Antidote 11 User Guide

User Guide / Settings / Language Settings / Punctuation Panel

Punctuation Panel of the Language Settings

Comma

Commas surrounding common parenthetical expressions

Check this box if you want Antidote to flag missing commas around common parenthetical expressions, e.g. of course.

  • This setting is enabled by default.

Commas before the conjunction linking two main clauses

Check this box if you want Antidote to flag instances of a missing comma before the conjunction separating two independent clauses, except when these clauses are very short.

  • This setting is disabled by default.

Comma before the coordinating conjunction in lists of three or more terms

Here you have the choice of telling Antidote to always or never allow the serial comma (the comma preceding the coordinating conjunction in lists of three or more items). You may also tell it to accept both. Depending on your setting, the correction would accept either Apples, oranges, and pears or Apples, oranges and pears.

  • This setting accepts both forms by default.

Allow omitted comma in Hello Paul!

When a speaker addresses someone using their name, a comma is usually required between this statement and the name of the person being addressed (e.g. Wait for me, Paul!). This convention also applies in the salutation of a letter (e.g. Hello, Paul), although it is often not observed.

  • This setting is enabled by default.

Comma after etc. and et al.

Check this box if you want Antidote to insert a comma after these abbreviations when they do not coincide with the end of a sentence.

  • This setting is disabled by default.

Comma after i.e. and e.g.

This setting allows you to choose whether to require (always) or to reject (never) commas following the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. You can also choose to accept either format (accept both).

  • By default, this setting corresponds to national variety of English you have selected: North American conventions generally require the comma, while British conventions do not.

Period

Allow declarative questions

Declarative questions end with a question mark but are formulated in the same way as affirmative sentences; they contain neither an interrogative pronoun nor a subject-auxiliary inversion (e.g. You left already?). Check this box if you want the corrector to allow them.

  • This setting is disabled by default.

Add a period at the end of a paragraph

A period is required to end a sentence properly. However, it is sometimes omitted, especially at the end of the paragraph, when no other sentence follows. If this setting is enabled, Antidote adds a period at the end of a paragraph, unless the context otherwise justifies its absence (in a title, for example).

  • This setting is enabled by default.

Allow periods in some initialisms (e.g., C.E.O.)

Some initialisms, such as CEO or FCC, are written without periods by convention. However, some style guides, particularly the New York Times, recommend the use of periods in most initialisms where the letters stand for separate words. Check this box if you want the corrector to allow them.

  • This setting is disabled by default.

Periods after given-name initials

This setting allows you to choose whether to require (always) or to reject (never) periods after the initial of a person’s given name. You can also choose to accept either format (accept both).

  • This setting requires a period by default.

Quotation marks and punctuation

Correct the position of the period or comma relative to the closing quotation mark

If this setting is enabled, Antidote will correct the position of a period or a comma relative to a closing quotation mark, in accordance with the setting you select: either before the closing quotation mark or after it.

  • This setting is enabled by default.