1. "Fewer" vs.

"Less"
Countable objects

2. Dangling Modifiers
These are ambiguous, adjectival clauses at the beginning or end of sentences that often don't
modify the right word or phrase.
For example, if you say, "Rotting in the refrigerator, our office manager threw the fruit in the
garbage." The structure of that sentence implies your office manager is a zombie trapped in a
chilly kitchen appliance.

Make sure to place the modifying clause right next to the word or phrase it intends to
describe. The correct version reads, "Our office manager threw the fruit, rotting in the
refrigerator, in the garbage."

THE COMMA

1. Use a comma before any coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so,
yet) that links two independent clauses.
Example: "I went running, and I saw a duck."
You may need to learn a few grammatical terms to understand this one.
An independent clause is a unit of grammatical organization that includes both a subject and
verb and can stand on its own as a sentence. In the previous example, "I went running" and
"I saw a duck" are both independent clauses, and "and" is the coordinating conjunction that
connects them. Consequently, we insert a comma.

If we were to eliminate the second "I" from that example, the second clause would lack a
subject, making it not a clause at all. In that case, it would no longer need a comma: "I went
running and saw a duck."

2. Use a comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence.

Example: "When I went running, I saw a duck."
A dependent clause is a grammatical unit that contains both subject and verb but cannot
stand on its own, like "When I went running ..."
Commas always follow these clauses at the start of a sentence. If a dependent clause ends the
sentence, however, it no longer requires a comma. Only use a comma to separate a
dependent clause at the end of a sentence for added emphasis, usually when negation occurs.

3. Use commas to offset appositives from the rest of the sentence.

Appositives act as synonyms for a juxtaposed word or phrase. For example, "While running, I
saw a mallard, a kind of duck." "A kind of duck" is the appositive, which gives more
information about "a mallard."
If the appositive occurs in the middle of the sentence, both sides of the phrase need a
comma. As in, "A mallard, a kind of duck, attacked me."
Don't let the length of an appositive scare you. As long as the phrase somehow gives more
information about its predecessor, you usually need a comma.
"A mallard, the kind of duck I saw when I went running, attacked me."
4. Use commas to separate items in a series.

For example, "I saw a duck, a magician, and a liquor store when I went running."

That last comma, known as the serial comma, Oxford comma, or Harvard comma, causes
serious controversy. Although many consider it unnecessary, others, insist on its use to
reduce ambiguity.

There's an Internet meme that demonstrates its necessity perfectly. The sentence, "We
invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin," means the speaker sent three separate invitations:
one to some strippers, one to JFK, and one to Stalin. The version without the Oxford comma,
however, takes on an entirely different meaning, potentially suggesting that only one
invitation was sent — to two strippers named JFK and Stalin. Witness: "We invited the
strippers, JFK and Stalin."

5. Use a comma after introductory adverbs.

"Finally, I went running."
"Unsurprisingly, I saw a duck when I went running."
Many adverbs end in "ly" and answer the question "how?" How did someone do something?
How did something happen? Adverbs that don't end in "ly," such as "when" or "while,"
usually introduce a dependent clause, which rule number two in this post already covered.
Also insert a comma when "however" starts a sentence, too. Phrases like "on the other hand"
and "furthermore" also fall into this category.

6. Use a comma when attributing quotes.

The rule for where the comma goes, however, depends on where attribution comes.
If attribution comes before the quote, place the comma outside the quotations marks. The
runner said, "I saw a duck."
If attribution comes after the quote, put the comma inside the quotation marks. "I saw a
duck," said the runner.

7. Use a comma to separate each element in an address. Also use a comma after a
city-state combination within a sentence.
"I work at 257 Park Ave. South, New York, N.Y. 10010."
"Cleveland, Ohio, is a great city."

8. Also use a comma to separate the elements in a full date (weekday, month and
day, and year). Also separate a combination of those elements from the rest of the sentence
with commas.
"March 15, 2013, was a strange day." Even if you add a weekday, keep the comma after
"2013."

"Friday, March 15, 2013, was a strange day."

"Friday, March 15, was a strange day."
You don't need to add a comma when the sentence mentions only the month and year.
"March 2013 was a strange month."
9. Use a comma when the first word of the sentence is freestanding "yes" or
"no."
"Yes, I saw a duck when I went running."
"No, the duck didn't bite me."

10. Use a comma when directly addressing someone or something in a sentence.

My editor often asks, "Christina, is that article up yet?"
Another clever meme shows the problem with incorrect placement of this comma. "Stop
clubbing baby seals" reads like an order to desist harming infant mammals of the seal
variety. The version with a comma, however, instructs them to stop attending hip dance
clubs. "Stop clubbing, baby seals."

11. Use a comma between two adjectives that modify the same noun.
For example: "I saw the big, mean duck when I went running."
Only coordinate adjectives require a comma between them. Two adjectives are coordinate if
you can answer yes to both of these questions: 1. Does the sentence still make sense if you
reverse the order of the words? 2. Does the sentence still make sense if you insert "and"
between the words?
Since "I saw the mean, big duck " and "I saw the big and mean duck" both sound fine, you
need the comma.
Sentences with non-coordinate adjectives, however, don't require a comma. For example, "I
lay under the powerful summer sun." "Powerful" describes "summer sun" as a whole phrase.
This often occurs with adjunct nouns, a phrase where a noun acts as an adjective describing
another noun — like "chicken soup" or "dance club."

12. Use a comma to offset negation in a sentence.

For example: "I saw a duck, not a baby seal, when I went running."
In this case, you still need the comma if the negation occurs at the end of the sentence. "I saw
a baby seal, not a duck."
Also use commas when any distinct shift occurs in the sentence or thought process. "The
cloud looked like an animal, perhaps a baby seal."

THE SEMI-COLON
1. To help separate items in a list, when some of those items already contain commas.

Let’s look at an example, as that is the easiest way to understand this use of the semicolon.
Suppose I want to list three items that I bought at the grocery store:

● apples
● grapes

pears
In a sentence, I would separate these items with commas:

I bought apples, grapes, and pears.

Now suppose that the three items I want to list are described in phrases that already contain
some commas:

● shiny, ripe apples

● small, sweet, juicy grapes

firm pears
If I use commas to separate these items, my sentence looks like this:

I bought shiny, ripe apples, small, sweet, juicy grapes, and firm pears.
That middle part is a bit confusing—it doesn’t give the reader many visual cues about how
many items are in the list, or about which words should be grouped together. Here is where
the semicolon can help. The commas between items can be “bumped up” a notch and turned
into semicolons, so that readers can easily tell how many items are in the list and which
words go together:

I bought shiny, ripe apples; small, sweet, juicy grapes; and firm pears.

2. To join two sentences.

An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own (independently)—it is a
complete sentence. Semicolons can be used between two independent clauses. The
semicolon keeps the clauses somewhat separate, like a period would do, so we can easily tell
which ideas belong to which clause. But it also suggests that there may be a close relationship
between the two clauses—closer than you would expect if there were a period between them.
Let’s look at a few examples. Here are a few fine independent clauses, standing on their own
as complete sentences:
I went to the grocery store today. I bought a ton of fruit. Apples, grapes, and pears were on
sale.
Now—where could semicolons fit in here? They could be used to join two (but not all three)
of the independent clauses together. So either of these pairs of sentences would be okay:

I went to the grocery store today; I bought a ton of fruit. Apples, grapes, and pears were all
on sale.
OR
I went to the grocery store today. I bought a ton of fruit; apples, grapes, and pears were all on
sale.
I could NOT do this:

I went to the grocery store today; I bought a ton of fruit; apples, grapes, and pears were all on
sale.
But why would I want to use a semicolon here, anyway? One reason might have to do with
style: the three short sentences sound kind of choppy or abrupt. A stronger reason might be
if I wanted to emphasize a relationship between two of the sentences. If I connect “I bought a
ton of fruit” and “Apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale” more closely, readers may
realize that the reason why I bought so much fruit is that there was a great sale on it.
The Colon

1. To announce, introduce, or direct attention to a list, a noun or noun phrase, a

quotation, or an example/explanation. You can use a colon to draw attention to many
things in your writing. The categories listed below often overlap, so don’t worry too much
about whether your intended use of the colon fits one category perfectly.

Lists/series example:

We covered many of the fundamentals in our writing class: grammar, punctuation, style, and
voice.
Noun/noun phrase example:

My roommate gave me the things I needed most: companionship and quiet.

Quotation example:

Shakespeare said it best: “To thine own self be true.”

Example/explanation example: Many graduate students discover that there is a dark side to
academia: late nights, high stress, and a crippling addiction to caffeinated beverages.
2. To join sentences. You can use a colon to connect two sentences when the second
sentence summarizes, sharpens, or explains the first. Both sentences should be complete,
and their content should be very closely related. Note that if you use colons this way too
often, it can break up the flow of your writing. So don’t get carried away with your colons!

Example: Life is like a puzzle: half the fun is in trying to work it out.

Common colon mistakes

1. Using a colon between a verb and its object or complement

Example (incorrect):The very best peaches are: those that are grown in the great state of
Georgia.
To correct this, simply remove the colon.

2. Using a colon between a preposition and its object

Example (incorrect): My favorite cake is made of: carrots, flour, butter, eggs, and cream
cheese icing.
To correct this, simply remove the colon.

3. Using a colon after “such as,” “including,” “especially,” and similar phrases.
This violates the rule that the material preceding the colon must be a complete thought.
Look, for example, at the following sentence:
Example (incorrect): There are many different types of paper, including: college ruled, wide
ruled, and plain copy paper.
You can see that “There are many different types of paper, including” is not a complete
sentence. The colon should simply be removed.