Punctuation Pitfalls

[Kim]

There are threads in the Blurbs that deal with grammatical faux pas and with comma and ellipsis errors, but I thought that a thread dealing with semicolons and dashes may also be helpful to some. And hey -- it can't hurt to remind anyone what elipses are really for!

Semicolons are used:

- to join independent clauses when a coordinating conjunction (but, or, yet, for, and, nor, so) is not present.

Example: The poem was devoid of cliches and abstractions; Harry gave it a gold star.

- to join two independent clauses, the second of which begins with a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, furthermore, etc.)

Example: I am a fan of Wilco; however, I never much enjoyed the music of Uncle Tupelo.

- to separate items in a series that also contain commas.

Example: Julie plans on travelling to: Ashkum, Illinois; Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Terra Haute, Indiana.

The much-abused ellipsis is used:

- to show that one or more words have been omitted in a quotation. One space should be inserted before and after each period.

Example: "We the people . . . in order to form a more perfect Union . . . establish this Constitution for the United States of America." -- Preamble, U.S. Constitution

- more rarely, in dialogue, to indicate a pause.

Example: "I forgot the . . . the . . . the damn date of Bill and Cheri's wedding," she stammered.

The dash is used:

- to indicate a sudden break in thought or structure.

Example: I was eating my breakfast when -- holy cow! -- a huge, furry spider dropped into my lap.

Example: "If only my duties as a secret agent weren't so demanding," she thought, "there might be time for--" but a shadowy movement across the street interrupted her thought.

- to indicate a parenthetical or explanatory phrase or clause

Example: Little did Beau know when he bought the car -- a 1977 Buick -- that it once belonged to Harry Hockelocker.

Any punctuation pitfalls I missed? Add 'em.
Kim



[This message has been edited by Kim (edited 05-06-2002).]

[Howard Miller]

Oooh, goody--more "Blurbs" fodder. Thank you, Kim.


Howard

[Kevin Andrew Murphy]

A rule usually forgotten about the ellipses:
When used at the end of a sentence, ellipsis marks count either three or four dots, depending on whether it is a thought which trails off in the middle of the sentence, never finished, or a complete thought with an elliptical pause at the end.

Examples:

Gwendolyn stared at the seething, formless mass, trying to make out what... Good God! Had that once been human?

"But," Wilbeforce said, "while I may have many methods at my disposal, all I really need is this little gun...." He raised it slowly, allowing Clarice a long look before he pulled the trigger.

[This message has been edited by Kevin Andrew Murphy (edited 05-06-2002).]

[Kaem]

1) Also, there are cases where semicolons can be used even when you have a coordinating conjunction between two independent clauses. If your independent clauses contain commas, it may be desirable to substitute a semicolon for your comma at the coordinating conjunction so that people can more easily see the large-scale structure of your sentence.

2) I think it's spelled "ellipsis," but for some reason everyone on this site calls it "elipses" or "elipsis."

3) Dashes are often intended to highlight parenthetic material of more importance than you would usually set off with parentheses. Also, it may be preferable to use dashes when your parenthetic material contains commas (such as a list).

[Kim]

Originally posted by psycho*poet:
1) Also, there are cases where semicolons can be used even when you have a coordinating conjunction between two independent clauses. If your independent clauses contain commas, it may be desirable to substitute a semicolon for your comma at the coordinating conjunction so that people can more easily see the large-scale structure of your sentence.

**Yep. Here's an example: While typing the original message, sipping her Mountain Dew, and enjoying the breeze through the screen, Kim glanced twice at the word elipsis and wondered if it was spelled correctly; and, after checking two dictionaries, she has discovered that using one L may be an alternative to the more common spelling: ellipsis.

2) I think it's spelled "ellipsis," but for some reason everyone on this site calls it "elipses" or "elipsis."

** Elipses or ellipses if you prefer, is the plural form of elipsis.

3) Dashes are often intended to highlight parenthetic material of more importance than you would usually set off with parentheses. Also, it may be preferable to use dashes when your parenthetic material contains commas (such as a list).

**Interesting suggestion. Will you please provide an example? I've always thought parentheses were more appropriate when using a list. I'd like to see what you mean.

Muchas Gracias,
Kim

[Kaem]

Oh, I see, so ellipsis is to parenthesis as ellipses are to parentheses then. I'm still puzzled about one "l" or two though.

Example of using dashes with a list:

Only the good boys -- Mark, Peter, and Geoff -- were allowed to stay up late.

Of course, I would only use dashes if I felt my list was important in the context of my writing; otherwise, I would just use parentheses to set it off.

Another point about dashes: they should be typeset without being spaced from the words, but spaces are usually used on the Internet because of the lack of control over linebreaks. In poetry, that isn't a problem, so in that case, I don't leave any spaces between words and dashes.