Pen Commandments 4 - Punctuation

This chapter is about how many punctuation marks?

• 5

• 10

• 11

• 17

William Zinsser is talking about which mark when he says "most people don't reach it soon enough" ?

• Period

• Comma

• Exclamation Mark

• Dash

How many spaces after a period if you're typing? [says Frank. Says me.]

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

The period is used in which of the following situations?

• end of a declarative sentence

• in abbreviations

• ellipses

• to connect two sentences

How do you know you need a comma?

• If you're Hemingway - Only when you have to.

• If you're Dickens, Austen, or White you can feel them

• If you're overeager - everywhere

• If you're unsure - skip it

Which punctuation mark does he rename "calm-a"?

• period

• comma

• semicolon

• question mark

The French call this "point- vergule" meaning period-comma (stronger than a comma but weaker than a period).

• period

• comma

• semi-colon

• ellipses

Frank suggests thinking of this punctuation mark like a pair of binoculars - to focus the reader's eyes on something important.

• period

• comma

• semi colon

• colon

This mark has the following varieties: aside, defining, example, emphatic, & dialogue.

• ellipses

• dash

• comma

• parenthesis

These marks are like drawers inside a sentence.

• dashes

• parentheses

• question marks

• apostrophes