Punctuation
Upper and lower case
- The trend is to keep capital letters to a minimum as they interfere with the flow of the words.
- Use lower case when referring to: the media, the press, the state, the cabinet, the government etc.
- Use capital letters for public or religious holidays, e.g. Heritage Day
- It’s is the shortened form of ‘it is’
- Its refers to the possessive ‘pronoun form of the personal’
Comma
- Use commas as an aid to understanding when listing items.
- Don’t use a comma before “and”.
- Use a comma before “including”.
- Use a comma after “however”.
Apostrophe
- Generally indicates the possessive in the singular and s’ indicates the possessive in the plural.
- When indicating possession:
- Singular words get ‘s even if they end in –s (example: the boss’s desk)
- Plural words not ending in –s get ‘s (example: the network’s agreement)
- Plural words ending in – s get s’ (example: the mobiles’ ringtones)