Part 7 (1/2)

3. The apostrophe indicates the omission of letters in dialect, in familiar dialogue, and in poetry.

That's 'ow 'tis.

'Twas ever thus.

When two words are practically made into one syllable, a thin s.p.a.ce may be put before the apostrophe, except that _don't_, _can't_, _won't_, and _shan't_ are consolidated. This use of a s.p.a.ce serves to distinguish between the possessive in _s_ and the contraction of _is_.

Where death 's abroad and sorrow 's close behind.

4. Figures expressing dates are often abbreviated, but it is not good general practice.

The boys of '61.

It happened in '14.

5. The apostrophe is used to form the plural of letters and figures.

Cross your t's and dot your i's.

Make 3's and 5's more plain.

Except in these cases the apostrophe is not a plural sign and should be so used only when it is intended to reproduce a dialect or colloquialism.

Wrong: All the Collins's were there.

Right: All the Collinses were there.

The final _ed_ of past tenses and past participles was formerly p.r.o.nounced as a distinct syllable, thus: _clos-ed_, _belov-ed_, and this p.r.o.nunciation continued in common use in poetry long after it was discontinued in prose. During this period of transition the modern p.r.o.nunciation was indicated by dropping the _e_ and using an apostrophe, thus: _clos'd_, _belov'd_. It is now understood that while the full spelling is to be used, the old p.r.o.nunciation is not to be used unless specially indicated by placing a grave accent over the _e_ of the last syllable, thus: _beloved_.

At the same period poets, especially, used an apostrophe to indicate a silent _e_ as in _ev'ry_, but the usage is now obsolete.

Such abbreviations as _Dep't_, _Gov't_, _Sec'y_, and the like, are objectionable in print. If such abbreviations are necessary it is better to use the forms _Dept._, _Govt._, _Secy._

THE HYPHEN

The hyphen is used to join compound words; to mark the division of a word too long to go entirely into one line; to separate the syllables of words in order to show p.r.o.nunciation; as a leader in tabular work. For this last purpose the period is to be preferred to any other mark in use. Tabular work without leaders is obscure and therefore objectionable.

QUOTATION MARKS

Quotation marks are signs used to indicate that the writer is giving exactly the words of another. A French printer named Morel used a comma in the outer margin to indicate a quoted line about 1550. About a century later another Frenchman, Menage, introduced a mark () resembling a double parenthesis but shorter. These marks were cast on the middle of the type body so that they could be reversed for use at either the beginning or the end of a quotation. The French have retained these signs as their quotation marks ever since.

When the English adopted the use of quotation marks, they did not take over the French marks, but subst.i.tuted two inverted commas at the beginning and two apostrophes at the end of the quoted paragraph. These marks are typographically unsatisfactory. They are weak and therefore hardly adequate to their purpose in aiding the understanding through the eye. Being cast on the upper part of the type body, they leave a blank s.p.a.ce below and thus impair the beauty of the line and interfere with good s.p.a.cing. Certain rules for the position of quotation marks when used with other marks are based upon these typographical considerations rather than upon logical considerations.

_Rules for the Use of Quotation Marks_

1. Every direct quotation should be enclosed in double quotation marks.