Commas and construction --- a guide to grammar

[Azuremen]

Well, at least basic grammar anyhow. I've been noticing an ever increasing quantity of people trying to use commas creatively and failing horribly. Its not that serious of an issue, but honestly, if you are going to use them, please make some effort to do it correctly. Probably one of the most entertaining reads regarding grammar, its usage, and the do and do not bits is this piece here.

More focused on commas is this piece.

From the classes I have been through and the papers I have proofread, I am aware most people do not use commas in excess like I do. But when you do use them, just think about where they go - often they are placed where there is no need what so ever for a comma. Some of you may not think much of this, but it will destroy you in college. I have seen a lot of papers get demolished for poor comma usage and the resulting run on sentences.

And yes, I am/was having an OCD moment when I created this thread. It just happens sometimes, alright?

 

[Sage]

Would it be mean-spirited of me to point out the irony of the thread title?

In the Elementary Rules of Usage chapter of The Elements of Style, there are 11 rules, and 5 of them directly deal with commas.

 

[Gashlycrumb]

It's not that serious of an issue,

Fixed that for you

 

[Gen.]

I'm too hardcore for commas; ergo I will not use them.

 

[Azuremen]

Fixed that for you

You know, I still get confused on the contractions for "it." I'll be refering to my elements of style later.

And yes Sage, feel free to rip anything and everything apart; I would love to know my mistakes grammatically.

 

[Blake]

Seriously, Azuremen, don’t use a hyphen when you really mean to use a dash. It hurts me.

 

[Greycap]

I never really understood the English grammar at school, all the rules went whizzing over my head. For twelve years I've written and spoken English with the "if it sounds right, it probably is right" principle and I have a feeling that I could be doing a lot worse.

 

[Azuremen]

Seriously, Azuremen, don’t use a hyphen when you really mean to use a dash. It hurts me.

I am still awake, right now. So bleh. Hyphens and dashes are different, but the forum doesn't care. So I can't do much besides add more, mkay?

 

[Touring Mars]

I know this thread is not directed at anyone is particular, but I still find it mildly offensive - especially given the errors in the original post itself. I don't quite see the purpose of the thread either, was it just a public service announcement or are you particularly unhappy at the standards of grammar and punctuation here at GTP? If rule number one of the rant is to have a point, then rule number two is to not be an example of the point you are trying to make.

 

[Azuremen]

Unless great irony is intended.

Delete it if it really bothers you.

 

[Giancarlo]

Go, outside. Interact, with some, people, please.

 

[Stevisiov]

This, alright, then, I, bet, this, could, get, quite, a, mouthful, right.

I hear what your saying but at the same time the grammer 'round here' at GTP is pretty good already, just try looking around your 'average' forum, illiteracy seems to be fairly common. GTP's standards are much higher than your 'average' forum but it does not have to be so high that it becomes inpractical.

All you should expect is that people make an effort to try and be gramatically correct and try to punctuate sentences correctly. The reason I say this is because GTP is an international board, thus there will be people who speak english as a secondary language. My point is; its unfair to expect everyone to punctuate correctly and be grammitcally perfect. All I expect is that people have given consideration to how 'readable' there posts are, and that should be all you expect.

I will admit my punctuation, spelling and other areas of my writing tends fair pretty badly at times, but I should think it is readable enough to be adequte, even at such a great website as GTP and I don't really think that I (or other members) really need reminding. There are some dodgey posters about, but lets be honest are they really going to be the people reading this thread?

Honestly, I am not sure why you felt the need to creat this thread, perhaps your standards are higher than most. when you say;

'Its not that serious of an issue, but honestly, if you are going to use them, please make some effort to do it correctly. Probably one of the most entertaining reads regarding grammar...'

and

'Well, at least basic grammar anyhow. I've been noticing an ever increasing quantity of people trying to use commas creatively and failing horribly...'

bit over the top don't you think?

the whole tone of your posts suggests the majority of posters are illiterate idiots I hope that isn't what you where insinuating.

 

[Metar]

Seriously, Azuremen, don’t use a hyphen when you really mean to use a dash. It hurts me.

Hyphens drive my dad nuts

But apart from MS Word's auto-dash, I can't find a convenient way to use them elsewhere.

 

[a6m5]

I do agree that this forum's doing pretty good already, but I don't think there is anything wrong with striding to do better.

I know I do horrible in this area, so I actually appreciate this. 👍

I never really understood the English grammar at school, all the rules went whizzing over my head. For twelve years I've written and spoken English with the "if it sounds right, it probably is right"

My brother!

 

[Race Idiot]

Cody I didn't read a single word of your thread and you are a god damn fussy ass nerd.

Peace.

 

[Blake]

Hyphens drive my dad nuts

But apart from MS Word's auto-dash, I can't find a convenient way to use them elsewhere.

En Dash (–) = ALT + 0150
Em Dash (—) = ALT + 0151

 

[Matt R]

I don't give a hoot about people here at GTP using commas correctly or incorrectly. As long as people start sentences with capitals and end their sentences with periods, I'm a happy camper.

My big bold comma is probably wrong. Deal with it.

 

[Year.Zero]

This is ridiculous. Honestly, you should be happy there's a clause about grammar in the AUP for this forum; others are horrible.

 

[Azuremen]

The tone probably came across a bit harsher than needed, but I also wrote it after a few beers.

I mostly put it up because some people insist on using commas to the extreme, and I figured perhaps linking to some resources could help. Figured doing it an absurd amount of commas, even if some are incorrect, would be somewhat amusing, but apparently not.

Blake, regarding en and em dashes, I looked up a bit on them. Apparently, its fallen much the of double spacing after a period; their usage of a space and hyphen or just the dash needs to be consistent. So using a hyphen would be considered correct by most modern style manuals, with the dash being more old fashioned. Of course, I still double space after a period just out of habit.

 

[Keef]

I'm too hardcore for commas; ergo I will not use them.

You should get rid of "ergo". The semicolon makes the word redundant.

Also, I tend to write pretty conversationally, so sometimes I don't use commas even where I think I should. People rarely pause during conversation in places where you would probably see a comma written.

 

[Danoff]

I've been noticing an ever increasing quantity of people trying to use commas creatively and failing horribly.

I'll admit to using commas fairly poorly. I probably make a few of the people who read my posts cringe. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking people to be a little more aware of grammar. I know quite a few people around here get picky when it comes to that - I think that's part of what makes GTP a good forum.

 

[Gen.]

You should get rid of "ergo". The semicolon makes the word redundant.

Also, I tend to write pretty conversationally, so sometimes I don't use commas even where I think I should. People rarely pause during conversation in places where you would probably see a comma written.

English isn't my first language, I call angry stubborn immigrants law!