Ten basic grammar rules for Internet communication:

1. Punctuation is very important.

All sentences end with a period.

Sentences that are not yet ended, but need a quick break or change in tone, should have its segments separated with commas.

All questions must end with a question mark, okay?

Do not use more than one exclamation point at a time!

Two sentences with similar thoughts can be combined with a semicolon; it is okay to use a semicolon to connect two sentences with similar thoughts.

Just before informing me that all direct quotations should be preceded by a comma, my friend, Thomas, once told me, "Sentence-ending punctuation marks always go inside quotation marks!"

Commas are to be placed in front of the name of a person you are addressing, Erica.

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2. Use the proper form of a word. Following are the most commonly mis-used words:

"There" is a place. Examples include: Something is over there. He is standing over there.

"They're" is a contraction of the words "they are." Examples include: "They're here." "They're smarter after reading this document." Only use this word if you can instead say "they are."

"Their" shows ownership. Examples include: It is their mistake to use improper words.

"Two" is a number. Examples include: "There are two oranges on the table." "Two heads are better than one."

"Too" is a replacement for the word "also." Examples include: "He is coming, too." "Is it okay if Sally comes, too?"

"Too" is also an adverb, used to describe other describing words. Examples include: "He is driving too fast." "Errors with this word are much too common." Only use this word if it can be replaced by the word "also," or if it is helping to describe another descriptor.

"To" is used for every other situation in which the sound "to" is appropriate.

"It's" is a contraction of the words "it is." For example: "It's too bad they're not smarter." Only use this word if you can replace it with the phrase "it is." Contrary to popular belief, this word CAN NOT be used to show ownership.

"Its" shows ownership. For example: "Its skin was green!" This word is never to be used as a contraction of "It is." Do not use this word in place of the phrase "it is."



"You're" is a contraction of the phrase "you are." Only use this word if you may instead say "you are." For example: "You're a smart man." "You're more intelligent after reading this."

"Your" shows ownership. "It's your pen." "Your dog is wet." Do not use this word in place of the phrase "you are."

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3. It is the year 2006. Nearly every computer has some sort of spell-checking device. If you're releasing a document and you aren't sure that you spelled a word or two correctly, please consult your spell-check. There is no excuse for anybody to ever spell any word incorrectly.

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4. Intentionally spelling words incorrectly is not kool. It makes the English language very difficult to read. English is already the most complicated language in the world; it doesn't need any help becoming more difficult to understand.

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5. Numbers are not letters. Numbers are numbers. According to proper English, all numbers between zero through ninety-nine are to be spelled out; numbers from 100 and above should be typed with the number pad. Otherwise, numbers should only ever be typed when giving an address, giving a telephone number, when numbering a list, or if the number(s) is a part of a title or name. Th15 15 n0t 4 pr0p3r u53 0f number5.

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6. There are only three words in the English language that consist of a single letter. They are, in alphabetical order: "a," "I," and "O." Most people use "a" in a proper manner. "I" is to always be capitalized, and refers to one's self. "O" is only to be used in poetry and songwriting. For example, "O say can you see."

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7. USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IS CONSIDERED TO BE SHOUTING. If you MUST use certain words in ALL CAPITALS, only do it for EMPHASIS; A fully-capitalized word is EXCLUSIVELY to be used in place of italics.

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8. All sentences begin with a capital letter, unless the first word in that sentence is a proper noun with an incorrect grammatical spelling, such as "eBay," or "iTunes." Every proper noun must be capitalized in the English language. This includes the names of people, objects, or places. All language names are to be capitalized. Yes, even "French."

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9. Do not use run-on sentences.

An example of a run-on sentence is this: "If you read your sentences out loud and there is nowhere for any time to stop for a breath then you have created a run-on sentence and it is too long and it needs commas or it needs words taken out of it or it needs to be broken up into smaller sentences."

A corrected run-on sentence is this: "If you read your sentences out loud, and there is nowhere for any time to stop for a breath, then you have created a run-on sentence. It is too long, and it needs commas; or, it needs words taken out. Or, it needs to be broken up into smaller sentences.

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10. Unless you are using a mono-space typeface, there is only one space after a period. The reason two spaces were used in the past is because all characters' slugs in a typewriter were the same width; an "M" and a period took up the same amount of space on a page. To make sentences easier to read, the standard of putting two spaces at the end of a sentence was invented. Nearly all typefaces (fonts) now automatically include extra space after a period, so adding an extra space is redundant and a waste of a keystroke. (I will admit that this is a very difficult habit to break. While writing this document, I put two spaces at the end of over twenty sentences.)

Written by "Psycho" Andy R. Costello, Sept. 15, 2006