Punctuation

The rules for these little marks are really straightforward:

• To indicate contraction:  It’s [It is] a pity that people don’t [do not] care about apostrophes.
• To show possession (in nouns, not pronouns): The editor’s lament for singular; The editors’ lament for plural.

Note that in academic work, contractions are generally not acceptable.  Therefore, as academic editors you will only need to concern yourself with possessive apostrophes.

The most common pair of errors is to leave out an apostrophe where it is needed but put one in where it is not.

The famous “greengrocers’ apostrophe” is named in their honour of a group of people widely believed to be the worst offenders.  Although they are not the only ones who chronically misuse apostrophes, greengrocers take most of the blame. For example, apostrophes have been wrongly placed in these simple plurals:  Apple’s, pear’s, avocado’s. The iron rule here is: Simple plurals never need an apostrophe.

Look at a word and see whether it is a contraction or a possessive and then apply the apostrophe accordingly. If the word is neither of these things, do not use an apostrophe.

These incorrect usages are common: Nacho’s, taco’s. Be brave – go apostrophe-less in these cases: Nachos, tacos

The following will have to be edited as they are incorrect:

• The childrens playground
• The babies bibs
• The cats whiskers

Note that in their original, unpunctuated, form it is not always possible to determine whether what is being referred to is singular or plural. Therefore, as editor you will need to know the meaning before you can apply the apostrophes.

The children’s playground. In this case, there is only one possible answer, since the word “children” is already plural and you do not need a comma to indicate plurality.

The correct way to punctuate these will depend on whether there is one or more baby, or one or more cat:

• The baby’s bibs/The babies’ bibs
• The cat’s whiskers/The cats’ whiskers

Take note of the difference in plural and singular here too:

• “Two years’ jail.”
• “One week’s notice.”
• Names ending in “s” can cause some confusion. “Alan Jones’ show” or should it be: “Alan Jones’s show”

This is more a style issue than a correctness issue.  A book called Pythagoras’ Trousers eschewed the extra “s”, but just as often you will see Pythagoras’s Theorem, or Keats’s poem or Achilles’s heel.

Choose your favoured style and stick with it.

You will need to contend with some other style issues as well.  Modern Australian style dictates that you do not use an apostrophe in the 1970s or to show the plural of acronyms such as QCs or MPs. Here, just a lower case “s” is sufficient – it keeps it simple and elegant. If you are writing, for example, the ’70s, you do need to show the omission of the first part of the year.

Sometimes applying the possessive apostrophe is not the best choice, and you are better off going adjectival.  For example:

• “Melbourne citizens”
• “Melbourne’s citizens”

The first is the adjectival form and the second possessive. Sometimes the adjectival form is more graceful than the possessive form.

Possessive pronouns such as its, his, hers, ours, theirs, yours have a different rule to nouns. These words never have an apostrophe. For example: “The cat chased its tail.”

The possessive pronoun its does not require an apostrophe. When you see the word its ask yourself if it is a contraction, in which case it must have an apostrophe, or whether it is simply possessive, in which case there is no apostrophe.

Confusion over commas is more understandable than over apostrophes. The rules for apostrophes are clear-cut, but the rules for commas are not.

Commas are used to separate ideas in a sentence and to otherwise make meaning clear. They are intended to provide natural pauses within a sentence, to regulate the rhythm of the sentence in ways that assist meaning.

The trend in standard Australian English is to cut down on the use of commas where possible. However, bear in mind that commas can change the meaning of a sentence:

1. The researchers, who liked to talk, were appointed to the committee.
2. The researchers who liked to talk were appointed to the committee.

The first sentence indicates that all researchers appointed liked to talk, while the second indicates that only those researchers who liked to talk were appointed.

The semi-colon joins clauses in a complex sentence, when it may be used to substitute for a conjunction. That is one of its main functions, along with separating elements of a list.

This punctuation mark is not interchangeable with the comma.

Here is an example of it being used to stand in for a conjunction: “Aldous Huxley’s works are thought-provoking; they are full of engaging ideas.”

A semi-colon may also be used as a way of separating two thoughts in a compound sentence.  For example: “The defence team failed to convince the jury; however, the judge issued a suspended sentence.”

Another way of expressing this information would be in two separate sentences. However, wanting the two facts to be placed together is a good way of creating a strong bond between the two pieces of information.

A colon informs the reader that what follows proves and explains, or simply provides elements of, what is referred to before.  For example: “The system is designed to be secure:  a user cannot access it without two different user names and four passwords.”

Colons are also used to introduce a list.

Inverted commas or quotation marks do have a number of possible styles.

As always when editing, consistency is important. If you prefer, say, single quotation marks then make sure that is what you always use. Familiarise yourself with journal style guides. Some insist on single quote marks, others on double.

Also, different styles are possible for quotes within quotes.  For example, this sentence shows a common style in journals: She said, “I think George Orwell is right when he says ‘Writers have an ethical responsibility to communicate clearly’.

However, were you writing this sentence for a book, it is likely that it would appear with the quotation marks in the opposite positions: She said, ‘I think George Orwell is right when he says “Writers have an ethical responsibility to communicate clearly”.’