Q. I am a little confused about how to properly use an em dash in the case of independent clauses. I thought that it should not be used to join two independent clauses, but I see it used this way all the time, and there is nothing definitive about its use in this instance in your book. Here’s an example: This plan isn’t like other diets—in fact, it’s not a diet at all. Please help me settle this issue once and for all!
A. There is no rule against joining two independent clauses with an em dash. The em dash may be used in almost any syntax where a break is needed.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I wrote a report at work, and whenever I wrote a sentence such as “Most businesses pay taxes monthly, however, some small businesses pay taxes quarterly,” the sentence was changed to “Most businesses pay taxes monthly. However, some small businesses pay taxes quarterly.” Is this correct?
A. It’s fine to use however in the middle of a sentence (“In the morning, however, I like to have coffee”). But you used however to join two sentences: (1) “Most businesses pay taxes monthly” and (2) “some small businesses pay taxes quarterly.” Your editor was correct to separate them properly. The editor could also have chosen to join your sentences with a semicolon or dash: “Most businesses pay taxes monthly; however, some small businesses pay taxes quarterly.” Please see CMOS 5.204 and 6.57.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When using an ellipsis in a quotation that contains a full sentence and then deletes some of the next sentence, do you use a period at the end of the full sentence followed by a space and the three dots? Then do you capitalize the first word of the next sentence and do you bracket the first letter to show it was not capitalized?
A. That’s right, assuming that what follows the ellipsis is a grammatically complete sentence despite the omission. Please note that it’s usually not necessary to bracket the newly capped letter. Do that only if you are quoting in a legal or scholarly context that lends significance to the changed case. You can see an example of this at CMOS 13.53, where the changed cap is not noted with brackets.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If a sentence is a question and ends with a quote which is not a question, should a question mark be used, and if so, where should it be placed?
A. Put a sentence-ending question mark outside the quoted statement: Can you believe he said “I like your face-lift”?
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I can’t find any reference in CMOS 16 to how odds should be punctuated.
A. Odds are ratios. Ratios may be expressed in numerals with a colon and no spaces or with numbers spelled out or not according to the guidelines in chapter 9:
The odds are 451:1.
The odds are 3:2.
The odds are 451 to 1.
The odds are three to two.
[Update: CMOS 17 covers this in paragraph 9.58.]
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Please help our editorial team settle a debate! Our query concerns this paragraph:
Students might offer many different explanations, such as “Selma has 3 groups of __.” or “John has __. Selma has 3 times as many.”
Is it fine to keep the period at the end of the first example when it is followed by an or and then another example? Thank you.
A. This isn’t a good idea. A period so strongly signals the end of a sentence that there are few times you can get away with one in the middle. If you have room to set the examples on separate lines, they would be more readable:
Students might offer many different explanations, such as
Selma has 3 groups of __.
John has __. Selma has 3 times as many.
If you must run in the examples, you might set them in another font or color or in curly brackets:
. . . such as {Selma has 3 groups of __.} or {John has __. Selma has 3 times as many.}.
Note the period after the closing bracket at the end of the sentence.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In this example {The stationery is described in John R. MacArthur’s book The Selling of “Free Trade,” p. 217}, is it right for the quotes that apply only to “Free Trade” to fall after the comma? And if so, should the comma revert to roman but the quotes remain in italics?
A. Commas always go inside the quotation marks. Punctuation is formatted to match the surrounding text, so a comma that falls within an italic title should also be italic.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If I am making a direct quotation and using the author-date references, the reference is supposed to go within the sentence before the period. But what if the quotation is at the end of the sentence? Do I use two periods? E.g.: Carrington, a Thatcherite conservative, remarked after the Lancaster House agreement in 1979 that “if any man left Lancaster House transformed in the eyes of Western statesmen, it was Mugabe.” (Chan 2003, 14).
A. The rule stays the same—keep the citation within the sentence, before the period: Carrington, a Thatcherite conservative, remarked after the Lancaster House agreement in 1979 that “if any man left Lancaster House transformed in the eyes of Western statesmen, it was Mugabe” (Chan 2003, 14). The presence of a question mark or exclamation mark at the end of the quotation doesn’t change the need for a period after the citation: Did Carrington say that “it was Mugabe”? (Chan 2003, 14).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. A colleague has sent me your about-face from the 15th edition regarding punctuation following italicized words, and I am speechless. I’m afraid I’ll have to look for a new authority on style, because this decision is so vile, and makes text look so absolutely horrible that I refuse to follow the change. What’s next? Putting commas and periods outside quotation marks? You may as well go that route as well; it looks better than having a roman question mark or exclamation point after an italicized word. What’s wrong with you? Why couldn’t you leave well enough alone? Absolutely irrational, horrible decision. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Q. I know semicolons are mandated for complicated lists. But is a complicated list defined only as a list containing commas within the items in the list?
A. Although items in a complicated series may well contain commas, the items can be complicated in other ways—for instance, they might have dashes or parentheses or a series of nouns connected by and or or.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]