We (Edith Hope Fine and Judith Josephson) are the Grammar Patrol. Both of us taught for years and are now writers, with thirty plus books between us, including our two popular grammar guides, Nitty-Gritty Grammar and More Nitty-Gritty Grammar. For close to twenty years, we taught writing and grammar basics and now we blog about grammar for writers.

Heads up! Sharpen those number two pencils. Time for a pop quiz covering previous Grammar Patrol columns.

Puzzled? Click on the links to our 2013 blog posts with more info for each question.

Can you spot the errors in these sentences in less than a minute?

On your mark. Get set. Go!

1. Felix was the man who Oscar called.

Who or Whom? A Writer’s Dilemma

2. Your help means a lot to my friend and I.

Put Out a BOLO [Be on the Lookout] on Pronoun Agreement

3. My favorite show is “The Big Bang Theory.”

The Italics vs. Quotes Debate

4. Sign: Holiday Wreath’s, $10

Apostrophes: Flowers or Weeds?

5. Magazine Cover: Let the Caribbean Peak your Interest.

Going on Blooper Patrol

6. “I feel nauseous,” said LaVon, who overindulged on Thanksgiving.

A Baker’s Dozen of Word Switcheroos

7. A musician must practice their instrument.

Put out a Bolo [Be on the Lookout] on Pronoun Agreement

8. My sweet Jonathan can be a rebel rouser.

Idioms, Malapropisms and Other Funny Expressions

9. Romeo’s and Juliet’s romance was doomed.

Apostrophes: Flowers or Weeds?

10. Who made this song famous—“Hello Dolly?”

Quotation Mark Questions? Think Symphony Orchestra.

11. Galloping around the corner, the castle loomed on the hill.

Dangling Participial Phrases Can Cause Confusion

12. Luella was on a journey of self discovery to become more well-rounded.”

Hyphens: Part I and II

How did you do? (You’re not being graded!)

Here are the fixes for these common errors:

1. whom  2. me  3. Big Bang Theory (italicized)  4. wreaths  5. Pique (Tip: Check out peek, peak, pique.)  6. nauseated  7. his or her, depending on musician’s gender.  8. rabble  9. Romeo and Juliet’s  10. Dolly”? (Louis Armstrong)  11. A galloping castle? Rewrite: “. . . corner, I saw the castle looming. . .”  12. self-discovery, well rounded.

Win More Nitty Gritty Grammar

Good holidays to you all from the Grammar Patrol! For much, much more on these sticky wickets, see our in-depth A-Z grammar guide, More Nitty-Gritty Grammar. Rumor has it that Santa calls it a great stocking stuffer.

To win a free copy of More Nitty Grammar, enter the raffle by posting your quiz score  and listing the questions you missed in the comments section. If you earned 100%, post your score and a grammar blog post suggestion for 2014. Everyone will be entered and the winning number will be selected randomly by the Grammar Patrol. Entries due by Saturday, December 14. Winner will be contacted directly and announced on Tuesday, December 17.

We (Edith Hope Fine and Judith Josephson) are the Grammar Patrol. Both of us taught for years and are now writers, with thirty plus books between us, including our two popular grammar guides, Nitty-Gritty Grammar and More Nitty-Gritty Grammar. For close to twenty years, we taught writing and grammar basics and now we blog about grammar for writers.

In October, we covered some hyphen basics. This month, more hyphen tips.

More Hyphen Uses

• With the names of compound numbers from 21–99 and written fractions:

thirty-three                           eighty-seventh          five-eighths

six and two-thirds                fifty-four and three-fourths

• With numbers showing age or time:

ten-year-old spelling champ                      18- to 22-year-old undergraduates

two- to three-year period                            a 47-year marriage

• with highways and to designate aircraft:

I-805                F-16

Hyphens with Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives

•  If you’re thinking “action,” skip the hyphen. Make most compound verbs two words.

Back up your computer documents.

Pick up your room.

• Link the words in compound nouns and adjectives, either as a single word or with a hyphen.

Take this offramp [noun] for the off-road [adjective] rally.

You can borrow my pickup [noun] to haul the manure.

Provide backup [noun] for the back-up [adjective] team.

(While most dictionaries list the noun backup as a single word, a few recognize back-up. Just don’t use the two-word verb “back up” when you mean the noun. Write “The spy called for backup” (or back-up), not “The spy called for back up.”

(You’ll find more on two-word verbs like these, called phrasal verbs, in More Nitty-Gritty Grammar, page 131, including a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon!)

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We (Edith Hope Fine and Judith Josephson) are the Grammar Patrol. Both of us taught for years and are now writers, with thirty plus books between us, including our two popular grammar guides, Nitty-Gritty Grammar and More Nitty-Gritty Grammar. For close to twenty years, we taught writing and grammar basics and now we blog about grammar for writers.

In a variation of Will Shakespeare’s oft-quoted phrase, “To hyphenate or not to hyphenate?—that is the question.”

We’ve chatted before on this blog about hyphens versus em dashes (—) and en dashes (–). See  Ems and Ens for Writers Tuesday, May 1st, 2012.

This month we’ll focus on the little guys, hyphens.

Hyphens (-) link words together and can help avoid confusion.

“Running mate” needs no hyphen, but does as an adjective, as in “running-mate criteria.” The hyphen shows that “mate” goes with “running,” not “criteria.” Think smoke-free airport, self-help books, cell-phone plans.

When to Use Hyphens        

• With some prefixes, especially when the root word is capitalized:

self-discovery, ex-president, pre-Oscar party, pre-Jurassic era, mid-January

• With blended double surnames:

Ochoa-Roberts                       Greenfield-Martin

• With compound modifiers:

a can’t-miss putt                      a first-ever book contract

Alas, hyphens don’t always stick to the rules. Different current dictionaries recognize both mouthwatering (no hyphen) and mouth-watering (with hyphen) as adjectives. Work-release has a hyphen; workroom does not. Witch-hunt, yes. Witchcraft, no.  Go figure!

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