Welcome to Apoplectic Apostrophes! My name is Suzanne Purkis and I’m a writer, editor, mother, step-mother, dog wrangler, and sleep-deprived, tea-drinking chaos-magnet. Here you will find a strange mixture of Fiction and Non-fiction. My fiction writing comprises mostly short (flash fiction) stories, with a bit of micro fiction and poetry thrown in. My non-fiction writing stems from my passion for the English language and deals with topics like grammar, etymology, and vocabulary.
So if you have a question about sentence structure, punctuation, parts of speech, etymology—or anything else to do with the English language that you’ve always wondered about—please post it here. I’m always eager to answer your questions and share my nerdy passion with the rest of the world. Honestly. Read my manifesto if you don’t believe me.
If you’d like to learn more about my professional writing and editing services, check out my website, Lucid Editing.
Apoplectic Apostrophes 
Please clarify the use of the semicolon “;”. It has vexed me for most of my life.
Thanks, Suzanne, for that straightforward and much needed explanation on the use of the semi-colon. I am very fond of that under-used and misused punctuation; periods and commas lack the necessary subtlety.
James told me to ask you to write a polemic against “verbing” – meaning taking a noun or adjective and making it into a verb (or gerund): “guesting,” “gifting,” “access,” and so on.
Hello! Just having a little look around, if that’s okay.
Of course! Take your time. 🙂
great blog keep writing
Thank you!
Thank you for checking out my blog! It’s been a blast being able to check out yours because of that, I’m really enjoying all that I’m reading so far! You’re awesome 😀
Thank you once again! I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog. Your blog is pretty awesome too – I’ll definitely be back for more!
Yes, you are good. I like the way you feel about your love of language.
Thank you so much!
Hi Suzanne, hope your day is turning out beautifully. As a fan of your work, I’ve nominated you for a Liebster award. Do with it as you will (or won’t), but know that I thought others should be directed to experience your wonderful words. Have a blessed weekend, -j
Jody, you are so sweet! My day just got a little more beautiful. Thank you so much — I am honoured!
hi, on a lark, I recently used two words together in a poem that go, but I’m not so sure here/ when can you used “for to”, and what does it mean to?
http://namelessneed.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/a-plan-that-can-work-for-anger-irish-need-not-apply/
thanx for hearing me out here on this oddity
Hi G.R. Thanks for your question — I will try to write up an answer for you in the next few days. 🙂
Well having read the above all I can say is thank you for dropping by and liking my post 😉 x
🙂 You are very welcome! Thanks for visiting my blog!
just wanted to be sure you received my preliminary list of questions for your Trifecta write-up – it dawned on me that I nearly missed the 1st message that came to me from Joe & would’ve if he hadn’t given me the heads up on my blog! Thanks! -j
Yes, I did receive your questions — I meant to reply, sorry about that! (We’ve got the stomach flu doing the rounds at my house.) I’m working on my answers and I hope to have them to you soon. Thanks for checking Jody!
gosh, hope all are well & feel springy soon! Congratulations on another well-deserved win, btw!
Great blog and always great to read the thoughts of a fellow fan of the English Language 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment! 🙂
Hey, I have nominated you for the Liebster award. Go to the link below to see the details. Keep up the good work http://wordshaveteeth.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/i-humbly-accept-this-liebster-award/
Aw, thank you Chuck!
I sorta write in my spare time when I’m not stressing about getting involved in journalism. I could use some grammar help and what not 🙂
Excellent – you’ve come to the right place! 🙂 Please feel free to ask any grammar/language questions that come up.
I will
Lately I have been musing about that semi-colon. I have a tendency to overdo it in my poetry
but the “sound” of the pause the semi-colon makes just seems “right”. Am I crazy or is there
more of a pause when you use it ? The colon sounds like a “stop!” to me and the comma
gives me barely a break between thought. Of course; when in doubt, I can always use a period.
I write in iambic pentameter all the time and if you end each line with a period, it begins to sound “sing-songy”.
Hi Jackie. I have a whole post on the semi-colon, which you can find here:
It definitely denotes more of a pause than a comma and has a different function than a colon. The great thing about poetry is that you can use poetic license, which allows you to bend the rules a bit anyway. 🙂
Thanks for the like on my little blog. I think I can learn a lot from yours so I’m following.
DJ
You’re welcome! Thank you for the follow. 🙂
Suzanne, Your blog posts are inventive and inspiring, and your blog has been selected by me for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. Even if you prefer not to accept this award, please accept this as a compliment and an indication of appreciation for your creative work. The philosophy of the award is: “The Dragon’s Loyalty Award is an award for the loyal fan/commenter, whether the recipient is a fellow blogger or just someone who follows and comments regularly.” Congratulations!
-tjbarkerseattle
Aw, thank you so much! That is so awesome! Are there any rules about accepting the award?
Suzanne, if you decide you’d like to accept, there are a few rules, listed here:
http://wp.me/p3OFLC-rz
Thanks!
Oh, all I want is to eventually be an editor because I am nearly obsessed with correct grammar, punctuation, word use, etc. I’m very excited to have discovered your blog (though I haven’t read much) and am looking forward to perusing it as soon as I have time. A follow will have to do for now. Just wanted to let you know! 🙂 xx
Follow-up comment: when I say “nearly obsessed,” yes, I am a bit of a grammar Nazi, but I think it’s primarily because I am so intrigued by all these intricacies of a language I have known my whole life. I just want to share them with everyone and show them how easily they can make everything they say or write a little clearer, a little more interesting. Learning new words or grammar rules makes me unreasonably excited – I’m taking Latin purely because I love going deeper into the roots of our vocabulary and grammar.
Anyway, it seems that you have a similar passion and thought you might understand 🙂
I understand completely. Sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone is as excited about grammar and language as I am. Thank goodness for my fellow editors and language buffs! 🙂