Hi. Question: Would you say the use of dashes in questions, as the following questions, is correct? 1. Would you mind lending me a helping hand, John -- to get my feet off the ground? 2. Have you met my friend -- my best friend and close companion? 3. Pens, pencils and paper -- do you think they are...

I was having a discussion about this with some friends. Is it: ... a l2p issue.. or: ... an l2p issue... ?

Hi. Please correct these. I think a comma after the abbreviation (is it an abbreviation anyway?) "e.g." is optional. Would you put dots after each letter of the abbreviation "e.g." (like have been done with examples)? Would you do this in formal writing? In what types of writing situations...

Hi. I have a question on the usage of spaces when using the abbreviation "no." for number. I know it's not "proper" to use it in most cases, but I am trying to figure out the correct way to use it when referring to works of classical music. For example, I'll list a composition...

Hi, I'm trying to help a friend with one of her essays in linguistics. She needs to classify a large number (hundreds of thousands) of English words as, for instance, formal, informal, slang, vulgar, curse, colloquialism, abbreviation, etc. She has access to a good English dictionary on CD, but it...

These must seem like stupid questions to most of you, but I would just like to expand my knowledge in the English language. I would really like to know if there are any forms of reference or authoritive rules to state how abbreviations may be used. If someone could point me to a web page, or post a list...