Semicolons must combine similar elements and are either used to combine complete sentences or items in a long, complicated list. Use semicolons in the following situations: Combine two complete ...

When I was a kid, the “Do as I say, not as I do” school of parenting reigned supreme. Those adults lecturing children on the dangers of smoking? Smokers, one and all. Kids would get in big trouble for ...

An independent clause is basically a complete sentence; it can stand on its own and make sense. An independent clause consists of a subject (e.g. “the dog”) and a verb (e.g. “barked”) creating a ...

Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter. The little word “and,” we probably all know, is a conjunction. It connects things: “She is tall and thin” means she is ...

A sentence is a group of words that include a subject and verb, and usually expresses one complete thought. ‘Selena lives on the new space station’ is an example of a sentence. Sentences are made up ...

Hyphens are only used to combine certain words together. They are not strong enough to set off phrases or words from a sentence. Use hyphens in the following situations: Use in compound numbers and ...

An independent clause is a group of words that work by themselves as a sentence. When joining independent clauses, a common mistake is to use a comma or no punctuation. There are several solutions to ...