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Bulbanews:Manual of style: Difference between revisions
→Punctuation
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==Punctuation== | ==Punctuation== | ||
* Use a hyphen to connect related adjectives, such as 9-foot board, first-place finisher, 3-year-old girl. When linked adjectives are not related and not dependent upon each other to make sense, they require a comma, such as "the rusted, dull saw." | * Use a hyphen to connect related adjectives, such as 9-foot board, first-place finisher, 3-year-old girl. When linked adjectives are not related and not dependent upon each other to make sense, they require a comma, such as "the rusted, dull saw." | ||
* A sentence with one subject and two verbs does not need a comma. A sentence that is constructed with | * A sentence with one subject and two verbs does not need a comma. A sentence that is constructed with subject-verb and subject-verb does need a comma; for example: "{{p|Pikachu}} ate an apple and threw away the core," and "Pikachu ate an apple, and {{p|Pichu}} ate a pear." | ||
* | * News style dictates that in a series of words separated by commas, the final comma in the series should be omitted. This is contrary to conventional English-language style. For example, ''Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle'' is correct on Bulbanews, whereas ''Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle'' is not. | ||
* Never [[wp:comma splice|comma splice]], as in "Misty said being a Gym Leader is hard, her sisters give her plenty of trouble." Instead of the comma, you have three options: a conjunction ("because" is good in this case), making it two sentences, or using a semi-colon (the best choice in this case, but '''don't over-use it'''). | * Never [[wp:comma splice|comma splice]], as in "Misty said being a Gym Leader is hard, her sisters give her plenty of trouble." Instead of the comma, you have three options: a conjunction ("because" is good in this case), making it two sentences, or using a semi-colon (the best choice in this case, but '''don't over-use it'''). | ||
* Starting a direct quote requires its own paragraph. An indirect quote (paraphrasing what someone else said) directly related to the preceding sentence can be part of the same paragraph. Try to have paragraphs be no longer than six lines | * Starting a direct quote requires its own paragraph. An indirect quote (paraphrasing what someone else said) directly related to the preceding sentence can be part of the same paragraph. Try to have paragraphs be no longer than six lines. | ||
* The American use of punctuation within quotes is preferred to the less often-seen British usage. Punctuation at the end of a sentence is to be placed within the quotation marks, if applicable. Exceptions are colons, semi-colons | * The American use of punctuation within quotes is preferred to the less often-seen British usage. Punctuation at the end of a sentence is to be placed within the quotation marks, if applicable. Exceptions are colons, semi-colons and question marks that are not part of the quote. | ||
* Use a comma, not a period, when connecting a quote to a speech tag. It is not: "You do this right." he said. If the punctuation ending the quote is a ! or a ?, the pronoun is still lower-case, such as "You get it right!" he said. | * Use a comma, not a period, when connecting a quote to a speech tag. It is not: ''"You do this right." he said.' This is correct: ''"You do this right," he said.'' If the punctuation ending the quote is a ! or a ?, the pronoun is still lower-case, such as "You get it right!" he said. | ||
* Names of cities, when accompanied by a state or country name, should be followed by a comma. For example, ''In Tokyo, Japan, you can find lots of Pokémon fans.'' and ''The event will take place in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 17.'' | |||
==Usage== | ==Usage== | ||