Grammar Geek  +  292248 Sun, 12 Nov 06 06:00 PM I don't know what the BrE way to do it is, or other English-speaking countries. I don't want to tell people to use commas if the Americans are the only ones who do. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,652 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Commas

	Yankee  +  292275 Sun, 12 Nov 06 07:20 PM Hi Barbara Like you, I'm still in "comma mode" with quotations.  I'm not quite sure what the British "rule" for colons is, but I have seen the colon being used with direct quotes in British news articles, for example.  I also seem to remember reading somewhere that the colon is used when it's a quotation that consists of one or more paragraphs.  I don't recall reading anything specific about using colons when the quote is shorter, though.  Maybe Nona knows more about the colon usage with quotes... Amy Yankee Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006 Connecticut, USA Veteran Member 6,494 Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain Articles, Colons, Commas, Paragraphs

	McJ  +  292283 Sun, 12 Nov 06 07:48 PM "... at the speed of light" is a bit of a grammatical faux par. Really, the correct context is: "They ran faster than the speed of light." McJ Joined on Sun, Nov 12 2006 London, England. New Member 09

	Grammar Geek  +  292294 Sun, 12 Nov 06 08:33 PM  McJ wrote: "... at the speed of light" is a bit of a grammatical faux par. Really, the correct context is: "They ran faster than the speed of light." Why do you think so? It seems a natural enough use of the hyperbole to me. It's just an expression that means "really, really fast!" Grammar Geek Hyperboles

	Maple  +  292364 Mon, 13 Nov 06 01:41 AM I can sense why McJ feel not very comfortable with "at the speed of light". And I can also comprehend it's a natureal hyperbole to the native speakers. It'll be vivid to say it with a cool or an exaggerative expression. interesting Maple Joined on Tue, Jul 11 2006 An ESL student in China Contributing Member 1,110 Hyperboles

	Maple  +  292365 Mon, 13 Nov 06 01:49 AM  Yankee wrote: .......  I'm not quite sure what the British "rule" for colons is, but I have seen the colon being used with direct quotes in British news articles, for example.  I also seem to remember reading somewhere that the colon is used when it's a quotation that consists of one or more paragraphs.  I don't recall reading anything specific about using colons when the quote is shorter, though.  Maybe Nona knows more about the colon usage with quotes........ I'm curious about the appropriate usage of colons. Yes, maybe the British can tell us more. BTW, though I've seen commas used often in the text I learn, but so far no one has corrected me in the exams when I used colons instead before quotes. Maple Articles, Colons, Commas, Paragraphs

	McJ  +  292371 Mon, 13 Nov 06 02:28 AM  Grammar Geek wrote:  McJ wrote: "... at the speed of light" is a bit of a grammatical faux par. Really, the correct context is: "They ran faster than the speed of light." Why do you think so? It seems a natural enough use of the hyperbole to me. It's just an expression that means "really, really fast!" Speed of light is a measurement. McJ Grammar, Hyperboles