Should I put a hyphen between off and line, or can I just use the word offline, so my document is consistent?

Be consistent. Whoever ultimately publishes it will do the same. When compound words are first coined, they are usually hyphenated, but often the hyphen is dropped as they become more widely used. Offline is headed towards losing the hyphen, but many people still use it. One simple test is to see whether your spell checker flags it.

Dear E:

You wrote:

James, in formal writing and when writing business documents; is it proper to use contractions, such as it’s for it is, or not?

In formal writing avoid contractions when possible.

Also, should I put quotation marks around game titles, game modes, and business document titles? Or, only the titles of books, stories, poems, and the like?

Not documents. Games are like works of art, so normally they are italicized or underlined. Quotation marks are for titles of parts of works (like chapter titles) or shorter works (short stories, poems, songs).

Which type of dash should I use after the word date in the sentence below? And is it proper to use dashes in business documents?
I do study English Plus grammar lessons, but there’s some which don’t make sense to me at first–all the questions I ask you.

Use the standard em dash, I guess. Dashes are fine as long as they are not overused. Dashes are for emphasis like exclamation points, so they can be overused.

Dear E.:

You wrote:

When writing a business document such as a sell sheet, should I include registered trademark symbols and the like after products and services? Or, is that unnecessary?

I guess that would depend on the situation. Certainly anything in-house or with a trusted customer, it would probably not be necessary. However, if you want to keep on the safe side, you certainly could. That is more of a legal question than a grammar question. There is certainly nothing wrong with it.

Dear E.:
You wrote:
James, here’s some more info so you can make an informed decision.
I am writing a video game sell sheet, which will explain my game concept to a major game publisher. It will be pitched in an effort to get my game greenlighted. That said, should I include registered trademark symbols after words such as NHL and Stanley Cup? Do you know? Or should I consult a lawyer?

It probably would not hurt to consult a lawyer. I do not think at this point in the production that it would make any difference. After all, newspapers use such terms all the time. However, once it goes commercial, you will probably have to get some kind of permission. How many times in January in America do we hear “the big game” because an advertiser could not get or would not pay for the permission to use the words “Super Bowl.”

When writing a large list of five or more titles, does one include quotation marks around each title? Or, should one only use quotation marks with a standalone title?

Put quotation marks around each title, or the reader may think you are talking about one work with a long title or a number of subtitles. Keep in mind that longer works should be italicized or underlined.

Dear E:

You wrote:

Thank you for all of your expertise. I just have a few more questions.

1. When using the virgule I always put a space before and after it because I believe it’s easier on the reader’s eyes and avoids confusion. However, I acknowledge that the space is nonstandard. In formal writing, is it correct if I put the space before and after the virgule, or should I just stick to tradition?

Actually, the only time you would use a virgule in formal writing is for and/or or with dates. In both of those cases, there should be little confusion by sticking to tradition. Look under “Virgule” in Grammar Slammer.

2. Should one use a semi-colon to introduce a long list of five items or more? e.g., Including; Practice, Exhibition, Season, Franchise, Tournament, and Xbox Live. Or, is the semi-colon unnecessary?

See “Colon with Lists” in Grammar Slammer. First of all, use a colon, not a semicolon. Use a colon only if the list is preceded by a complete sentence. If the list is merely a direct object or object of a preposition, then there is no purpose for the colon. In the example you gave, the list is probably the direct object of “including,” so you would not use a colon or any punctuation mark.

3. Should one use hyphens with prefixes such as pre-season, off-line, warm-ups etc. Or, should one omit the hyphen. Are both correct? I ask because I see writers use both the hyphen and not, so I just want to verify I am correct, especially in formal writing.

In the examples you give, there is no hard and fast practice. There are a few cases (e.g., before a proper noun like “pre-Columbian”) where the hyphen is always used.

However, in the examples that you give this is what generally happens. When the word is first coined, a hyphen is used to show the parts of the word. If the word becomes widely used, then editors begin dropping the hyphen. That is why you see all three words that you gave above done both ways.

In some cases, the hyphen remains necessary to distinguish it from other words, e.g. “co-op” from coop or “re-form” from reform.

E replied:

Once again thanks.

So let me get this straight; in formal writing, even if a company’s name uses a virgule or hyphen, I should use a substitute?

No, I think you misunderstood. In formal writing there are normally only two accepted uses for the virgule: with the expression “and/or” and with dates (e.g., 1731/1732). Clearly, if a company’s name uses a virgule, then you would have to use it in the name since that is how it names itself. Hyphens are much more common in standard writing, so that should not be a problem in most cases.

Dear V:
You wrote:

Dear English Plus+:
I have some grammar questions that need answers.
1. What does the contraction for let’s mean? Let us?

Yes, it does.

2. What is the difference between his self and himself?

“His self” is nonstandard and should be avoided. Use “himself.”

3. What is the difference between the word and, and the & symbol? And, when should the & symbol be used in writing?

The ampersand is like an abbreviation. You should avoid it in formal writing. In informal writing or signage, it is acceptable.

4. When writing line items, such as:
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Should one use a comma, virgule, & symbol, or another punctuation mark to separate items?

Normally there would be no punctuation since the model number is part of the name. The analogy would be names of monarchs followed by numbers. We call the king “Henry VIII”, not “Henry, VIII”.

I hope this helps.

V replied:

You misunderstand. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are video game consoles, not part numbers. Therefore, as a line item, should they be separated with a comma? e.g., Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3.
I would think so. They are two different items, are they not?

If they are two different items in a series, then they are separated by commas. If there are only two items and you are writing formally, you would use the word and between the two items.

Should one always use quotation marks at the beginning and end of song, book, game titles etc.? Or, is that unnecessary?

Use quotation marks for short works (articles, poems, songs, chapter); use italics or underlining for titles of longer or complete works (books, epics, plays, operas, symphonies, works of art, names of vessels). For more on this see “Quotation Marks in Titles” and “Underlining Titles” in Grammar Slammer.

If a quoted title is the last word of a sentence, should the period be placed within the ending quotation marks or outside? e.g., “Season.” or “Season”. Wouldn’t the latter be correct, as that is not a complete sentence?

It varies. Normally in the UK the period goes after the quotation marks; in the US the period goes before. Sometimes writers will make exceptions for either rule: In the UK if the quotation ends with a period, then the period is included; in the US sometimes the period is placed outside to avoid confusion. For example, in my last posting I deliberately put the period after the quotation mark in the “Henry VIII” quotation, so you would not be led to believe that the period had to be included.

Dear Mr. C:

You wrote:

Which among the sentences below is or are correct?

1. Marvin plays basketball well as I do.
2. Marvin plays basketball well like I do.
3. Marvin plays basketball as well as I do.

As they stand, only #3 is grammatically correct, though you do hear people say #2.

#1 would be correct with a comma after well, marking the division between the two separate clauses. That would say something different from #3.

#3 says that Marvin plays with the same ability that I play with. There is a comparison.

“Marvin plays basketball well, as I do” simply says that both Marvin and I play well, but with no comparison implied.

In standard written English, like is a preposition, not a conjunction, so #2 is nonstandard since like is followed by a clause.

I hope this helps.

Dear Dr. B:

You wrote:

Hope all ok with you. Could please write me the difference in meaning between these two following sentences:

‘rat renal proximal tubules’

and ‘renal proximal rat tubules’

OR

‘the selective enzyme receptor’
and ‘the enzyme selective receptor’

when there is no hyphen between words. Your kindly cooperation will be appreciated.

Our reply:
Generally, unless there is an understood compound word or a comma between the modifiers, the word nearest the noun modifies the noun. The word next to that modifier modifies both the words, and so on.

For example: “green truck” — “green” modifies “truck.”
“new green truck” — “new” modifies the phrase “green truck.”
“big new green truck” — “big” modifies the phrase “new green truck.”

Now I am not a medical doctor, so I am not certain but in the examples you gave, it sounds like the second example in both cases does not make sense. In the first example I think you are trying to say “renal proximal tubules from rats,” which is what the first phrase means. The second means “proximal rat tubules from kidneys.” I think kidneys have proximal tubules, not rat tubules!

Similarly “selective enzyme receptor” sounds correct. What “selective enzyme receptors” means is “receptors of enzymes that are selective.” The second means “selective receptors belonging to enzymes.” I am no physician, but I believe you mean the first.

I hope this helps, and I hope the example I gave makes this clearer.