LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 



123 



Example. Has the air weight ? Air has weight; do 

 you not believe it ? You thought it would rain, eh ? 



An interrogation inclosed in parentheses de- 

 notes doubt. 



/'.iinnplc, Your friend (?) told me this. 



THE EXCLAMATION POINT should be placed 

 after every exclamatory sentence, member, 

 clause, and expression. 



Examples. How disgusting is vice! Life is short; 

 how careful we should be to use it aright ! For shame ! 



An exclamation point placed in parentheses 

 denotes peculiar surprise. 



A DASH is usually placed before the answer 

 to a question when both are in the same para- 

 graph. 



/:'KI tuple. Are you acquainted with the defendant? 

 lam. 



A dash is often used in place of the paren- 

 theses. 



Example. With a firm step for he was brave he 

 advanced. 



Use the dash where there is an omission of 



such words as, namely, that is, as, introducing 



equivalent expressions and when letters or 



figures are omitted. 



Example. " Some wit has divided the world into two 



classes the wise and the otherwise." General M 



was present. 



Use the dash when there is a sudden transi- 

 tion. 



Example. We have learned the bitter lesson let us 

 bury the past. 



PARENTHESES. Marks of Parenthesis are 

 used to inclose words which explain, modify, 

 or add to the main proposition, when so in- 

 troduced as to break the connection between 

 dependent parts and interfere with the har- 

 monious flow. 



Example. The Saxons (for they descended from the 

 ancient Sacse) retained for centuries the energy and 

 morality of their ancestors. 



BRACKETS. Brackets are used principally 

 ,in quoted passages, to inclose words improperly 

 omitted or added byway of correction, observa- 

 tion, or explanation. 

 Example. She is weary with [of] life. 



In regard to the use of points before and 

 after the brackets, and the punctuation of any 

 sentence or clause within the brackets, the 

 same rules apply that have been given in re- 

 gard to the marks of parenthesis. 



THE APOSTROPHE denotes the omission of a 



letter or letters, and the possessive case of nouns. 



Examples. ' Tis for it is ; e'en for even ; don't for do 



not ; o'clock for on [the] clock. So in the possessive : 



hero's, Charles', men's, heroes', children's. 



Pronouns never take the apostrophe in the 

 possessive case. 



THE HYPHEN is used to connect the elements 

 of a compound word, when each retains its 

 own accent. 

 Example.^ Castle-builder, father-in-law. 



The hyphen is also used after a complete 

 syllable at the end of a line, to connect the 

 parts of a divided word ; also to denote that 



the final vowel of a prefix does not form a 

 diphthong with the first vowel of a primitive ; 

 but in this latter case a mark of diaeresis is 

 more appropriate. 



Example. Pre-engagement, re-establish [preengage- 

 ment, reestablish.] 



QUOTATION POINTS are used to inclose 

 words quoted from an author or speaker, or rep- 

 resented in narrative as employed in dialogue. 

 Example. " Remember now thy Creator in the days 

 of thy youth." 



When the substance mert-ly is given, and 

 not the exact words, quotation points are un- 

 necessary. 



Matter within quotation points is to be 

 punctuated just as if it stood in any other 

 position. 



When quotation points are needed at the end 

 of a sentence, they come after whatever other 

 point is required there if this point applies to 

 the quotation alone, but before this point if it 

 applies to the whole sentence and not ex- 

 clusively to the quotation. 



Example. Pilate asked, "What is truth?" Where 

 now is the "man of destiny"? 



When a quotation incloses within it another 

 quotation, the external quotation has the 

 double marks, and the one included has only 

 the single marks. 



Example. It has been well said, "The command, 

 'Thou shalt not kill,' forbids many crimes besides that 

 of murder." 



If the inclosed or secondary quotation ends 

 a sentence, three apostrophes will there come 

 together, of which the first will belong to the 

 inclosed quotation, and the other two to the 

 original. When an inclosed quotation itself 

 contains words or phrases that are quoted, 

 those words or phrases have the double marks. 



Example. " French says, 'What a lesson the word 

 ' ' diligence ' ' contains !" ' 



When the sentence becomes more involved 

 than this, the additional marks of quotation 

 would create confusion, and may therefore be 

 omitted. 



THE PARAGRAPH is used to indicate a new 

 subject of remark. The sign is retained in 

 the Holy Scripture but in ordinary composi- 

 tion is indicated to the eye by beginning a lit- 

 tle to the right of the marginal line of the page. 



ACCENT MARKS are used to denote the 

 proper pronunciation of words. They are : 



The Acute [ ' ], which marks the syllable 

 which requires the principal stress in pronun- 

 ciation ; or to denote a rising inflection of the 

 voice, or a close or short vowel. 



The Grave [ v ] is used in opposition to the 

 acute to distinguish an open or long vowel, or 

 to denote the falling inflection of the voice. 



The Circumflex [ " ] generally denotes a 

 broad sound or a combination of the acute 

 and grave. 



