” only to find that poorly handled documents already listed his name that way. When he passed away, Presley’s father made sure that the name was spelled the way his son intended: “Aaron.” Though this story continues to baffle diehard Elvis fans, rest assured that this apparent spelling mistake is actually correct.

Despite unhappy mistakes, these stories can teach us an important lesson. Even when you’re distraught at the loss of a loved one, be sure to edit thoroughly before finalizing an epitaph. Have you seen any poignant or ironic gravestone errors?