A question from a non-native speaker: Is there a definitve guide on American punctuation somewhere? I always wonder about American use of punctuation inside single quotes when quoting a term instead of a sentence, and some other cases where I see different intepretations of punctuation.
There are different ones for different kinds of writing (general, academic, journalism, and more). Chicago Manual of Style is one of the general ones. It’s good, and considered authoritative, but you have to buy a copy or an online subscription.
A free one that I like is Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab from a university). It’s easy to understand and has good info.
That’s good for some general writing tips, but S&W made plenty of their own errors in the book and had ambiguous or wrong explanations for various topics (IIRC they don’t seem to know what passive voice actually is).
I wouldn’t recommend it for someone looking for solid info about grammar itself.
A question from a non-native speaker: Is there a definitve guide on American punctuation somewhere? I always wonder about American use of punctuation inside single quotes when quoting a term instead of a sentence, and some other cases where I see different intepretations of punctuation.
There are different ones for different kinds of writing (general, academic, journalism, and more). Chicago Manual of Style is one of the general ones. It’s good, and considered authoritative, but you have to buy a copy or an online subscription.
A free one that I like is Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab from a university). It’s easy to understand and has good info.
The most commonly used tool for referencing English grammar that I know of is The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
I’ve heard it being a bit snobbish and outdated, despite having newer editions, but I will look into it. Thanks for the tip.
Americans will often call any book snobbish and outdated, though.
That takes me back. That was the standard reference for my journalism degree 35 years ago. I still have it.
Yes, we can tell, but you should know that part’s outdated.
One one space permitted. Nah, I’m not an actual slave to the dictates of grammar Nazis. That’s why such books are called guides.
That’s good for some general writing tips, but S&W made plenty of their own errors in the book and had ambiguous or wrong explanations for various topics (IIRC they don’t seem to know what passive voice actually is).
I wouldn’t recommend it for someone looking for solid info about grammar itself.
I found this. It seems pretty good. Although I don’t really think it matters much. You’ll likely be understood the same.
Thanks. I think it is quite well made, and I would love authors read this before they hand in their manuscripts…