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Changed line(s) 13,19 (click to see context) from:
* "Who" vs "whom": "Who" acts subjectively like "I", "he", or "she". "Whom" acts like an object , like "me" or "him".
** Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should I pick?"
You would not say "Whom should I say is calling?" as you wouldn't say "I say him is calling." "Whom should I say is calling?" is functionally equivalent to "Whom is calling?", which is clearly wrong.
* Whoever" vs "whomever": The choice depends on the function within a clause, not the sentence as a whole. Consider the following subject clauses (with the subject clauses in parentheses for clarity): "(Whoever stole the ball) should return it." and "(Whomever I choose) will get the last dance with me." In the first, "Whoever" is the subject of the subject clause, whereas in the second, "Whomever" is a direct object within a subject clause.
** Parallel structure: Make a logical flow, particularly when it comes to lists.
** Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should I pick?"
You would not say "Whom should I say is calling?" as you wouldn't say "I say him is calling." "Whom should I say is calling?" is functionally equivalent to "Whom is calling?", which is clearly wrong.
* Whoever" vs "whomever": The choice depends on the function within a clause, not the sentence as a whole. Consider the following subject clauses (with the subject clauses in parentheses for clarity): "(Whoever stole the ball) should return it." and "(Whomever I choose) will get the last dance with me." In the first, "Whoever" is the subject of the subject clause, whereas in the second, "Whomever" is a direct object within a subject clause.
** Parallel structure: Make a logical flow, particularly when it comes to lists.
to:
* "Who" '''"Who" vs "whom": "whom":''' "Who" acts subjectively like "I", "he", or "she". "Whom" acts like an object , like "me" or "him".
** Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should Ipick?"
pick?" You would not say "Whom should I say is calling?" as you wouldn't say "I say him is calling." "Whom should I say is calling?" is functionally equivalent to "Whom is calling?", which is clearly wrong.
*Whoever" '''"Whoever" vs "whomever": "whomever":''' The choice depends on the function within a clause, not the sentence as a whole. Consider the following subject clauses (with the subject clauses in parentheses for clarity): "(Whoever stole the ball) should return it." and "(Whomever I choose) will get the last dance with me." In the first, "Whoever" is the subject of the subject clause, whereas in the second, "Whomever" is a direct object within a subject clause.
**Parallel structure: '''Parallel structure:''' Make a logical flow, particularly when it comes to lists.
** Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should I
*
**
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Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should I pick?"
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Changed line(s) 17,18 (click to see context) from:
** Whoever" vs "whomever": The choice depends on the function within a clause, not the sentence as a whole. Consider the following subject clauses (with the subject clauses in parentheses for clarity): "(Whoever stole the ball) should return it." and "(Whomever I choose) will get the last dance with me." In the first, "Whoever" is the subject of the subject clause, whereas in the second, "Whomever" is a direct object within a subject clause.
to:
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Who/whom, whoever/whomever, parallel structure. Also the question about Mary, John, and the cat.
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*"Who" vs "whom": "Who" acts subjectively like "I", "he", or "she". "Whom" acts like an object , like "me" or "him".
Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should I pick?"
You would not say "Whom should I say is calling?" as you wouldn't say "I say him is calling." "Whom should I say is calling?" is functionally equivalent to "Whom is calling?", which is clearly wrong.
**Whoever" vs "whomever": The choice depends on the function within a clause, not the sentence as a whole. Consider the following subject clauses (with the subject clauses in parentheses for clarity): "(Whoever stole the ball) should return it." and "(Whomever I choose) will get the last dance with me." In the first, "Whoever" is the subject of the subject clause, whereas in the second, "Whomever" is a direct object within a subject clause.
**Parallel structure: Make a logical flow, particularly when it comes to lists.
Example: "My dog can jump through hoops, ropes, fire, and do flips." is wrong as "flips" is not one of the things through which he can jump. It should be "My dog can jump through hoops, ropes, and fire, and do flips." The list is ended with "fire" due to the first "and".
Examples: "Who is coming with me?"; "The person is who?"; "To whom should I give the money?" "Whom should I pick?"
You would not say "Whom should I say is calling?" as you wouldn't say "I say him is calling." "Whom should I say is calling?" is functionally equivalent to "Whom is calling?", which is clearly wrong.
**Whoever" vs "whomever": The choice depends on the function within a clause, not the sentence as a whole. Consider the following subject clauses (with the subject clauses in parentheses for clarity): "(Whoever stole the ball) should return it." and "(Whomever I choose) will get the last dance with me." In the first, "Whoever" is the subject of the subject clause, whereas in the second, "Whomever" is a direct object within a subject clause.
**Parallel structure: Make a logical flow, particularly when it comes to lists.
Example: "My dog can jump through hoops, ropes, fire, and do flips." is wrong as "flips" is not one of the things through which he can jump. It should be "My dog can jump through hoops, ropes, and fire, and do flips." The list is ended with "fire" due to the first "and".
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**The sentence involving "Mary" isn't really clear. It would be clearer if it were written "Since she liked it so much, Mary bought all (of) that cat (that) John gave her's siblings." In the sentence, "Mary" is the subject, "bought" is the predicate, and the rest of the sentence is a direct object, where "siblings" is the main direct object possesesed by "that cat", which itself is descibed by "John gave her".
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***This is not a hard and fast rule as commas aren't necessarily an indication of pacing. For example: "The cat who hates Jack is looking at me." and "The cat, who hates Jack, is looking at me." can be said exactly the same (possibly with some slight inflection differences, but they mean different things. The first sentence is specifying a cat, whereas in the second, "who hates Jack" is just added detail and not mechanically part of the idea conveyed by the sentence. This is an example of essential clause vs non-essential clause. There are other examples (particularly descriptive ones) where a comma and a pause don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.
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Even if meant humorously, that sentence is quite condescending. Not having English as a first language does not mean you live in some backwater and need to be told how to use a computer.
Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a . a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with.
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a . a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with.
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a . a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with]].
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a . a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with]].
with.
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Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these is likely to belong here.
to:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these is likely to belong here.
here. In a moment of extreme excitement, one ! is permissible. More than one is unnecessary, unattractive, and ungood.
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with]].
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with]].
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This pothole looks like it should go to Fun With Homophones, rather than Captain Obvious. Then its and it\'s are not fun enough for a pothole.
Changed line(s) 32,33 (click to see context) from:
* ''It'' → ''its'' burrito, the burrito is ''its''. (This one is a very common pitfall, because ''its'' and ''it's'' [[CaptainObvious sound exactly the same]]. As long as you remember that ''it's'' is always short for ''it is'' or ''it has'', you'll be fine.)
to:
* ''It'' → ''its'' burrito, the burrito is ''its''. (This one is a very common pitfall, because ''its'' and ''it's'' [[CaptainObvious sound exactly the same]].same. As long as you remember that ''it's'' is always short for ''it is'' or ''it has'', you'll be fine.)
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Added the rules on making nouns possessive, hope that\'s not too much for this page.
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
to:
** The rules for making nouns possessive are simpler than most people realize:
*** If the noun is singular, add 's. Yes, even if the noun itself ends in s. A fox's tail, the quiz's answers, Jesus's disciples, even my boss's desk.
*** If the noun is plural and ends in s (as most do), add an apostrophe: my sisters' birthdays, the unicorns' horns.
*** If the noun is plural and '''does not''' end in s, add 's: the children's books, the geese's wings.
*** If the noun is singular, add 's. Yes, even if the noun itself ends in s. A fox's tail, the quiz's answers, Jesus's disciples, even my boss's desk.
*** If the noun is plural and ends in s (as most do), add an apostrophe: my sisters' birthdays, the unicorns' horns.
*** If the noun is plural and '''does not''' end in s, add 's: the children's books, the geese's wings.
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Namespace stuff, yeah
Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with]].
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that to begin with]].
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these is likely to belong here.
to:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these is likely to belong here.
here.
Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use an '.
to:
* One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use an '.
Changed line(s) 18,19 (click to see context) from:
* Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with an '.
to:
* Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with an '.
'.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* ''She'' → ''her'' burrito, the burrito is ''hers''
to:
* ''She'' → ''her'' burrito, the burrito is ''hers'' ''hers''
Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* The pronoun is part of a relative clause - "Mary bought all that cat John gave her's siblings, she liked it so much," or even "No child of ours's house will ever have mice."
to:
* The pronoun is part of a relative clause - "Mary bought all that cat John gave her's siblings, she liked it so much," or even "No child of ours's house will ever have mice." "
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Changed line(s) 16,19 (click to see context) from:
* One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use a '.
* A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these, a ' should go where the missing letters used to be.
* Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '.
* A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these, a ' should go where the missing letters used to be.
* Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '.
to:
* One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use a an '.
* A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these,a an ' should go where the missing letters used to be.
* Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, witha an '.
* A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these,
* Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... Although you really shouldn't be using that anywhere but the "Troper Tales" page.
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I... [[ThereIsNoIInExample Although you really shouldn't be using that anywhere but the "Troper Tales" page.
to begin with]].
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Changed line(s) 37,38 (click to see context) from:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". [[http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html It isn't a word.]] Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot".
to:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". [[http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html It isn't a word.]] Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot".
"lot". There is a word "allot", but it has nothing to do with "a lot".
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
I... Although you really shouldn't be using that anywhere but the "Troper Tales" page.
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None
Changed line(s) 37,38 (click to see context) from:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". It isn't a word. Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot".
to:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". [[http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html It isn't a word. word.]] Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot".
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". It isn't a word. Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot".
to:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". It isn't a word. Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot"."lot".
For more sesquipedalian details on this, see WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma, TheBigListOfBooboosAndBlunders.
----
For more sesquipedalian details on this, see WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma, TheBigListOfBooboosAndBlunders.
----
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common error -_-
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''.
to:
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''. In the same vein, don't say "alot". It isn't a word. Just remember that "a lot" is the opposite of "a few", and the "a" isn't part of the word "lot".
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Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
When in doubt, leave the apostrophe out.
to:
When in doubt, leave the apostrophe out.out.
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''.
Some tropers confuse "would have" for "would of", probably because of the similarity in pronunciation. You can say: ''I would have said it better'', but not ''I would of said it better''.
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Changed line(s) 33,35 (click to see context) from:
However, the first is pretty much restricted to dialogue, and the second, while technically grammatical, is clunky so is best used only when there's no absolutely alternative. For general prose, avoid both.
** When in doubt, don't put the ' in.
** When in doubt, don't put the ' in.
to:
However, the first is pretty much restricted to dialogue, and the second, while technically grammatical, is clunky so is best used only when there's no absolutely no alternative. For general prose, avoid both.
** When in doubt, don't put leave the ' in.apostrophe out.
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Reducing indentation of bullet poiints, for readability, plus minor exceptions.
Changed line(s) 14,25 (click to see context) from:
* This little thing here → ' '''(the apostrophe)''' causes a lot of trouble. Probably most of the trouble. Some tips on its use:
** One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use a '.
** A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these, a ' should go where the missing letters used to be.
** Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '. '''EXCEPTION''': pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who, it). These guys are allergic to this use of ''[='s=]'', so they behave completely differently. Most of them even have two different words for "X's Y" and "The Y is X's", just to be confusing.
*** ''I'' → ''my'' burrito, the burrito is ''mine''
*** ''You'' → ''your'' burrito, the burrito is ''yours'' (''you're'' means ''you are''. ''Your's'' is not a word.)
*** ''He'' → ''his'' burrito, the burrito is ''his'' (''he's'' means ''he is'' or ''he has'')
*** ''She'' → ''her'' burrito, the burrito is ''hers'' (''her's'' is not a word)
*** ''We'' → ''our'' burrito, the burrito is ''ours'' (''our's'' is not a word)
*** ''They'' → ''their'' burrito, the burrito is ''theirs'' (''they're'' means ''they are''. ''Their's'' is not a word. ''There'' usually means a place.)
*** ''Who'' → ''whose'' burrito is it? Again I ask - the burrito is ''whose''? (''Who's'' means ''who is'' or ''who has'')
*** ''it'' → ''its'' burrito, the burrito is ''its''. (This one is a very common pitfall, because ''its'' and ''it's'' [[CaptainObvious sound exactly the same]]. As long as you remember that ''it's'' is always short for ''it is'' or ''it has'', you'll be fine.)
** One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use a '.
** A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these, a ' should go where the missing letters used to be.
** Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '. '''EXCEPTION''': pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who, it). These guys are allergic to this use of ''[='s=]'', so they behave completely differently. Most of them even have two different words for "X's Y" and "The Y is X's", just to be confusing.
*** ''I'' → ''my'' burrito, the burrito is ''mine''
*** ''You'' → ''your'' burrito, the burrito is ''yours'' (''you're'' means ''you are''. ''Your's'' is not a word.)
*** ''He'' → ''his'' burrito, the burrito is ''his'' (''he's'' means ''he is'' or ''he has'')
*** ''She'' → ''her'' burrito, the burrito is ''hers'' (''her's'' is not a word)
*** ''We'' → ''our'' burrito, the burrito is ''ours'' (''our's'' is not a word)
*** ''They'' → ''their'' burrito, the burrito is ''theirs'' (''they're'' means ''they are''. ''Their's'' is not a word. ''There'' usually means a place.)
*** ''Who'' → ''whose'' burrito is it? Again I ask - the burrito is ''whose''? (''Who's'' means ''who is'' or ''who has'')
*** ''it'' → ''its'' burrito, the burrito is ''its''. (This one is a very common pitfall, because ''its'' and ''it's'' [[CaptainObvious sound exactly the same]]. As long as you remember that ''it's'' is always short for ''it is'' or ''it has'', you'll be fine.)
to:
**
* One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use a '.
'''EXCEPTION''': pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who, it). These guys are allergic to this use of ''[='s=]'', so they behave completely differently. Most of them even have two different words for "X's Y" and "The Y is X's", just to be confusing.
***
* ''We'' → ''our'' burrito, the burrito is ''ours'' (''our's'' is not a word)
There do exist circumstances where pronouns can legitimately end up next to apostrophes:
* Contracted verbs - "Your hat's lilac. Mine's magenta. See the difference?"
* The pronoun is part of a relative clause - "Mary bought all that cat John gave her's siblings, she liked it so much," or even "No child of ours's house will ever have mice."
However, the first is pretty much restricted to dialogue, and the second, while technically grammatical, is clunky so is best used only when there's no absolutely alternative. For general prose, avoid both.
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or a !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or a an !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
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Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; Spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these is likely to belong here.
to:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; Spamming spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these is likely to belong here.
Changed line(s) 17 (click to see context) from:
** Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '. '''EXCEPTION''': Pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who, it). These guys are allergic to this use of ''[='s=]'', so they behave completely differently. Most of them even have two different words for "X's Y" and "The Y is X's", just to be confusing.
to:
** Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '. '''EXCEPTION''': Pronouns pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who, it). These guys are allergic to this use of ''[='s=]'', so they behave completely differently. Most of them even have two different words for "X's Y" and "The Y is X's", just to be confusing.
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
This is a collection of tips on common grammar and spelling mistakes, so that you can avoid making them when editing here.
to:
This is a collection of tips on common grammar and spelling mistakes, so that you can how to avoid making them the most common grammar/spelling mistakes when editing here.
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Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
*** ''Who'' → ''whose'' burrito is it? Again I ask - the burrito is ''whose''? (''who's'' means ''who is'' or ''who has'')
to:
*** ''Who'' → ''whose'' burrito is it? Again I ask - the burrito is ''whose''? (''who's'' (''Who's'' means ''who is'' or ''who has'')
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* '''Capitalization:''' The first letter of every sentence should be a capital letter. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
to:
* '''Capitalization:''' The the first letter of every new sentence should be a capital letter.letter. A new sentence starts after a ., a ? or a !. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; Spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these are likely to belong here.
to:
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; Spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these are is likely to belong here.
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Changed line(s) 5,7 (click to see context) from:
* Capitalization: The first letter of every sentence should be a capital letter. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
* Punctuation: (? ! , . : ; ...)
* Punctuation: (? ! , . : ; ...)
to:
* Capitalization: '''Capitalization:''' The first letter of every sentence should be a capital letter. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
*Punctuation: '''Punctuation:''' (? ! , . : ; ...)
*
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* This little thing here → ' (the apostrophe) causes a lot of trouble. Probably most of the trouble. Some tips on its use:
to:
* This little thing here → ' (the apostrophe) '''(the apostrophe)''' causes a lot of trouble. Probably most of the trouble. Some tips on its use:
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
* Capitalization: The first letter of every sentence should be a capital letter. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. In general you should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
to:
* Capitalization: The first letter of every sentence should be a capital letter. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. In general you You should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
I.
* Punctuation: (? ! , . : ; ...)
** After each punctuation mark there should be a space.
** We cannot hope to instruct you on when it is appropriate to use a comma. The official rules for this were obviously determined by a bunch of drunk guys playing homebrew WheelOfFortune. Just imagine yourself saying the sentence out loud, pause considerably with each comma, add/remove commas accordingly whenever the pacing seems off and hope for the best.
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; Spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these are likely to belong here.
* Punctuation: (? ! , . : ; ...)
** After each punctuation mark there should be a space.
** We cannot hope to instruct you on when it is appropriate to use a comma. The official rules for this were obviously determined by a bunch of drunk guys playing homebrew WheelOfFortune. Just imagine yourself saying the sentence out loud, pause considerably with each comma, add/remove commas accordingly whenever the pacing seems off and hope for the best.
** ! and ... carry a lot of emotional punch, so use them sparingly. Spamming the ! is reserved for scenes of utmost urgency; Spamming the ... is reserved for fleeting streams of consciousness. Neither of these are likely to belong here.
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Changed line(s) 1 (click to see context) from:
Click the edit button to start this new page.
to:
Your contribution is more important to us than some minor spelling blunder. If you ''really'' don't feel like a grammar lesson right now, just click the
* Capitalization: The first letter of every sentence should be a capital letter. You already know this, but just in case you don't, you can make a capital letter by holding down the "shift" key (on a standard keyboard it's left of the ''z'') while typing the letter. In general you should also capitalize people's names (Alice, Bob), movie/book/series titles (''{{Seinfeld}}'', ''NineteenEightyFour''), places which are likely to show up in the Atlas (the Middle East, Paris) and the word I.
Warning- incoming WallOfText. Don't despair! You can do it!
* This little thing here → ' (the apostrophe) causes a lot of trouble. Probably most of the trouble. Some tips on its use:
** One burrito, many burritos- not burrito's. If the s was just added to make a plural, don't use a '.
** A lot of words are actually two words crammed into one, with letters lost on the way: do not → don't, they have → they've, we are → we're, it is → it's, and many others ([[GottaCatchThemAll Gotta Catch 'em All]]!). The ' in this case means "some letters used to be here". If you can recognize a word as one of these, a ' should go where the missing letters used to be.
** Julia's eyes, Joe's burrito. When a Y belongs to X, you can say it is X's Y, with a '. '''EXCEPTION''': Pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, they, who, it). These guys are allergic to this use of ''[='s=]'', so they behave completely differently. Most of them even have two different words for "X's Y" and "The Y is X's", just to be confusing.
*** ''I'' → ''my'' burrito, the burrito is ''mine''
*** ''You'' → ''your'' burrito, the burrito is ''yours'' (''you're'' means ''you are''. ''Your's'' is not a word.)
*** ''He'' → ''his'' burrito, the burrito is ''his'' (''he's'' means ''he is'' or ''he has'')
*** ''She'' → ''her'' burrito, the burrito is ''hers'' (''her's'' is not a word)
*** ''We'' → ''our'' burrito, the burrito is ''ours'' (''our's'' is not a word)
*** ''They'' → ''their'' burrito, the burrito is ''theirs'' (''they're'' means ''they are''. ''Their's'' is not a word. ''There'' usually means a place.)
*** ''Who'' → ''whose'' burrito is it? Again I ask - the burrito is ''whose''? (''who's'' means ''who is'' or ''who has'')
*** ''it'' → ''its'' burrito, the burrito is ''its''. (This one is a very common pitfall, because ''its'' and ''it's'' [[CaptainObvious sound exactly the same]]. As long as you remember that ''it's'' is always short for ''it is'' or ''it has'', you'll be fine.)
** When in doubt, don't put the ' in.
