Seriousness What about commas? - Page 7

GeoffC · 10-16-2010, 07:41 AM

One may claim whatever one may! It's to be sure, to be sure....

kennyc · 10-16-2010, 07:44 AM

such as in certain other threads that will remain unmentioned.

GlenBarrington · 10-16-2010, 08:14 AM

is that there is either too much or too little. Sometimes both at the same time.

I'm guiltiy of excessive comma-ization. A habit I struggle mightily to break with only limited success. (I had to remove a comma after the word habit)

A result, no doubt in my mind, of several years of grade school teachers trying to get kids of my age to use any puctuation at all. As an 8 year old, I learned an extra comma couldn't hurt my grade and just might help. And a period at the end of anything that sort of sounds like a complete thought is just as good as a real sentence. I still struggle with semi-colons and I live with the shame on a daily basis.

I think punctuation is not well taught in the US. At least it wasn't taught well 50 years ago. Feel free to correct my puctuation!

Ea · 10-16-2010, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meromana

Yep, I do the same thing. I tend to see (hear?) forum discussions as conversations in my head, rather than written communications. Consequently, I tend to write in forums more like I speak, with slangy terms like yep, gonna, wanna, and even: 'cause (with the apostrophe, of course). And I don't object to such terms being used in books, when they're part of the dialogue or character-appropriate inner monologue. Commas, though? Gotta get 'em right, 'cause punctuation errors throw the reader out of the story, and noboby wants that.

Yes, I have several levels of writing "correctly", too. I htink the more public and the less casual the setting, the harder I work at it. Here, for example, I try to get things reasonably right, but also allow myself a little slack with regards to - for example - how accurate my English is, as well as the spelling. With private chat on the other hand, I only care about if my message comes across.

meromana · 10-16-2010, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ea

With private chat on the other hand, I only care about if my message comes across.

With chat, we have to be willing to give up perfection. When I first learned to use chat, I wanted to get all the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization correct, but it made me a slow chatter, so I had to fight the urge to be right and just settle for "right now". I still cringe, though, when my flying fingers betray me and send off a misspelling or a goofy homophone.

BenG · 10-16-2010, 07:52 PM

And then there's the Kzinti written language which is nothing but dots and commas.

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/mta/kzintiphon.html

GraceKrispy · 10-17-2010, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Geoff was referring to the incorrect apostrophe in "it's". A possessive "its" does not have an apostrophe.

Ah, yes, one of the most difficult things to teach 5th graders. The misuse and abuse of apostrophes would make a whole other thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Was he? Dare I claim that was intentional?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

such as in certain other threads that will remain unmentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meromana

With chat, we have to be willing to give up perfection. When I first learned to use chat, I wanted to get all the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization correct, but it made me a slow chatter, so I had to fight the urge to be right and just settle for "right now". I still cringe, though, when my flying fingers betray me and send off a misspelling or a goofy homophone.

I have the fastest fingers in chat.... and those fingers often betray me in the very same way you describe

meromana · 10-17-2010, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenG

And then there's the Kzinti written language which is nothing but dots and commas.

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/mta/kzintiphon.html

EEEEEK!

lene1949 · 10-17-2010, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter.

Ah... yes... I know that, except it's 'its diameter'...

lene1949 · 10-17-2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meromana

With chat, we have to be willing to give up perfection. When I first learned to use chat, I wanted to get all the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization correct, but it made me a slow chatter, so I had to fight the urge to be right and just settle for "right now". I still cringe, though, when my flying fingers betray me and send off a misspelling or a goofy homophone.

I'm quite fast in typing, and I find it easier to type it 'right', than trying to think of the shortcuts, which might be out there.

kennyc · 10-17-2010, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lene1949

Ah... yes... I know that, except it's 'its diameter'...

When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

WT Sharpe · 10-17-2010, 01:23 PM

Watch out, Kenny! The language police have you in their sights!

kennyc · 10-17-2010, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Watch out, Kenny! The language police have you in their sights!

Yes they do, and that's a good thing. That damn its, it's get's me every time!

No matter, how much I watche's for its.

Ea · 10-17-2010, 03:19 PM

Okay, I'll be a little serious here; I simply don't understand why people (including Kenny

) can't distinguish between a contraction of "it is" and "its". Or why people can't distinguish between other word contractions in general either...

Maybe I need to be a native speaker to understand. My set of English language mistakes must be quite different

GraceKrispy · 10-17-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ea

Okay, I'll be a little serious here; I simply don't understand why people (including Kenny

) can't distinguish between a contraction of "it is" and "its". Or why people can't distinguish between other word contractions in general either...

Maybe I need to be a native speaker to understand. My set of English language mistakes must be quite different

I don't get it either, but it's rampant! I taught my 5th graders that if you can't substitute the two words that belong in the contraction for the contraction, it isn't, in fact, a contraction! Take out the darn apostrophe! Possessives actually seem more difficult to explain to kids that age. If nothing belongs to that person, don't use the apostrophe. I used these ideas as a help, not a complete lesson- and many still don't get it. I think there is possibly something truly organic about this gap in understanding.

That doesn't account for the "there/their" issues so many seem to have, either. I see it a lot on every board I visit, even the teaching board I frequent. Lots of mistakes there. I know some are just typos, but I do believe many of them are actual errors in education or understanding. Pretty obvious when the same mistakes are made every post. It's sad when you realize there are some kids out there who aren't going to be taught how to properly use contractions/possessives this year

10-16-2010, 08:14 AM	#93
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	The thing, about puctuation in general. . . is that there is either too much or too little. Sometimes both at the same time. I'm guiltiy of excessive comma-ization. A habit I struggle mightily to break with only limited success. (I had to remove a comma after the word habit) A result, no doubt in my mind, of several years of grade school teachers trying to get kids of my age to use any puctuation at all. As an 8 year old, I learned an extra comma couldn't hurt my grade and just might help. And a period at the end of anything that sort of sounds like a complete thought is just as good as a real sentence. I still struggle with semi-colons and I live with the shame on a daily basis. I think punctuation is not well taught in the US. At least it wasn't taught well 50 years ago. Feel free to correct my puctuation! Last edited by GlenBarrington; 10-16-2010 at 08:30 AM.

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10-16-2010, 07:41 AM	#91
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	One may claim whatever one may! It's to be sure, to be sure....

10-16-2010, 07:44 AM	#92
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,930 Karma: 119747553 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2 & PW, Onyx Boox Go6	such as in certain other threads that will remain unmentioned.

10-16-2010, 07:52 PM	#96
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,730 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	And then there's the Kzinti written language which is nothing but dots and commas. http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/mta/kzintiphon.html

10-17-2010, 01:23 PM	#102
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	Watch out, Kenny! The language police have you in their sights!

10-17-2010, 03:19 PM	#104
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	Okay, I'll be a little serious here; I simply don't understand why people (including Kenny ) can't distinguish between a contraction of "it is" and "its". Or why people can't distinguish between other word contractions in general either... Maybe I need to be a native speaker to understand. My set of English language mistakes must be quite different