The Rules

Front 1

Is used at the end of a sentence or complete thought.

Back 1

Period Rule

Front 2

If the sentence ends with quotation marks this always goes inside the quotation mark.

Back 2

Period

Front 3

Is used at the end of each enumerated item

Back 3

period

Front 4

Use with single capitalized letters, with no space between

Back 4

Period

Front 5

Use as a decimal point, leave no space before or after

Back 5

Period

Front 6

used to separate words, phrases or clauses when the appear in a series (before the word and is not optional)

Back 6

Comma

Front 7

Always place inside quotation marks

Back 7

Comma

Front 8

Always place outside of parentheses

Back 8

Comma

Front 9

Use between two or more word that describe a following word when and is omitted

Back 9

Comma

Front 10

Use to set off a diagnosis which is followed by where it is

Back 10

Comma

Front 11

Use before the province or country when it follows a city name.

Back 11

Comma

Front 12

Use following the province or country

Back 12

Comma

Front 13

Can use to separate numbers into units of three

Back 13

Comma

Front 14

Use before the year if the month and day are included

Back 14

Comma

Front 15

Omit if only month and year are given

Back 15

Comma

Front 16

Use to separate the day of the week from the month

Back 16

Comma

Front 17

Use before connecting words in a compound sentence.

Back 17

Comma

Front 18

Is made up of two sentences that are joined by a FANBOY

Back 18

Compound sentence

Front 19

FOR, NOR, YET, SO, BUT, AND, OR

Back 19

FANBOYS

Front 20

Use after an introductory clause

Back 20

Comma

Front 21

Use to set of abbreviations that follow a persons name

Back 21

Comma

Front 22

Place before and after Latin abbreviations

Back 22

Comma

Front 23

Do not use to separate two units of the same dimensions

Back 23

Comma

Front 24

Use before the word which if the clause that follows is nonessential

Back 24

Comma

Front 25

Is additional or explanatory detail

Back 25

Nonessential clause

Front 26

If it can be omitted without changing the meaning it should be set off with

Back 26

Comma

Front 27

Interrupts the flow of a sentence

Back 27

Interruptive

Front 28

Must have punctuation on both sides

Back 28

However

Front 29

Used to connect two or more words which act as a compound adjective BEFORE a noun

Back 29

Hyphen

Front 30

If it is a metric unit do not use

Back 30

Hyphen

Front 31

If the number and abbreviated metric unit combine with additional words use

Back 31

Hyphen

Front 32

When a suffix or prefix is joined with an abbreviation

Back 32

Hyphen

Front 33

When there is a prefix before a proper noun

Back 33

Hyphen

Front 34

Used to join some compound nouns containing a number or single letter

Back 34

Hyphen (Check Dorlands)

Front 35

Use to form words beginning with self

Back 35

Hyphen

Front 36

Use to join words with like

when it is a proper noun

when word ends in a L or vowel

when word has 3 or more syllables

Back 36

Hyphen

Front 37

Use to join some prefixes ending in the same letter that the combining word contains

Back 37

Hyphen (Check Dorlands)

Front 38

Do not use after adverbs ending in ly

Back 38

Hyphen

Front 39

Use in a series of compound adjectives with a common base

Back 39

Hyphen

Front 40

Use for numbers 21 to 99 when they are spelled

Back 40

Hyphen

Front 41

Use to spell out fractions used before a noun

Back 41

Hyphen

Front 42

Use with the prefix great or suffix in-law

Back 42

Hyphen

Front 43

Do not use in family names

Back 43

Hyphen

Front 44

Use to form ex- compounds when ex- means former and proceeds a noun that can stand alone

Back 44

Hyphen

Front 45

Use with a noun to show possession

Back 45

's

Front 46

If possessive noun ends in s add this only

Back 46

Apostrophe

Front 47

Use when expressing a time span in a possessive phrase

Back 47

Apostrophe

Front 48

Is an indication of word in which letters are omitted

Back 48

Apostrophe

Front 49

Is a shortened form of a word or phrase

Back 49

Contraction

Front 50

Use should be avoided in technical material even if dictated

Back 50

Contraction

Front 51

Exception to using this is when dictator is expressing patients own words

Back 51

Contraction

Front 52

Use to form the plural of single letters, symbols, and abbreviations in lower case

Back 52

Apostrophe

Front 53

Do not use to form the plural of all-capital abbreviations

Back 53

Apostrophe

Front 54

Do not use to form plural of numbers

Back 54

Apostrophe

Front 55

Add to plural form plural of single numbers

Back 55

Apostrophe (3's)

Front 56

Do not use in abbreviated units of measure

Back 56

Plurals

Front 57

Preferred: Pott fracture

Accepted: Pott's fracture

Back 57

Eponymic terms