People, even here, barely use it; commas are used too abundantly: people forget that the syntax is much for sytematic - yet versatile - when dividing a sentence into two, and the semicolon can be easier to use once a sentence gts too many commas!
So use semicolons - as well as colons and dashes - to start breaking up the commas' abundant use.
Who's with me?
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
Semicolons should be used sparingly, but with with brutal force when justified.
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
Why sparingly? They are very useful. I use them once a paragraph, on average.
Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
I don't use a lot of semicolons because I'm sure I would misuse it; however, I should probably start using it more.
See, that was probably wrong. Posted by The Editor-in-Chief (Member # 5014) on :
quote:People, even here, barely use it; commas are used too abundantly: people forget that the syntax is much for sytematic - yet versatile - when dividing a sentence into two, and the semicolon can be easier to use once a sentence gts too many commas!
The punctuation in this sentence made my brain hurt.
Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
I will admit that the punctuation is a bit painful. You see, a dash is two hyphens. -- Not -. And your Colon usage was a bit awkward. Even the Semi-Colon was bit... off.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Yeah, JH, you over did the punctuation there. None of it... quite fit. Commas are handy cause they indicate a slight pause. Thats why people use em so much. Those other things... I'm sure technically could be used for much more than they are, but there's a reason they aren't: reading it like that would be rather painful. Too much different stuff. Ahh thats whats wrong with what you typed, you need more periods! You hardly used any.
Disclaimer: Nowhere have I ever claimed to be an english major nor grammar expert, nor will I ever. I do language and grammar by feel (which has served me well, I scored 770 on the SAT verbal), but often do not pay a whole lot of attention to my or other peoples writing as long as I can make sense of it.
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
quote: People, even here, barely use it; commas are used too abundantly: people forget that the syntax is much for sytematic - yet versatile - when dividing a sentence into two, and the semicolon can be easier to use once a sentence gets too many commas! [Spelling proofed.]
First half of the sentence is "people, even here, barely use it", whereas the second half refers to the use of commas. I wrote down the colon because the part after it gives a somewhat consequential result regarding what comes before it.
I hate using two hyphens for a dash. I use a sopace-hyphen-space for a dash, and no spaces for a hyphen. Do as you will, but I only use doubl hyphens as an EM-Dash, not an EN!
JH
[ April 10, 2005, 04:08 AM: Message edited by: Jonathan Howard ]
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
Kudos to you for knowing there are such things as em and en dashes, but what you really wanted in your sentence were paired em dashes. So two hyphens (or if you really want to get fancy, ASCII code alt 0151) would have been more accurate than the space-hyphen-space "en dash" was.
I think semicolons and colons are used less frequently on a message board like this one because they are fairly formal punctuation marks. As such, they seem out of place and stuffy in informal conversation.
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
quote: Kudos to you for knowing there are such things as em and en dashes
Thanks, but what're the official rules of usage?
Posted by The Editor-in-Chief (Member # 5014) on :
Em dashes are used to set off amplificatory or digressive elements of a sentence (and in your sentence, I would've used commas instead). En dashes are generally just used for consecutive things like numbers (like 1–10).
If you're using hyphens in place of dashes, then it should be one for an en dash and two for an em dash.
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
quote: The punctuation in this sentence made my brain hurt.
This whole thread makes my head hurt! (Which is why I don't use complex punctuation. I figure if I use it, no one will notice, but if I misuse it, I'll turn an unsuspecting, innocent thread into something like this, which I would rather avoid...)
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
I will confess that I'm a big fan of semicolons. I use them way too often when I write essays and other formal things...
In casual writing, I just use lots of ellipses.
~Jane~
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
i c
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
Me too Jane...
Posted by Sartorius (Member # 7696) on :
If the semicolon were a person I would have to make out with it. That said, I use colons more than semicolons. For instance:
quote: People, even here, barely use it; commas are used too abundantly
I would use a colon in place of your semicolon as a fulcrum between two contrasting ideas. A colon, I think, is a more solid connector.
quote: So use semicolons - as well as colons and dashes - to start breaking up the commas' abundant use.
I don't think I'd even use commas here. The sentence reads clearly without punctuation surrounding the additional information. Commas have the most volatile rules of any punctuation mark, and it's becoming more a matter of personal preference.
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