Aika asks:

how do I properly sequence “’s and punctuation marks?

As I can’t think of any example of beginning a quotation with a disembodied ‘s, I’ll offer this guideline from the Chicago Manual of Style:

. . . A term enclosed in quotation marks . . . should never be made into a possessive. 7.30

For example, you can write the Atlantic Monthly’s editor or Gone With the Wind’s admirers because the titles taking the possessive are italicized. You may not, however, do the same thing with the title of a short work such as “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”

Titles of short works are enclosed in quotation marks. You would have to rearrange your phrasing so as not to have: “Ode on a Grecian Urn”’s admirers. You’d rephrase it as admirers of “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”

After a lifetime of being wishy-washy about the serial comma, I’ve reached a decision: I’m going to use it all the time.

Such a momentous decision is, of course, a deeply personal matter. The pros and cons are widely, frequently, and hotly debated.

Here is some information that may enable you to make the decision for yourself, if you haven’t already done so.

serial comma: (also Oxford comma) n. a comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before ‘and’ or ‘or’ (e.g. an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect). –Penguin Writer’s Manual.

Oxford comma: n. [after the preferred use of such a comma to avoid ambiguity in the house style of Oxford University Press] a comma immediately preceding the conjunction in a list of items. –OED

Some writers call the Oxford comma the “Harvard comma.”

Here’s a sentence with a serial comma: The Three Stooges are Larry, Moe, and Curly.

Here it is without a serial comma: The Three Stooges are Larry, Moe and Curly.

PRO serial comma
The Chicago Manual of Style (2009)

When a conjunction joins the last two elements in a series, a comma—known as the serial or series comma or the Oxford comma—should appear before the conjunction. Chicago strongly recommends this widely practiced usage, blessed by Fowler and other authorities… 6.19

The Elements of Style (2000)

In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

The stated rule seems ambiguous to me, but the examples that follow it are clear:

red, white, and blue
gold, silver, or copper

Gregg Reference Manual (1993)

When three or more items are listed in a series, and the last item is preceded by and, or, or nor, place a comma before the conjunction as well as between the other items.

CON serial comma
 AP Stylebook (2009)

Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series:
The flag is red, white and blue.
He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry.

AP does allow a comma before and when ambiguity would result without one:

Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series, however, if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction:
I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast.

Penguin Guide to Punctuation (1997)

Note also that it is not usual in British usage to put a listing comma before the word and or or itself (though American usage regularly puts one there.) So, in British usage, it is not usual to write The Three Musketeers were Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

On the fence regarding the serial comma
Penguin Writer’s Manual (2002)

It is becoming more common in British English (and is usual in American English) to place a comma before the and that precedes the final item in a simple list (numbers one, two, three, and four).

Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1965)
In promoting the use of the serial comma, CMOS observes that the usage is “blessed by Fowler” among other authorities. However, when I looked up the topic in Fowler (1965 edition) I found this remark, which seems neutral at best:

The more usual way of punctuating such an enumeration as was used as an example in the preceding section is French, German, Italian and Spanish; the commas between French and German and German and Italian take the place of ands; there is no comma after Italian because, with and, it would be otiose [having no practical function; redundant; superfluous]. There are, however, some who favour putting one there, arguing that, since it may sometimes be needed to avoid ambiguity it may as well be used always for the sake of uniformity.

So there you have it. My choice is to travel the path of otiosity for the sake of uniformity. What’s yours?

Writers like to sprinkle their work with subordinate clauses because they add variety to sentence structure. A reading diet too heavy with simple sentences or even compound sentences becomes wearisome quickly. Subordinate clauses—also known as dependent clauses—used skillfully can add complexity and artfulness to writing.

A subordinate clause can either precede or follow its main clause. What writers tend to get confused about, however, is when and where to place commas in relation to subordinate clauses.

The simple rule is this: If a subordinate clause precedes the main clause, separate the two with a comma:

Unless you have a lot of money, steer clear of Rodeo Drive.

If the subordinate clause follows the main clause, no comma is usually needed:

Steer clear of Rodeo Drive unless you have a lot of money.

Many writers wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to stick a comma between Drive and unless even though it’s not strictly necessary. There’s a natural pause that seems to call for a comma, but try to resist its call unless a pause is needed for special emphasis.

One notable exception is when the subordinating conjunction because is used and the main clause expresses a negative concept:

Don’t worry about your spelling errors because the editor will fix them.

Omitting a comma in this sentence suggests the meaning that there’s another reason not to worry about the spelling errors:

Don’t worry about your spelling errors because the editor will fix them; worry about them because you shouldn’t have made them to begin with.

So if the real reason you shouldn’t worry about the spelling errors is, in fact, because the editor will fix them, we need a comma:

Don’t worry about your spelling errors, because the editor will fix them.

Watch out for because in your subordinate clauses. Scrutinize your sentences to make sure you’re not clouding the issue and confusing your readers.

Writers have three different dashes at their disposal: the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash.

Most of us are familiar with hyphens and their uses. They’re used to form compound modifiers (such as in “a well-attended event”). We also use them to break a word that falls at the end of a line. This usage is becoming less common, however, because word processing and layout software programs typically have automatic end-of-line hyphenation features.

En and em dashes are less understood. The en dash is the width of a capital N (hence, its name). It’s used to indicate a range, as in the following examples:

For your homework, please read pages 162–195.

The meeting will be on Thursday, 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

The artist’s blue period, 1948–1952, was his most productive.

En dashes are also used to connect a prefix with an open compound:

post–World War II

ex–vice president

The reason for using an en dash with such compounds is to send a subtle signal to the reader that the prefix belongs to the entire compound, not just the first word of it.

Em dashes are the width of (you guessed it) a capital M. Most often, they’re used in pairs to emphasize an element or elements within a sentence:

Cruciferous vegetables—broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, for instance—are said to lower the risk of cancer.

Em dashes can also show an abrupt change in thought:

I thought I had time—more than enough time—to catch the train.

Or they can show interrupted dialogue:

“I told you I can’t—”

“You mean you won’t, not can’t,” she said.

Many writers use a double hyphen in place of an em dash, and you might have noticed that your word processor sometimes will automatically turn them into an em dash. Most word processors have shortcuts for creating en and em dashes. It would be worth your while to search your help menu to find out what they are.

This is a guest post by Steven Pittsley. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here.

Although often taken for granted, the question mark can be used for more than ending a direct question. Really? Yes.

The question mark was first seen in the eighth century when it was called the punctus interrogativus. There are many theories about the origin of the symbol, which has changed several times before settling on its current form in the eighteenth century. For example, the Latin word for question is quaestio, which was abbreviated to ‘Qo’ in the Middle Ages. It’s thought that the modern symbol represents the ‘Q’ placed over the ‘O’.

Regardless of its origin, the question mark can be used in a variety of ways. One such use is to end a verb-less sentence. Although verb-less sentences may not be considered proper sentences in some circles, they are used quite frequently. Some examples include:

• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Really?

Ending a tag question is another use for the question mark. A tag question is a statement that is followed by a question, such as:

• He left early, didn’t he?
• The recipe calls for one cup sugar, right?

In a sentence containing a series of questions, you may include a question mark after each. Be careful with this type of writing. Although the use of a question mark is accepted, readers may find a long string of questions confusing.

• Who saw the victim last? Her husband? Her son? Her daughter?
• Which way are we supposed to turn at the corner? Right? Left?

Two places where the question mark should not be used are at the end of indirect questions or courteous requests. Although these types of sentences may seem to be questions, they do not require the use of the question mark.

• I asked my son if there were any messages.
• Will you please reply as soon as possible.

Although the choice to use the question mark us usually a fairly easy decision, some situations like these can make you think twice.

You can follow Steven on Twitter @drumming4you.