Thanks Amanda, useful stuff. As a Brit, I find myself tripping up over some of these. Where Americans will put the period inside the quotes, Brits will put the full stop inside the inverted commas.
In the Substack post or notes editor on a PC or Android device (and probably a Mac?) you can make an em-dash by hitting the hyphen key twice. It doesn't work in comments though!
I kind of knew my British writers wouldn’t jive with everything here. 😉 Good to know about double tapping the hyphen key! I’ll update my piece with credit to you. :)
There's not a whole lot about the British writers I follow that gets me stuck, to be honest. There are some colloquialisms that simply don't translate on first pass, but if the information is rich enough I don't get too hung up. The one place I DO get stuck is on the British interpretation of casual writing — and how it seems to involve a lot of omitted words. Have you noticed this?
Just a short note for anyone with an older pc laptop who can't seem to make an emm dash with control/alt/hyphen. Try using the 'minus' symbol key on your number pad with a simultaneous control/alt press. This is the only way that works for me on my old laptop.
I love an em dash! Although after reading this piece I changed a couple of sets into brackets in a recent piece and I think they worked better. Good to be reminded that there is more punctuation than the em dash!
As someine with an English degree from 15-35 years ago, and which of course used MLA, I loved this post! I think I mostly use these correctly, but I'm not always sure why, which often leaves me wondering. Interestingly, it wasn't until I was teaching a business writing course at a community college that I truly learned the ins and outs of commas--and that was only because I asked a retired high school English teacher to break it down for me. I almost regret it because I spend far too much energy now making sure my commas are correctly placed 😂. Nonetheless, hooray for all posts teaching proper grammar and punctuation!
Also, all this time I've been typing 2 hyphens, the. the next word, then hitting space (which turns the n- I to an m-). Definitely going to have to try double tapping
Thanks Amanda, useful stuff. As a Brit, I find myself tripping up over some of these. Where Americans will put the period inside the quotes, Brits will put the full stop inside the inverted commas.
In the Substack post or notes editor on a PC or Android device (and probably a Mac?) you can make an em-dash by hitting the hyphen key twice. It doesn't work in comments though!
I kind of knew my British writers wouldn’t jive with everything here. 😉 Good to know about double tapping the hyphen key! I’ll update my piece with credit to you. :)
I try to write in American these days, but I'm sure some Britishisms sneak through.
There's not a whole lot about the British writers I follow that gets me stuck, to be honest. There are some colloquialisms that simply don't translate on first pass, but if the information is rich enough I don't get too hung up. The one place I DO get stuck is on the British interpretation of casual writing — and how it seems to involve a lot of omitted words. Have you noticed this?
I'm not sure that I've noticed that, but maybe I'm used to it. Do you have an example?
I’ll see if I can find one in the next few weeks without anyone feeling embarrassed. 🙈
Brits are always embarrassed. Sorry!
Just a short note for anyone with an older pc laptop who can't seem to make an emm dash with control/alt/hyphen. Try using the 'minus' symbol key on your number pad with a simultaneous control/alt press. This is the only way that works for me on my old laptop.
Thanks, Amanda! I've been 'En-dashing' when I wanted to 'em-dash'. You've established a new detente, Grammerly and I can be friends again...maybe.
Me too!
I love — well, I’m partial to — a good em-dash (and I’m not averse to parenthesis either)😘
Did you write this specifically with me in mind? I think you did!
Thank you, I appreciate it very much and will use it to try to improve.
Fantastic. — with a double tap? Who knew!
Great stuff, Amanda. You bring clarity where there was once the gloom gathering in fusty style manuals.
I need to read this! My husband edits my posts and bemoans my comma usage. (And I was an English major 🤦🏼♀️)
I use em-dashes frequently—likely too frequently. But I love pauses. It follows my speech patterns. Good one!
I love an em dash! Although after reading this piece I changed a couple of sets into brackets in a recent piece and I think they worked better. Good to be reminded that there is more punctuation than the em dash!
As someine with an English degree from 15-35 years ago, and which of course used MLA, I loved this post! I think I mostly use these correctly, but I'm not always sure why, which often leaves me wondering. Interestingly, it wasn't until I was teaching a business writing course at a community college that I truly learned the ins and outs of commas--and that was only because I asked a retired high school English teacher to break it down for me. I almost regret it because I spend far too much energy now making sure my commas are correctly placed 😂. Nonetheless, hooray for all posts teaching proper grammar and punctuation!
Also, all this time I've been typing 2 hyphens, the. the next word, then hitting space (which turns the n- I to an m-). Definitely going to have to try double tapping
Thank you! Glad to get the official word on punctuation INSIDE the quotes.
People will probably still fight me on this, but for me and my publishing house … I also think this is what visually works the best, too!
Oh I saved this because I am dyslexic and this is such a good reminder for me !! Thank you so much