Strunk And White’S Elementary Rules Of Usage
Strunk and White’s Elementary Rules of Usage (and a Little More)
1. Form the possessi ve singular of nouns by adding ’ s.
Incorrect: Chucks’ friend, Jonas’ family, the witches malice
Correct: Chuck’s friend, Jonas’s family, the witch’s malice
2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a com m a after each term except the last.
Incorrect: Our flag is red, white and blue.
He is honest, energetic but headstrong.
He opened the letter, read it and wrote a note.
Correct: Our flag is red, white, and blue.
He is honest, energetic, but headstrong.
He opened the letter, read it, and wrote a note.
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions (unnecessary) between commas.
Incorrect: New York City where the United Nations is located is the largest city in America.
The best way to see a country unless you are pressed for time is to travel on foot.
The audience which had at first been indifferent became more and more interested.
Correct: New York City, where the United Nations is located, is the largest city in America.
The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.
The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became more and more interested.
Similar to enclosing parenthetic expressions between commas , you need to place a comma after a dependent clause or introductory phrase if it begins the sentence.
Incorrect: Since the early records of the city have disappeared the story of how it began remains
unknown.
Although the situation is perilous there is still one chance of escape.
Before eating dinner people need to wash their hands thoroughly.
Correct: Since the early records of the city have disappeared, the story of how it began remains
unknown.
Although the situation is perilous, there is still one chance of escape.
Before eating dinner, people need to wash their hands thoroughly.
If a parenthetic expression is preceded by a conjunction, place the first comma before the conjunction, not after it.
Incorrect: He saw us coming and, unaware that we had learned of his treachery, greeted us with
a smile.
Correct: He saw us coming, and unaware that we had learned of his treachery, greeted us with a
smile.
4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause. (run-on)
Incorrect: Jan went to the movies and out to dinner and Carl went to the bookstore and got
some coffee.
The situation is perilous but there is still one chance of escape.
Correct: Jan went to the movies and out to dinner, and Carl went to the bookstore and got some
coffee.
The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.
5. Do not join independent clauses with a comma or without proper punctuation . (comma-splice and run-on)
If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to
form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.
Incorrect: Paulsen’s books are entertaining they are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five we cannot reach town before dark.
Correct: Paulsen’s books are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
It is of course equally correct to write the above as two sentences each, replacing the semicolons by periods.
Correct: Paulsen’s books are entertaining. They are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.
If a conjunction is inserted, the proper mark is a comma.
Correct: Paulsen’s books are entertaining, for they are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.
6. Do not break sentences in two ; In other words, do not use periods for commas. (fragment)
Incorrect: I met them on a cruise several years ago. Coming home from Bermuda to Galveston.
He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world and lived in
half a dozen countries.
Correct: I met them on a cruise several years ago, coming home from Bermuda to Galveston.
He was an interesting talker, a man who had traveled all over the world and lived in
half a dozen countries.
It is permissible to make an emphatic word or expression serve the purpose of a sentence and to punctuate it accordingly:
Acceptable: Again and again he called out. No reply.
The writer must, however, be certain that the emphasis is warranted, and that he will not be suspected of a mere blunder in punctuation.
7. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation.
8. Use a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary.
9. The number of the subject determines the number of the verb ; the number of the antecedent determines the number of the pronoun.
Incorrect: John are going home.
John and Mary is going home.
Correct: John is going home.
John and Mary are going home.
Incorrect: Each student must meet with their advisor.
Correct but awkward: Each student must meet with his/her advisor.
Correct: All students must meet with their advisors.
10. Use the proper case of the pronoun.
Incorrect: They went with Dido and I to tour the Colosseum.
The family came to see David and I perform.
Correct: They went with Dido and me to tour the Colosseum.
The family came to see David and me perform.
11. The relationship between a word and the word or phrase that modifies it must be clear .
Incorrect: Walking back from the village, my wallet was lost.
A fine athlete and student, the coach honored the captain of the tennis team.
Revised: Walking back from the village, I lost my wallet.
The coach honored the captain of the tennis team, a fine athlete and student.
12. When using quotations, the period goes outside of the quotation mark and after the page number.
Incorrect: “Sarah walked down the street.” (5)
“Johnny cheated on his test in the 10th grade.” (47)
Revised : “Sarah walked down the street” (5).
“Johnny cheated on his test in the 10th grade” (47).
If the punctuation in the quotation is an exclamation mark or question mark, leave the punctuation inside of the quotation marks, but add a period after the page number in order to complete the sentence.
Incorrect: “The train was ridiculously fast” (83)!
“Do all rainbows end with a pot of gold” (90)?
Revised: “The train was ridiculously fast!” (83).
“Do all rainbows end with a pot of gold?” (90).
If the quotation includes dialogue, a third mark must be included around the spoken words while keeping the direct quote as a whole within the normal quotation marks .
Incorrect: “I love volleyball, Erica said” (30).
“Ben is such a cute boy, Lilly told Jessica” (35).
Correct: “‘I love volleyball,’ Erica said” (30).
“‘Ben is such a cute boy,’ Lilly told Jessica” (35).
***If there is confusion over quoting correctly, please refer to the Transactive Guide Packet for clarification***
13. Academic writing should be done in third-person .
Incorrect: Have you ever moved to another country? I think that could be one of the hardest
things that you could ever do.
Correct: Moving to another country can be one of the hardest experiences that a person can
have.
14. When writing about literature, present tense should be used.
Incorrect: She began by remembering the problem her father encountered at Immigration
when the officer pronounced Alvarez as Elbures. As a child, when she heard this, she was “too afraid” that her family “wouldn’t be let in if [she] corrected the man’s pronunciation” (Alvarez 28), so she kept this too herself.
Correct: She begins by remembering the problem her father encounters at Immigration when
the officer pronounces Alvarez as Elbures. As a child, when she hears this, she is “too afraid” that her family “wouldn’t be let in if [she] corrected the man’s pronunciation” (Alvarez 28), so she keeps this too herself.
Works Consulted
“The Fifth Deadly Sin: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers.” Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center.
2007. Hamilton College. 14 Nov. 2007 < ilton.edu/writing/sins/sin5. html>.
“The Seventh Deadly Sin: Committing Pet Peeves.” Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center.
2007. Hamilton College. 14 Nov. 2007 <ilton.edu/writing/sins/sin7. html>.
Strunk, William Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. Longman: New York,
2000.
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