N car show’s, animals’. The first is a singular possessive, and the second is plural. O geese’s. The word geese is irregular. In an irregular plural, an apostrophe and the letter s are added. P fish’s. The word fish is irregular (and unusual); the singular and plural form are the same. To create a possessive, add an apostrophe and the letter s. Q weeks’. To create a plural possessive, add an apostrophe after the letter s. R animals’. This regular plural ends with the letter s. To show possession, add an apostrophe. S months’. This regular plural needs only an apostrophe after the s to become possessive. T cook’s. When one cook becomes possessive, he hogs all the desserts. Oops. That’s life, not grammar. Just add an apostrophe and the letter s. U The doctor belongs to John (in a manner of speaking), so the apostrophe is needed to show possession. V This time expression needs an apostrophe and an s. W A simple plural (not possessive, not a numeral, and so on) takes no apostrophe. Things to Do This Week A. Call John’s doctor and arrange for a release of annual medical report. B. Check on last spring’s blood pressure numbers to see whether they need to be changed. C. Ask John about his rodent problem’s. D. Find out why networks can’t broadcast Tuesday’s speech live, as John needs prime-time publicity. E. Ask whether his’ fondness for long speeches’ is a problem. F. Send big present to network president and remind him that you are both Yale ’06. G. Order bouquet’s for secretary and National Secretaries’ Week card. H. Rewrite speech on cat litter’ to reflect sister-in-law’s ideas. I. Tell opposing manager’s assistant that “you guys wouldn’t stand a chance” in the old day’s. 46 48 52 57 59 47 49 53 60 55 50 51 54 56 58 98 Part II: Mastering Mechanics 12_599321 ch07.qxp 4/3/06 11:23 PM Page 98 X In this contraction, the apostrophe replaces the letters n and o. Y Time expressions sometimes use apostrophes, as in Tuesday’s. z Possessive pronouns don’t have apostrophes. Z A plural takes no apostrophe. 1 Missing numerals (in this case, 20) are replaced by an apostrophe. 2 A simple plural doesn’t take an apostrophe. 3 This plural possessive form — the secretaries own the week, symbolically — adds an apostro- phe after the s. 4 In this sentence litter isn’t possessive and doesn’t need an apostrophe. 5 A hyphenated singular form takes an apostrophe and an s to become possessive. 6 A singular possessive is created by adding an apostrophe and an s. 7 In this contraction, the missing letter o is replaced by an apostrophe. 8 Days is just plural, not possessive, so it doesn’t take an apostrophe. 99 Chapter 7: One Small Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes 12_599321 ch07.qxp 4/3/06 11:23 PM Page 99 100 Part II: Mastering Mechanics 12_599321 ch07.qxp 4/3/06 11:23 PM Page 100 Chapter 8 “Let Me Speak!“ Quotation Marks In This Chapter ᮣ Punctuating directly quoted material ᮣ Placing other punctuation marks in sentences with quotations ᮣ Dealing with speaker tags and embedded or interrupted quotations ᮣ Punctuating titles of literary and media works W hen I first started teaching, I used to curve and wiggle two fingers of each hand whenever I was quoting someone else’s words. I assumed the students knew that my fingers represented the two little lines that precede and follow a direct quotation (“ ”). Big mistake. It was June before I discovered that they had interpreted my wiggles as a strange form of wave. Sadly, this error was only one of many they made with quotation marks. Quotation marks may puzzle you, too, because they’re subject to so many rules, most of which come from custom and tradition rather than logic. But if you’re willing to put in a little effort, you can crack the code and ace this important punctuation mark. Quotation marks have a few important jobs: ߜ Directly quoted material: Quotation marks surround words drawn from another person’s speech or writing. In fiction, quotation marks indicate dialogue: “I would love to receive a single rose,” sighed Sandy. Quotation marks don’t belong in a sentence that summarizes speech, such as He said that he had caught a cold. ߜ Titles: Quotation marks surround the titles of certain types of literary or other artworks: Emily’s first poem, “Ode on a Grecian Olive,” was printed in the school magazine. ߜ Distancing: Quotation marks sometimes are used to indicate slang or to tell the reader that the writer doesn’t agree with the words inside the quotation marks: I don’t always appreciate Emily’s “art.” In this chapter, you get to practice direct quotations and titles (lucky you!) along with a few other delights, including the interaction between quotation marks and other punctuation and quotations embedded inside other quotations. Let the games begin. Lending Written Words a Voice: Punctuating Direct Quotations The basic rule governing quotation marks is simple. Place quotation marks around words drawn directly from someone else’s speech or writing to distinguish their ideas and expres- sion from your own. Or, if you’re writing the Great American Novel, place quotation marks 13_599321 ch08.qxp 4/3/06 11:21 PM Page 101 around dialogue. The tricky part is the interaction between quotation marks and other punctuation, such as commas, periods, and the like: ߜ If the quotation has a speaker tag (he murmured, she screamed, and so forth), the speaker tag needs to be separated from the quotation by a comma. • If the speaker tag is before the quotation, the comma comes before the opening quotation mark: Sharon sighed, “I hate hay fever season.” • If the speaker tag is after the quotation, the comma goes inside the closing quotation mark: “What a large snout you have,” whispered Richard lovingly. • If the speaker tag appears in the middle of a quotation, a comma is placed before the first closing quotation mark and immediately after the tag: “Here’s the handkerchief,” said Richard, “that I borrowed last week.” Just because you’re quoting, don’t think you have a license to create a run-on sentence. (See Chapter 4 for practice with run-ons.) If you have two complete sentences, quoted or not, they should be written as separate sentences or linked correctly with a semicolon or a joining word such as and. ߜ If the quotation ends the sentence, the period goes inside the closing quota- tion mark. Richard added, “I would like to kiss the tip of your humungous ear.” ߜ If the quotation is a question or an exclamation, the question mark or the exclamation mark goes inside the closing quotation mark. “Why did you slap me?” asked Richard. “I was complimenting you!” Note: Question and exclamation marks serve as sentence-ending punctuation, so you don’t need to add a period after the quotation marks. ߜ If the quotation is neither question nor exclamation, but the sentence in which the quotation appears is, the question mark or exclamation point goes outside the closing quotation mark. I can’t believe that Richard said he’s “a world class lover”! Do you think Sharon will ever get over his “sweet nothings”? If the quotation is tucked into the sentence without a speaker tag, as in the previ- ous two sample sentences, no comma separates the quotation from the rest of the sentence. Nor does the quotation begin with a capital letter. Quotations with speaker tags, on the other hand, always begin with a capital letter, regardless of where the speaker tag falls. In an interrupted quotation (speaker tag in the middle), the first word of the first half of the quotation is capitalized, but the first word of the second half is not, unless it’s a proper name. ߜ Semicolons and colons always go outside the quotation marks. Mary explained that the book was “too long”; I told her to read it anyway. Enough with the explanation. Put the pedal to the metal in each of the following sen- tences. Your job is to identify the direct quotation, and fill in the proper punctuation, in the proper order, in the proper places. Here and there I add extra information in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Q. The annual company softball game is tomorrow declared Becky. A. “The annual company softball game is tomorrow,” declared Becky. Don’t count yourself right unless you placed the comma inside the closing quotation mark. 1. I plan to pitch added Becky, who once tried out for the Olympics. 2. Andy interrupted As usual I will play third base 102 Part II: Mastering Mechanics 13_599321 ch08.qxp 4/3/06 11:21 PM Page 102 3. No one knew how to answer Andy, who in the past has been called overly sensitive. 4. Gus said No one wanted Andy at third base; the entire Snyder family has terribly slow reaction time (The first part of the sentence — No one wanted Andy at third base — is a quotation, but the second part is not.) 5. Who wants to win asked the boss in a commanding, take-no-prisoners tone. 6. Did she mean it when she said that we were not hard-boiled enough to play decently 7. Sarah remarked I dare anyone to call Andy soft (The statement Sarah is making is an exclamation.) 8. The opposing team, everyone knows, is first in the league and last in our company’s heart (The whole statement about the opposing team is an exclamation.) 9. The odds favor our opponents sighed Becky but I will not give up 10. The league handbook states that all decisions regarding player placement are subject to the umpire’s approval 11. The umpire has been known to label us out-of-shape players who think they belong in the Olympics (The label is a direct quotation.) 12. Do you think there will be a rain delay inquired Harry, the team’s trainer. 13. Harry also asked Has anyone checked Becky’s shoes to make sure that she hasn’t sharp- ened her spikes again 14. Surely the umpire doesn’t think that Becky would violate the rule that states, Fair play is essential (Imagine that the writer of this sentence is exclaiming.) 15. Becky has been known to cork her bat commented Harry. 16. The corking muttered Becky has never been proved 17. Oh yes it has countered Sarah I drilled a couple of holes and found plenty of cork 18. Sarah has not often been called a team player 19. If we could just find a player of Babe Ruth’s caliber (This whole sentence is an exclamation.) 20. Just then Becky hit her trademark frozen rope to left field. Embedding One Quotation inside Another You had to ask. Sigh. Embedded quotations don’t turn up very frequently, but when they do, you must pay close attention. Here’s the deal: The embedded quotation is enclosed in single quotation marks (‘ ’), and the surrounding quotation is placed in the usual double quotation marks (“ ”). So far, so good. The problem comes when this sort of situation requires other punctuation, and it pretty much always does. Follow these guidelines: 103 Chapter 8: “Let Me Speak!” Quotation Marks 13_599321 ch08.qxp 4/3/06 11:21 PM Page 103 . guys wouldn’t stand a chance” in the old day’s. 46 48 52 57 59 47 49 53 60 55 50 51 54 56 58 98 Part II: Mastering Mechanics 12_599321 ch07.qxp 4/ 3/06 11:23 PM Page 98 X In this contraction,. Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes 12_599321 ch07.qxp 4/ 3/06 11:23 PM Page 99 100 Part II: Mastering Mechanics 12_599321 ch07.qxp 4/ 3/06 11:23 PM Page 100 Chapter 8 “Let Me Speak!“ Quotation. third base 102 Part II: Mastering Mechanics 13_599321 ch08.qxp 4/ 3/06 11:21 PM Page 102 3. No one knew how to answer Andy, who in the past has been called overly sensitive. 4. Gus said No one wanted