*,\'(;-)/.?!:"...
 

Isn't it neat (or possibly horrifying) how punctuation rules and usage seem to be changing so rapidly over the last decade?

Anyway, this is the punctuation thread. :) And spaces are fine to discuss here too.

...
 

I thought maybe it was a pretend cussing thread.

%#*%£!

I'm terrible with punctuation I'm sorry:(

My housemate, a high school English teacher, does not use or teach the use of commas before coordinating conjunctions.

:eyebrow:

LOL..... I'm with you! And will always take poetic license with punctuation.

:|

im with the mister bent... all anyone needs is the ellipsis... it gives you time to breathe when you read....possession is implied mostly anyway... the rest is just for looks...

Pitter Patter
 

Sweet baby jesus in lucite, then you go and defile it!

The ellipsis is three (3) dots, not 4 (except when the ellipsis is used in place of omitted words at the end of a sentence, or the beginning of a sentence following another, where in both cases a period is also employed), not 5, not 17.

It is not comprised of commas, or any other string or combination of punctuation marks.

Some other liberties with ellipses I can tolerate (proper grammatical usage, even - see above), but do not alter the beauty of its simple form.

I beg of thee.

Instigator.
 

I am sure nothing compares to the complete overuse of the punctuation mark.

I find this to be mostly true on forums like Facebook.

It just annoys the HELL out of me !!!!!! oh wait...

While Your begging is moderately hot, I shall use as many ellipsesi (did that make You twitch, Mr. B?) as I wish........as using said dots is how I speak in real time....like a continuing thought.........that gets all stirred up on occasion.......... and I use that time.............to reorganize said thought(s) and continue spewing.

My grammar is sparkly.

Yes. (note the period)

William Shatner...

And here I thought we were friends.... damn! I'm totally heart broken.

My brother from another mother.
 

HI JUNE!!!!

I love this one ~.

spell check alert
 

Phoenician spelling?
 

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...n-alphabet.jpg

Ignoring the improper use of the apostrophe.

I wish English would adopt the Spanish upside-down "?" and "!" to put at the beginning of questions and exclamations. Not only does it look cool, but you actually get a heads-up about the tone of the sentence at the beginning where it makes sense.

I used to think I knew the rules of punctuation, but my brain has gone out to pasture. Texting for 7 years and internetting for 15, and it really feels like there are no real rules at all anymore. Plus I read this book called "Eats Shoots and Leaves" which was a hilarious book on punctuation written by a British woman. British punctuation is different from American. Even though she explained the differences as she went along, I've never been right in the head again. That book is laugh-out-loud funny to me. I never thought I'd read a book on punctuation ever in my life, but it had me in fits.

How would you punctuate the following sentences?

I really love the word azure because its really pleasurable to say

if you know your abcs wont you come and sing with me

apostrophes can indicate possession a contraction or in some cases can be used before an s to pluralize an initialism and thats it

Where do you put the period in the following sentences?

She wished she could stop time (she always harbored secret yearnings for certain superpowers)

The word you are thinking of is "idiosyncratic"

And, how do you address letters these days?

I was taught:

"Dear So-and-so,"

but my partner's technical writing textbook says it should always be:

"Dear So-and-so:"

When did we switch to colons for addressing letters????

I just don't know anymore about any of it. It seems all loosey goosey. I think anarchy has triumphed in the world of English punctuation. It's kinda nice.

At work the other day, I got an email.

"I don't handle this type of request..."

and I really felt like the ... was short for "you _____"

I try to avoid this sort of use of ellipses because they make me paranoid when they are thrown my way.

I guess it's not just loosey goosey these days - I think punctuation's getting in a lot more with expressing emotion and personality and tone. Writing has never had to pull so much of the weight of social behavior before (as far as I know). <--I think think that's where the Brits put the period, but I'm not sure where American English puts it.

and here's a question:

Are emoticons a kind of punctuation?

oh - and about spaces:

Do you put one space or two between the end of one sentence and the beginning of another?

I was taught to put two, but the young ones have informed me that the rule is now one space and that the two-space rule was more tied to typewriters than computers. What say ye?

OK Nat,
 

I reall love the word azure because it's really pleasurable to say. ~ and that's as far as I go.

I love (most) punctuation........I just can't stand all the RULES!!! Fuck the rules!!! I love ~ and !!! and @, # $, % ,&&&, *** ^ < > ,,,??:{[}]; "='+_)(|\` and especially the two little dots and the little scoopy cuppy thing I can't make. Thanks Nat, I've never felt so appreciative of all the punctuation friends we have!!! I just want to run around kissing all of 'em!

G'night,
Turtle :glasses: Huh?! What happened!?
And (and I like beginning sentences with and), just like everything else in my life ~ I like to mix and match

:) using color as punctuation = awesome :)