The Joining and Separating Power of the Em Dash
Few punctuation marks are as divisive as the em dash. Used in place of commas, parentheses, or colons, the em dash (—) sets off a word or clause with added emphasis. It’s the longest of the dashes, and...
View ArticleEn Dashes from A–Z
You don’t hear as much about them as other dashes, but you’ve most likely seen them around. En dashes (–) can denote a range or connect the endpoints of a route. They can also show a contrast or...
View ArticleCustom-Made Descriptions with Hyphens
The shortest of the dashes, hyphens (–) link words and parts of words. They can connect prefixes or break up a word at the end of a line of text. They can also combine two or more words that describe a...
View ArticleStand Apart from the Crowd (with Parentheses)
Parentheses offset text that isn’t important to the meaning of a sentence. Things like extra information, clarifications, asides, or citations. The information inside the parentheses can be as short as...
View ArticleGettin’ Short and Sweet with Apostrophes
An apostrophe (’) can show possession or indicate that letters or numbers have been omitted. They can also indicate ownership. Possessive Nouns When a singular noun doesn’t end in S, you just need to...
View ArticleQuiz Yourself: How Many Emoji Can You Name?
Who are you, emoji? Emoji are everywhere. They’re all over your social media feeds, your mom likes to text them to you, and they’re even making their way into ads. You know and love them, and so do we....
View ArticleLet’s Pause and Talk About Commas
You’ve probably heard a lot of things about the comma. A comma (,) signifies a short pause in a sentence. It can also divide clauses or items in a list. It can be used to create division, or to improve...
View ArticleUnlock the Full Potential of Punctuation Marks
Punctuation marks have a lot of different uses. The period, question mark, and exclamation point are used to end sentences. The comma, semicolon, colon, and dash indicate a pause or break. Parentheses...
View ArticleFontastic: The History Behind the Top Fonts to Use on a Resume
The post Fontastic: The History Behind the Top Fonts to Use on a Resume appeared first on Everything After Z by Dictionary.com.
View ArticleWhat’s the #’s Real Name?
On Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, you tag your friends with the @ symbol and topics with the #. If you see something that says “#WordoftheDay,” the tweet or post has something to do with Word of the...
View ArticleDid You Just Interrupt . . . My Sentence?
What’s an interrupter? Interrupters—like this little guy right here—are squeezing into contemporary writing with increasing bravado. They’re often the goofy/sarcastic “wink-wink-nudge-nudge” asides...
View ArticleWhat Are Mr. And Mrs. Short For?
What are Mr. and Mrs. short for? History and etiquette tell us that Mister and Missus, known by the contractions Mr. and Mrs., are the proper ways to address men and women. Beneath the surface of these...
View ArticleGetting To Know The Em Dash
What is an em dash? The em dash is an incredibly versatile punctuation mark that can be used instead of parentheses, commas, colons, or quotation marks in a sentence. The em dash (—) sets off a word or...
View ArticleWhat’s The Difference Between “i.e.” And “e.g.”?
What’s the difference between i.e. and e.g.? They may be small, but their power to befuddle writers and speakers of the English language is mighty. The term i.e. is a shortening of the Latin expression...
View ArticleThe Irritating History of ALL CAPS
What’s up with ALL CAPS? You’re reading an email from a friend one morning, casually sipping a cup of joe, when all of a sudden, BAM. There it is. “I’ve been working WAY TOO MUCH lately, but I’m...
View ArticleOde To The Schwa
How do I love thee? Let me count the schwas. Not exactly what Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote in Sonnet 43 . . . but we like it all the same. Why? Because it finally pays tribute to the most frequent...
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