Punctuation: needs to be checked over

emchapps — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:45:03 GMT

Hi, I would really appreciate anyone who could check over these sentences to ensure all the punctuation is correct. This is an assignment for a correspondence course I'm taking, and I think I have them mostly right but I'd like to be sure. (This lesson focuses mainly on the period, question mark, exclamation mark, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, apostrophe, hyphen, quotation marks, italics/underlining, parantheses, brackets, slashes, capital letters, numbers)

a) Her favourite writers, Joyce Caol Oates and James Dickey, are both contemporary.

b) Your faults are an uncontrollable temper, inexperience, and indifference to your

work. (should there be a colon after the word are?)

c) Since we had driven the car 87,000 kilometres, we decided to turn it in.

d) If siege is spelled with an ie, why is seize spelled with an ei?

e) "What we need," said Mr. Blevin, the union spokesman, "is a good day's pay for a

good day's work."

f) Many people ~~perhaps most people~~do not know from what material their clothing is

made.

g) The government was faced with a difficult task: it had to persuade a sceptical,

frustrated people that the energy shortage was real.

h) Her camera, her new dress, and her books ~~all of which she left in her car~~were

stolen.

i) I have just received an unexpected letter from the director of the Bureau of Internal

Revenue. (should director be capitalized?)

j) The lawn, a little ragged, needs to be cut; the hedge, shrubs, and ivy need to be

trimmed; the flowers need to be watered; and not least of all, the gardener needs to be

paid. (should the semicolon after watered be a comma, since the next word is and?)

k) The late Will Rogers' favourite saying was "I've never met a man I didn't like." (should there be a comma after was?)

l) Judy Garland is best remembered for her role in the 1930's film, The Wizard of Oz.

m) Does anyone remember who said absolute power corrupts absolutely? (according to my lesson, quotation marks arent supposed to be used on commonly known quotes, so I didnt use them.)

n) I make it a point to read the New York Times every day and The New Yorker every

week; only rarely, however, do I get around to Time or Newsweek.

o) "You can't do that!" they shouted from the balcony. "You can't! You can't!"

p) The president's wife's activities are always reported in the press--so are his

children's. (not sure if this dash is right...)

q) Should one judge candidates from the speeches they make, from the printed matter

they distribute, or from the ideas they generate?

r) To be a millionaire, by the time you are thirty you will have to take large risks, be

lucky, and have creative ideas.

s) "Enjoy the view!" we called out as they left for the mountain-top. We had wisely

decided to wait for them in a meadow half-way up.

Re: How is the grammar on this?

Lil' Ruby Rose — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:39:23 GMT

I believe that the ghost that has appeared before me truly is my fatherâs spirit, and that everything it has said is true. The ghost did not flee before Horatioâs âcross,â [no quotation marks needed here] and it shows Christian forbearance towards my âcommonâ [not quite the right word here, and why have you used quotation marks?] mother. Thus, I have no choice but to believe that this spirit truly is my fatherâs and not a devil trying to imitate him. I have little choice, then: I must avenge his spirit, and kill my uncle, Claudius! My fatherâs spirit calls to me, and I must avenge his foul murder!

This is not a selfish act of revenge, but an act of justice. Claudius is a tyrant: he killed a king, and worse, he killed his own brother, all to satisfy his own [repetition of own - redundant here, all your private ambitions are your own] private ambitions. He is guilty of a sacrilegious attack upon the hierarchy and order instituted by natural law; by killing my father, Claudius destroyed this natural order, and it is my responsibility to right this wrong!

The killing of my uncle must be done quickly, and discretely. Claudius is no fool, and I am certain that the blood upon his hands will cause him to become paranoid; he will undoubtedly reach a stage where he deems it necessary to eliminate all threats in order to secure [consolidate?] his power and I am certain that I would be [will be or am going to be] his first target. So I must act [strike?] first! [no exclamation mark here] I cannot poison my uncle or assassinate him in public. Such acts are [respectively?] too cowardly and too dangerous; a public murder could result in me being tried for treason. [the two parts of this sentence don't follow each other. I would use a colon after public, then full stop after dangerous and make the second clause a separate sentence]

The most discrete and most practical method of killing my uncle would be to stab him as he is sleeping with my âincestuousâ [why quotation marks?] mother. Being the prince means I can walk around the castle freely and carry my sword without arousing suspicion. At night, I could simply slip in, cover Claudiusâ mouth to suppress his screams, and stab at his heart! [stab him in/through the heart - no exclamation mark] Then, I can wake my mother and explain to her the reason for the assassination. This would fully comply with my fatherâs wishes, as not only would my uncle be dead, but my mother would not be harmed directly. All would soon be well.

The next [following] day, I will deal with the court and the public. The latter would be easy to deal with [repetition of deal with - appease/placate?], as I am loved by the people, and they will quickly accept me over Claudius. Further, the common people would not dare interfere in the affairs of kings; they will not make too much commotion, I am sure. The court, however, will be harder to convince and silence. Questions will be asked, and I will have to answer [them or which I will have to answer]. Nevermind! [Never mind is two words, it's not quite the right choice of phrase here, and no exclamation point] I am the heir to the throne and the court could not, in reality, do anything. I could silence any who oppose my power [I would either say anyone who opposes or all who oppose]; I am, after all, the rightful Prince [at this point, surely Hamlet is the rightful King rather than just the Prince?]of Denmark! I will soon be elected [by definition, kings are not elected] king and [will] rule over my people justly; just as my father did, and just as he expects me to do.

Looks pretty good to me. You have a lot of long and rather complex sentence constructions here (heavy on the semicolons!), but the declamatory tone seems quite appropriate.

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Punctuation: needs to be checked over

Re: How is the grammar on this?