Periods and Commas and Colons, Oh My!

As with previous such articles, we're not going to try and teach you every every single rule of punctuation. However, we do see a lot of badly punctuated submissions and hopefully we can provide you with some basics.

This article focuses on American standards, since TV.com is an American-based web site and the majority of our users use American standards of punctuation. In some cases American and British punctuation rules (as well as those of other countries) vary and sometimes one rule in British is the opposite in American. Submissions shouldn't be rejected simply because a different country's set of rules are used, but contributors should try and match the rules of the show or star's country of origin if possible. Making edits to existing entries simply to change from one set of rules to another usually isn't necessary.

In general

Ignore these rules for title and enter them as shown. Thus if the title of the episode is "The Tomb of St Peter" please use that.

A space goes after most punctuation.

Bad: Why people forget this,we don't know,but check every submission you make.Please.
Good: Why people forget this, we don't know, but check every submission you make. Please.

Periods

Periods go at the ends of sentences.

We can't stress this enough as we receive dozens of submissions each day that don't have a period at the end. Why people forget this, we don't know, but check every submission you make and unless some other punctuation issue is involved, put a period at the end of each sentence.

In American usage, periods are used at the end of abbreviations: Mr., Mrs., St., Ave., etc.

Commas

There are a lot of rules for commas, but here are some of the basics.

1) Typically use commas after items in a series, except for the the last two items.

Some guides say to put in a comma after the second-to-last item as well, but this is typically only necessary for clarity if each item is made up of multiple words or items have individual punctuation. Submissions shouldn't be rejected if the comma is included after the second-to-last item, and such a comma doesn't need to be removed or added when editing, but the overall rule of putting in commas to separate items should be followed.

Good: Wendy Wu has black belts in karate, judo and jiu-jitsu.
Good: We went bowling, walked to the theater, had dinner and a show, and watched a DVD. (an example of when a comma after the second-to-last item is necessary)

2) Use commas to separate items in dates and addresses.

Use commas in dates and addresses, as in the following examples:

Good: The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
Good: Greg was born on October 10, 1967, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Good: Our old address was 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Springfield, Ohio.

3) Use commas to set off names and titles used in direct address.

Contributors miss this all the time. The best way to check this is to sound it out in your head or out loud. The sentence will sound very awkward if you don't insert a pause, a pause indicated by the comma(s).

Bad: Lizzie you're my best friend.
Good: Lizzie, you're my best friend.
Good: If I were you, Dad, I'd extend my curfew an hour. (Sounding this out and saying "If I were you Dad I'd extend my curfew" makes it sound like a run-on sentence.)

4) Use a comma after an introductory phrase.

A short phrase that introduces the main idea of the sentence is called an introductory phrase. An introductory phrase is followed by a comma.

Good: Before you leave, make sure to complete the operation.
Good: To make sure I passed, I studied each question before marking an answer.
Good: After Bill was declared innocent in Los Angeles, he moved to Getaway.

5) Use a comma before the conjunction in a compound sentence.

When the second part of a compound sentence starts with and, but, nor, or, so, for, or yet, use a comma before the conjunction that connects the second simple sentence to the first one.

Good: Lassie can do a somersault in the air, and Garfield can do a backflip into the pool.
Good: It's hard to believe animals on TV can do these tricks, but I actually saw them.

6) Use commas to set off descriptive phrases.

Groups of words that describe nouns or pronouns are set off by commas.

Good: The owner of Sam's Meat Locker, the guy with the brown hair, drives a limousine.
Good: The Ratzenberger Art Museum, founded in 1982, displays African, European and Asian paintings.

Semicolons

Use a semicolon to connect independent clauses (complete thoughts) that are closely related. To create a compound sentence, you can use a semicolon to connect two closely related sentences. If either part can't stand as a complete sentence by itself, do not use a semicolon to join them. Also, do not use a semicolon with conjunctions such as and, but, yet, or, for, so, and yet. Bad Example: The Panthers lost the game by 32 points, we are very sad about it.

Bad: The Panthers lost the game by 32 points; and we are very sad about it.

Good: The Panthers lost the game by 32 points. We are very sad about it.
Good: The Panthers lost the game by 32 points; we are very sad about it.
Good: The Panthers lost the game by 32 points, and we are very sad about it.

Colons

Use a colon to introduce a list or to call attention to information that follows. Capitalize the first word following a colon only if it is a proper noun or the first word of a complete sentence.

Good: You may want to check out books by these science fiction writers: Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison. (list)
Good: He predicted the outcome long before the football game started: The team would win by a field goal. (complete sentence)
Good: The boys were on a mission: ride every horse in the barn. (calling attention)

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Next time: Apostrophes, Hyphens and Quotation Marks, Oh My!

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Previous columns:

Write Like You Talk
Sourcing Your Material
Know Your Capitals!
A Matter of Timing
Soundalikes and You