The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
The colon also has certain functions of form: to follow the salutation of a formal letter, to separate hour from minute in a notation of time, and to separate the title of a work from its subtitle or a Bible chapter from a verse.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Join two independent clauses with a colon if the second interprets or amplifies the first.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
- Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
If a conjunction is inserted, the proper mark is a comma.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
It usually follows an independent clause and should not separate a verb from its complement or a preposition from its object.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Use a dash only when a more common mark of punctuation seems inadequate.
William Strunk JR. and E.B. White • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.