planning the revolution

Semi-colon! I love them and use them often. When I beta for people? I make them use them too.

Mwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

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When I beta for people? I make them use them too.
Huzzah! :)

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It's usually phrased something like - "change to a period and start a new damn sentence or change the comma to a semi-colon because this is a freaking run on!" - Yeah, I get my way. :-D

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I'm all for commas, you know, as and when but come on.

Also, I'd just like to point out to the world at large that apostrophes don't mean "Look out! There's an 's' coming!"

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Ahahahahahaha!!!

Only last night? I was doing beta for someone that was doing singular possessive with someone's name that ended in s. And of course, the rule has changes (well, for us anyway, I think we're older than you . . . ). When we learned originally, it was s' and that was it. NOW it's s's - which really confused her. hee!

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It's fairly flexible as a rule, though; I've never been marked down on it. I never put a singular possessive with a double s. It's always James' not James's. (That s's business makes my eyes woogly).

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Commas are like mice; they breed extraordinarily quickly.

Heh. Somehow I feel like this is the universe shouting out at me. Because I was just writing this thing and even I was getting abashed by all the commas I used. And this is saying a lot, considering that I'm in the habit of using a comma whenever I can, wherever I can, and in a couple of places in between too. :)

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Hee :) I am a comma queen in the sense that if there's one, there'll be three. Thing is, if I start to use one, they multiply. It gets out of hand. Legions mass on the horizon to attack me until a gracious period/colon/semi-colon swoops in to end the doom. It's quite scary, really.

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See, when I took English in college, we were actually taught that this is the new way. I think it's still considered flexible because there's enough people out there still doing it the old way that either are acceptable. Um. If THAT makes sense. ;-)

woogly. ahahaha!

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tigertrapped.livejournal.com

Tell me truthfully - do I abuse the semi-colon? I was told at school (when I was about 11) that I did and it's haunted me ever since. In particular, I need to know if you've spotted instances of abuse in The Novel? I'd much rather not embarrass myself sending it out with basic grammatical errors in it.

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Yeah, that makes sense. It's like the Oxford comma (I think it's known as the Harvard comma in the US?) I have to teach myself to use it properly but I still prefer not to. I was taught English grammar by an old-school grammarian so the idea of sticking a separator next to a conjunction does my head in.

It's my new favourite word, hee.

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Abuse in the sense of misuse or overuse or underuse? Not that I've noticed and I keep an eye on ~~the poor sod~~ these things. I'd have to take another look to be certain but I don't think so because I probably would have pointed it out.

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tigertrapped.livejournal.com

Misuse is the only one that bothers me. Underuse/overuse can be explained by reference to the narrative style, usually. Knowing that you'd have pointed it out makes me happier. Funny how paranoid that stray remark at school has made me. I remember discovering the semi-colon and falling in love with it and wanting to use it all the time without really knowing when to start or stop. I also love the Oxford comma, but that got me into similar trouble.

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Heh. TWINNAGE. (And what an appropriate icon. *g*)

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I would definitely have picked up on misuse. I'm fanatical about it.

See, not such a fan of the Oxford comma. I understand the need to separate clauses but conjunctions imply that two clauses are being separated. Not always but mostly. But I've had to start using them because such is the norm these days.

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(Sorry for butting in.) I've heard that the rule nowadays goes that you can use s's but only with names and only if the last s (in the name) is pronounced.

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The rule for possessives is simple. If it's a singular, add apostrophe s. If it's plural, just add an apostrophe. This is the standard that is used today.

The standard I was taught had an exception to the singular; if the singular already ends in 's', you add an apostrophe, but no extra s. The rule has been standardised to the above to make it easier to use.

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Though, I have to add that my use of comma is - naturally - very much influenced by Finnish grammar, and we use comma a lot. I'd probably have to revise the rules in English.

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Yeah, I know the basic rule; I was talking about the 'singular that ends with s' exception.

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tigertrapped.livejournal.com

My narrator is such a bitch for breaking rules that the Oxford comma is probably grist to her mill.

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Commas separate clauses that don't end the sentence. That's basically the rule. When you're younger, you're taught to insert a comma wherever there is a natural pause. This is a basic rule of thumb that works well enough (because the natural pause tends to reflect where a clause ends anyway). It's not a brilliant method, though, and that's the reason why I always have to catch my commas.

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I know :) My point was that the confusion arose because of what the rule used to be.

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Ha! Yeah, whilst for me the Oxford comma is newfangled and illogical for the most part. I miss my old english teacher! He was so old-school about grammar - a true grammarian.

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Sounds... interesting. Yeah, I remember being told something like: "Whenever you would use a comma in Finnish, in English? Don't." And: "Only use a comma if you absolutely must." I've always found it a bit odd (and that would probably explain why I'm fond of the infamous Oxford comma *g*), but for a long time, it caused me to be extremely cautious with my commas, up to the point where I wouldn't use any at all no matter how my fingers itched to add one.

But then I read books written by native English speakers, and boy, was I shocked or what? It was all comma here, comma there, commas everywhere omgwtfaaaaaaargh!

...

...umm. What was that, Dad? Dinner time? Alright then! *runs off*

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Yeh. It's like venereal disease. Seriously.

Uh, probably not the best thought to send you on your way to food, huh?

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... I am deeply disturbed by that comparison. (Luckily, I only read it after eating.)

*backs away slowly*

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Except I'm right! I am!

...

Please come back! Please?

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Heh. I'm not even quite sure what that comparison means. That the commas, they spread if you don't use proper protection? "A comma condom! A kingdom for a comma condom!"

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Um, the above comment was by me. I have no idea why it says 'anonymous'. *stabs LJ*

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dragonsinger.livejournal.com

(((HUGS))) I love you, semi-colon! :)

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emily-reich.livejournal.com

The rule for possessives is simple. If it's a singular, add apostrophe s. If it's plural, just add an apostrophe. This is the standard that is used today.

i think the main confusion that arises for some people with this rule (though it seems pretty simple to me, but, well...) is that in spoken english (american anyway) we say an extra "'s" after every possesive, whether it has an s at the end or not and whether it is singular or plural.

anyway, er, i'd say i'm guilty of semi-colon abuse (except for formal writing of course)... i just replace it with a "..." though in my own defense i do know HOW to use it :p i just don't... most of the time :p *is bad*

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I don't quite understand what you mean. Other than with pronouns, all nouns have to add an s to show possession. So you'd say it that way anyway.

TCH TCH. LOVE THY SEMI-COLON.

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They spread quickly because of abuse, misuse and lack of sense, the latter being the (oh god, I love this phrase) "comma condom".

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emily-reich.livejournal.com

well possessive plurals in written english (at least how i learned it) have just an apostophe at the end without a second s, but in spoken english (like i said, here anyway) there's an extra s that's pronounced... so some poor shmucks get confused :p

TCH TCH. LOVE THY SEMI-COLON.

*loves, loves!!!*

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No, that's what we were talking about earlier. James' and James's. Both are pronounced "Jaymzes". The difficulty in the old rule is that it's contradictory. Hence the standardisation.

Actually, I've just re-read what you wrote. Are you saying that you'd read "the boys' [pl.] socks" as "the boyses socks"? Or are you just talking about nouns that end in s?

And it is a difficult rule, especially if you're not taught correctly. These days schools teach the standardised version but a lot of people still go by the old rule, myself included. Don't even get me started on trying to explain why its (possessive) doesn't have an apostrophe. (In that case, the only time 'its' has an apostrophe is if it means "it is"; otherwise "its" exists as a pronoun).

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emily-reich.livejournal.com

Actually, I've just re-read what you wrote. Are you saying that you'd read "the boys' [pl.] socks" as "the boyses socks"? Or are you just talking about nouns that end in s?

it depends on the noun, and also on the dialect of the speaker... some dialects DO pronounce it "boyzes" and such... i pronounce it on some words, but not all... but then, i don't have a problem with the rule :p

And it is a difficult rule, especially if you're not taught correctly. These days schools teach the standardised version but a lot of people still go by the old rule, myself included.

yeah, i still go by the old rule since that's how i was taught

Don't even get me started on trying to explain why its (possessive) doesn't have an apostrophe. (In that case, the only time 'its' has an apostrophe is if it means "it is"; otherwise "its" exists as a pronoun).

O.M.G. when people screw that up it drives me NUTS!!! it's worse than there, they're, their!! :P

a typo is one thing (we're all guilty of that :p), but when people just.don't.get.punctuation. no matter what (in formal writing and fiction and stuff) it just drives me bonkers! incorrect use of commas is the worst!

ok, done now :p

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I think we must start some form of sex ed, except, you know, about commas.

...erm, what? I just mean that it should be our mission to educate the masses that obviously aren't listening at school. Or something.

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Yes. The "just say no" campaign obviously isn't working.

[ You and I have just corrupted grammar forever. ]

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Obviously.

[Well, you know how it is: if you add sex or at least hints at sex to it, people will pay attention, no matter what the subject. And yes, we have. Oh, I'm so proud of us.]

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*waves mini flags*

[ I think it might just be us. I mean, we were talking about YSI in terms of cheating on people. I think we are crazy.

Woo!

I'm proud too. Now I want a T-shirt that reads "Practise Safe Syntax: Use A Comma Condom". ]

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Oh, I assure you, it is everyone. But, yes, we might still be a bit... more than everyone, you know.

Oh, no you didn't. You did not just say that. Because now I have to urge to do said T-shirt and use it in public. Damn you. :)

(Must dash now to dry my hair. Talk to you later!)

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hestia8.livejournal.com

Stop using it as a fucking apostrophe

Ahahahahahaha yes. All the time. Though in my defence I hit the key by accident when I'm trying to type quickly rather than actually using it as an apostrophe.

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I know; I do it too. But this one person was using as an apostrophe all the way through rarr.

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hestia8.livejournal.com

Ouch. Not that I can say much because it isn't just the apostrophe thing, I just type terribly all the time because I'm typing faster than I should be (it does make me wince when I reread entries and recaps because they're *awful*).

And someone told me yesterday that I frequently trail off in the middle of a sentence, which I hadn't noticed. Oh dear...

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Hee! I do that whilst I'm talking. This is because my sentences get so long that I forget what I'm saying half way through. It's really quite embarassing.

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