*,\'(;-)/.?!:"...

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Chancie

Which is correct: 'phone' or 'telephone'?

"I'm going to ring 'em on the telly, I am!"

Cockney accent optional.

[Diva]

Originally Posted by Medusa

This?

Today I went to the market and bought apples, pears, and bananas.

Or This?

Today I went to the market and bought apples, pears and bananas.

I believe the 2nd one........because that first one makes me crazy.

Harvard, Schmarvard.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Chancie

Which is correct: 'phone' or 'telephone'?

Teacher, teacher, please answer my question. Seriously, has it really changed? Can you ask your English teacher friends?

[Diva]

Originally Posted by Chancie

Which is correct: 'phone' or 'telephone'?

Cell.......................

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Teacher, teacher, please answer my question. Seriously, has it really changed? Can you ask your English teacher friends?

You were THAT child, weren't you?

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Gemme

You were THAT child, weren't you?

Ummmm....yeah.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Ummmm....yeah.

I knew it!

[Chancie]

Originally Posted by Dapper in every way Butch

Teacher, teacher, please answer my question. Seriously, has it really changed? Can you ask your English teacher friends?

One source says that the Harvard comma is mandatory in the United States but

Another source says it depends on which style guide is used, and

That depends on the discipline.

And, I didn't know there was a special word, but

I would use it if it makes your writing flow more clearly.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Chancie

One source says that the Harvard comma is mandatory in the United States but

Another source says it depends on which style guide is used, and

That depends on the discipline.

And, I didn't know there was a special word, but

I would use it if it makes your writing flow more clearly.

Thank, Teach! I will stick to the old way, that you very much!

[Nat]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Wait a minute...so which is true? Medusa's version or Nat's?

I learned to go with the first (Medusa's version).

Can anyone substantiate this? Meaning, is this "official"?

I like wikipedia's take on it.

(I also get a sadistic charge from citing wikipedia - I imagine the three librarians in my family all feeling the urge to tsk concurrently when I do so).

Arguments for and against

Common arguments for consistent use of the serial comma:

1.Use of the comma is consistent with conventional practice.[11]
2.It better matches the spoken cadence of sentences.[12]
3.It can resolve ambiguity (see examples below).[13]
4.Its use is consistent with other means of separating items in a list (for example, when semicolons are used to separate items, a semicolon is consistently included before the last item, even when and or or is present).[14]

Common arguments against consistent use of the serial comma:

1.Use of the comma is inconsistent with conventional practice.[15]
2.The comma may introduce ambiguity (see examples below).
3.It is redundant in a simple list, since the and or the or serves by itself to mark the logical separation between the final two items.[16]
Many sources, however, are against both automatic use and automatic avoidance of the serial comma, making recommendations in a more nuanced way (see Usage and subsequent sections).

Also, I love the fact that Lynne Truss' Eats, Shoots & Leaves is quoted in the article:

"There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don't, and I'll just say this, never get between these people when drink has been taken."

[violaine]

[QUOTE=Nat;300026]I like wikipedia's take on it.


"There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don't, and I'll just say this, never get between these people when drink has been taken.

I am all for not ignoring the Harvard Comma.

Another source: http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxabandc.html

[Softhearted]

As a french speaker, I suffer from the comma syndrome... At least, that is what some of my professors told me about my papers written in english...

Originally Posted by Chancie

Which is correct: 'phone' or 'telephone'?

I believe telephone is the correct full word and phone is an acceptable contraction of it. A bit like refrigerator and fridge. Or aeroplane (airplane in the U.S.) and plane.


I was also taught that a comma does not precede the word and.

[fishinabaggie]

Finally!!
A thread I can call my own!!!

~I Tilde my ASS off! ~

I start a LOT of sentences with "And" <I am a mother several times over....there is a legitimate reason for beginning some of my sentences with "And"!

I regularly aggravate my love by using ellipsis incorrectly. She aggravates me by tailgating. Tit for Tat.

I capitalize when I should not........I don't when I should. ~sigh~ I cannot stop reaching over to the upper left hand corner and ~putting~those~tildes~everywhere!!

My mother is an editor and she cringes when she sees my punctuation. <And my spelling.
AND my refusal to own 16 purses.
AND me putting the toilet paper square so it starts behind the roll instead of OVER the roll.
etc.
She loves me despite me being such a disregarding rebel!!
You guys need to also!

Thank you for providing a thread that feels like home. I am now going to find the girls room here and reverse the toilet paper.