Study English Grammar » quotation

Know the Difference in Using ‘Site’, ‘Sight’ and ‘Cite’

Study English Grammar — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:03:58 +0000

‘Site’, ‘sight’ and ‘cite’ are three words that are pronounced the same, but have different spellings. This is why a lot of writers fail to find the difference between them and make mistakes in usage. If your job is concerned with writing, you should be flawless in grammar to make sure that the words you choose in a sentence are appropriate. Take a look at some of the commonly confused words.

‘Site’

‘Site’ refers to ‘place’ or ‘location’. So this means that you can substitute the word in a sentence where you use the words ‘location’ or ‘place’. An example would be, “The site for the new school has been selected”. The place or location could be a physical site or a location online in cyberspace. If you are talking about an entity on the internet, you can come across the word ‘website’, or its likes such as ‘web site’ or plain ‘site’. Another application of the word would be in the sentence, “The town planners have decided to choose the site for erecting the building”.

The things that can be indicated by the word ‘site’ is extensive. It m... Read more...

How to Use the Quotation Marks Perfectly

Study English Grammar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:12:53 +0000

If you want to write English you must have to learn the perfect use of the quotation marks. The sign goes thus—”———”. These marks are always used to enclose a saying of someone or something that is borrowed from somewhere else.

Generally quotation marks can be used when we quote someone word by word. We use the marks so that the words uttered by the man are kept intact. There is no change in the saying. There is no way to extort the saying of the speaker.

We can use the direct quotation marks when a sentence is already going on. Or the marks may be used from the very beginning when the speaker is saying something.

While discussing on the Romantic poets our teacher suddenly expressed,” Above all the Romantic period is the best period in the history of English Literature, I think.”

Our English teacher all on a sudden declared,” Romantic period is the best period in the history of English literature, I think.”

We can use the quotation... Read more...

How to Use Proofreaders Marks

Study English Grammar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:09:28 +0000

Suppose you have been burdened with the work of marking up a document. What would you do then? I think you have no other way than to use the proofreader’s specific marks. Nowadays the use of proofreading on the hard copy is a rare mater, still if you have to do it for your own sake or to edit some writing of someone you have to be too cautious to use the marks in a very standard fashion.

It seems that if someone reads and you proofread it is beer for you. You may locate the mistakes when someone reads it aloud. Your eyes may miss the mistakes but your ears can never prove wrong. Generally the proofreader’s marks are used in publishing houses and the world of business.

When you proofread you must take care of some things that are available at hand:

*a pencil or a red pen

*the matter that you have to proofread

*the list where the marks are inscribed

Actually a pen with red ink or a pencil is necessary to highlight the wrongs on the white sheet of paper. In his way you can highlight the wrongs to the writer or the man who i... Read more...

Six common mistakes in English writing

Study English Grammar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:15:37 +0000

Better English writing is becoming difficult nowadays and this is mainly because of the dropping of the English writing standards among the people. Nowadays, abbreviations are being used in messages and this has spilled over to the other areas of communication making the standard of English writing more and more worse. Better English writing is in danger and every day we are able to spot blatant mistakes being made in radio, television, pamphlets, newspapers, e-mail, websites and other areas as well. Mistakes in written English are carried over to the spoken English and the same is happening vice versa. Therefore, it is better to see that the following six common mistakes, which are generally committed by people in written English, are avoided.

Capitals letters: For emphasizing words, people are using capital letters in the middle of the sentences. Instead of using capital letters in the middle, it is better to use bold letters or color differentiation or larger fonts for emphasizing purpose.

Commas: As we all know, comma is a kind of p... Read more...

English Grammar – The Colon and Semicolon

Study English Grammar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:29:30 +0000

The semicolon is probably the most sophisticated punctuation device and is, therefore, well worth adding to your repertoire. First, however, we need to establish the difference between a colon and a semicolon. As you might imagine, it is sometimes the case that in attempting to use one of these devices students opt for the wrong one.

The colon

We can dispose of the colon fairly quickly. Whereas a semicolon is like a heavy-duty comma or surrogate full stop, a colon has a narrower role in Introducing a clause or word or list that amplifies, interprets, explains or reveals what has gone before. The context in which you are most likely to encounter it, and want to use it, is essentially as a substitute for the words ‘us follows’ or ‘that is’. For example:

Dickens wrote two semi-autobiographical novels: David Copperfield and Great Expectations.

The new team of four has just been announced: Short, Parker, Abbott and Cosgrove.

It is also used in the manner that we used it a couple of lines above, to introduce an indented quotation when you are writing, and also to introduce a quota... Read more...

Altering Quotations in Essay Writing

Study English Grammar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:28:16 +0000

There may be times when you need to add or alter words in a quotation, so that it will make sense in the context of your essay. For example, here we rave added a character’s name to help the quotation make sense: Malcolm muggeridge said that ‘[Macmillan] exuded a flavor of mothballs’. Square brackets are used around the interpolated matter. You might also need to alter a quotation if you are using a quotation with a lower-case letter at the [outset, but want to use it to start a sentence:

(T]he lady’s not for turning’ is just one example of Margaret Thatcher’s striking use of literary allusions for political ends.

Square brackets show that material has been added or altered. As we have noted above, ellipsis marks (three stops) have the opposite function, indicating an omission from a quotation:

a man … is so in the way in the house. (Elizabeth Gaskell)

If you want to omit a line or several lines from a poem you are quoting, you put an ellipsis at the end of the previous line before the omission, as in this example from Donne:

Busy old fooled, unruly sunne... Read more...