Quote:
Originally Posted by mrscoach
Does anybody else hear William Shatner in their head when there are too many, and misplaced, commas? "Spock, we must, go to, warp"  |
When writing Shatner speak I'd use ellipses instead, like this (using the above phrase and also adding appropriate exclamation points): "Spock!...we must...go to...warp!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrscoach
Believe me, misuse of commas is rampant, and many times it is because people (not just writers) believe their computer will fix everything that is wrong with their writing.
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I agree. Although computers can help with your writing, nothing can replace the human eye when it comes to catching errors. In my own writing I tend to use parenthesis (rather than commas) to set off non-essential phrases within a sentence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrscoach
We ran into this all the time at the school I was at last year. Grammar is addressed in high school, but usually the basic rules are expected to have been mastered in junior high (6-8 grades). There is also the instant messaging and texting problem.
If we can get a writer to read aloud what they have written, pausing every time they have a comma and not pausing where they have not put one, then this would mostly go away.
And don't even get me started on things like 'cause'. Not "I believe in a cause" but used in "I went cause I wanted to".  No, 'cause' is NOT short for 'because' |
"Because" can be shortened to "'cause" as long as you include the opening hyphen to indicate the missing letter(s). It's much like the hyphens in the phrase "Rock 'n' Roll" indicate the missing "a" and "d." But for me it's only appropriate when writing text where a character is speaking, essentially writing a quote so you can show how a character is actually speaking.