Page:Handbook of style in use at the Riverside press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (IA handbookofstylei00riverich).pdf/37

 The Comma is used— Between chapter and verse in the citation of Scripture passages, using Roman numerals (small caps) for the chapter. Gen., 16-18; Luke , 4; '''Exod. , 22'''.

Inside the quotation marks, always.

Do not use a comma where and, or, and nor serve to connect the links in a brief and close-knit phrase. '''A man good and noble and true. I do not remember who wrote the stanza whether&mdash;it was Shelley or Keats or Moore.'''

Do not use a comma before a parenthesis or bracket, except in quoted matter.

The Apostrophe

Is used—

As the sign of the possessive case; is attached to nouns only, and never to the pronouns, his, hers, its, ours, or theirs. With nouns in the singular number and those in the plural not ending in s, the apostrophe precedes the s; as, boy’s glove, men’s manners. The apostrophe follows the s with plural nouns ending in s; as, boys’ skates. In forming the possessive case of proper nouns in the singular number ending in s, or the s sound, add the s, save in the few cases where the additional s makes an objectionable hissing sound; as, Moses’ law; Jesus’ death; for conscience’ sake; Adams’s works; Dickens’s sons. Use the apostrophe only in the ancient proper names ending in es; as, Ceres’ rites; Xerxes’ fleet; Aristides’ exile; Thucydides’ History.

To show the omission of figures in dates; as, the gold-seekers of ’49; the boys of ’61.

To mark the omission of a letter or letters in the contraction of a word. Use a 5-em space in such forms as it’s, ’tis, ’t was, ’twill, ’t would, he ’ll, I ’d, you ’d, etc.; but use no space where the apostrophe stands for the omission of a letter in the middle of a word, as, ain’t, can’t, don’t, shan’t, won’t.

In such phrases as, Cross your t’s; dot your i’s.

The Dash

Use an em dash with a colon or a comma, where quoted matter following begins a new paragraph, but not where the matter is run in.