Search results for 'tag:Semicolons tag:Colons' matching tags 'Semicolons' and 'Colons'

Re: colon dash

richard_s — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:35:26 GMT

'I hate him so much, he killed my dog' is a comma splice. Â This is considered bad punctuation; though many native speakers write like this without worrying about the fact that it's a comma splice. Â You have to put in the subordinator 'as' or 'because' to join those two clauses.

A comma spliceÂ is when two independent clauses are separated by a comma. Â You must separate independent clauses by coordinators, semicolons, orÂ full-stops.

Of course punctuation is a matter of personal style in the end. Â The rules are dictated by publishing companies, universities, and these days by the ELT industry, all of whom would claim that the above punctuation was a comma splice.

Re: colon dash

richard_s — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:13:17 GMT

Well traditional punctuation rules state that two independent clauses need to be separated either by a full stop /Â exclamationÂ mark, or by a semicolon.

Thus the following is quite proper:

I hate him so much; he killed my dog.

Now if you go back a bit a hundred to a hundred and fifty years, you will find that the colon itself used to have the same function. Â This use is still occasionally seen in modern writing. Â Thus, the colon use is not wrong, just old fashioned. Â

You certainly shouldn't put an exclamation mark before a colon.

Re: Use of however (Guest:Sam)

richard_s — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:09:10 GMT

Yes, 'however' is an adverb. Â More precisely, it is a 'conjunctive adverb'. Â You can use 'however' or 'but' in the example sentence, but 'however' is much more formal. Â 'But' is more casual. Â Note that 'but' will have a comma before it, and 'however' should have a semicolon before it and a comma after it. Â Also, note that we cannot use however between two nouns, only between two clauses. Â We tend to use 'however' in formal writing for more important connections and 'but' in formal writing for less noteworthy connections.

Re: please help

richard_s — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:13:58 GMT

Due to is a preposition, so the first clause should be a prepositional phrase (remember that you can't use modals in prepositional phrases, so you will have to change cannotÂ to not be able to. Â The verb in the clause needs to be in gerund form. You need a comma after the prepositional phrase, not a semicolon. Â

There are only 50% good included 500pcsÂ doesn't make sense. Â Probably included should be including, but I am not sure what this sentence means.

Re: Punctuation within quotes?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:06:53 GMT

These punctuation marks (the British call them inverted commas) come in two forms, double and single. The double quotation marks (opening â and closing â) are used to enclose the words of a direct quotation: She said, âIâll never see you again.â (They are never used in indirect quotation: She said sheâd never see him again.) They are also used to enclose words or phrases quoted from others or words that may be slang or that are in some other way being used peculiarly: The speaker tried to put a favorable âspinâ on his denial. The âpacification planâ was in fact simply a euphemism for a bloody conquest. But be sparing: most editors discourage the use of such quotation marks for effect rather than for a substantive reason, and overuse of these marks in any writing is affected.	1
Convention also calls for double quotation marks around the titles of short stories, short poems, short musical compositions, and the names of plays, chapters in books, and radio and television programs: Frostâs âThe Road Not Taken,â âEye Witness News.â (Titles of longer works usually require italics instead, and sometimes the decision is arbitrary or simply conventional: books of the Bible, for example, are almost always italicized rather than placed in quotation marks, and the same is true of the titles of Shakespeareâs plays.)	2
A key problem with quotation marks is which other marks of punctuation go inside the closing quotation mark(s) and which belong outside. In the United States, most stylebooks and most editors follow these rules: periods and commas belong inside, colons and semicolons outside. Other marksâquestion mark, dash, and exclamation point, for exampleâgo inside when they belong with the quoted material, outside when they belong to the main sentence. British editorial conventions differ.	3
When quoting a long passage of two or more paragraphs, the usual procedure in written American English is to use no quotation marks and instead to set off the entire passage of quoted matter by indenting it. If you decide to use quotation marks instead, however, the usual procedure is to begin each paragraph of the long quotation with quotation marks but to use a closing quotation mark only at the end of the final sentence in the quoted passage. In any event, use only one of these methods with any given quotation. See also POETRY.	4
British publishers frequently use single quotation marks (opening â and closing â) where Americans use double quotation marks. In American writing, however, single quotation marks are restricted mainly to enclosing a quotation within a quotation: The dealer said, âIâm sorry, I thought you said âI pass.ââ Note that a period goes inside both final quotation marks when the two quotations end together.

Re: Dear Friends,

richard_s — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:26:57 GMT

The aquatics centre will have a total capacity of 22,500, out of which 17,500 seats will be for the diving and pool competition(,) and the other 5,000 will be in the water polo section of the centre.

Notes:

Capitals - only capitalise the first letter of a sentence of names of things (proper nouns).

to seat - it is unusual to use total and to seat together. Â They don't collocate. We either say a total capacity of...Â orÂ a capacity to seat...

Punctuation - the semicolon use is incorrect there. Â You need a comma. Â Out of which actually begins a (dependent) relative clause which is the object of a preposition. Â Use semicolons when you are separating independent clauses.

the rest - the restÂ means all of the other seats. Â We don't use it with a number because it means all that is left. Â We use the otherÂ with a number to achieve the same meaning.

will be put up for - this seems wrong here though I am not exactly sure of your meaning. Â In this case, forÂ seems more logical.

Re: Help with semicolon

Mister Micawber — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:15:02 GMT

.
Hello HogDog-- and welcome to EF.

No, they are mostly wrong. Only the last one is correct. The first one should be a colon and the others commas, like this:

Emergency supplies are a necessity. You will want to bring: signaling devices, something reflective such as a small mirror or compact disk, a whistle and cylumine light-sticks, and a rain poncho or a space blanket to accommodate unforeseen changes in the climate; also, matches and a striker pad could prove very useful if stuck somewhere for the night.

Lists use semicolons only when there are internal commas, as in:

I have homes in Nome, Alaska; Miami, Florida; San Francisco, Calfornia; and El Paso, Texas.

Help with semicolon

HogDog — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:00:58 GMT

Hello all I was just wondering if I'm using the semicolon correctly in the following sentence:

Emergency supplies are a necessity. You will want to bring; signaling devices, something reflective such as a small mirror or compact disk, a whistle and cylumine light-sticks; a rain poncho or a space blanket to accommodate unforeseen changes in the climate; also matches and a striker pad could prove very useful if stuck somewhere for the night.

thanks for the help.

the grammar behind " , be it ..."

Seraphin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:46:33 GMT

I am curious what the grammar rule is behind the following sentence,

"I comprehend all restraint of motion, caused by an external obstacle, be it a house; or an island.

There is no conjunction before "be it a house", nor a semicolon.Â

Can anyone please explain the rules? thanks.

ps. I was thinking maybe it is a transformation ofÂ

"I comprehend all restraint of motion, caused by an external obstacle, whether it is a house or an island".

And here "whether" is the conjunction ??

Re: * >< [ ] ; ! :_ " What is it called in English?

Peaceblinkfriend — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:21:17 GMT

Welcome to Englishforums veronikad!

Those keyboard symbols which show feelings are called emoticons or smiley. :-DÂ

In maths, ' * ' this is called the times sign.Â

; Â Â - Â Â semicolon

( ) Â - Â Â brackets, round brackets, parenthesesÂ

People tend to use brackets are round brackets in Australia. In North America, parentheses is the more common term I think.

>Â Â and <Â Â Â

x > 3 Â - x is greater than 3

x < 3 Â - x is less than 3

tom_school@***.com - Â Â Â "_" is called underscore

!Â Â - exclamation mark

âÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â two dots over the word, and what it is called when a word isÂ Â âwithinâÂ Â ? Â - Â I don't really know what people call this.Â

%Â Â Â percentage

: Â Â colon

âÂ Â Â Â apostrophe

!=Â Â Â how do you say that in programming terms? Â Â - I don't know

>=Â Â Â how do you say that in programming terms? Â Â - greater than or equal to

I don't know much about programming unfortunately. Sorry but I can't help you with the other terms. I was never good at programming when I took up computer last year.

Hope it helps.Â

PBF