looney
Banned
- Jul 7, 2003
- 15,652
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Grammer / Spelling
- Thread starter Sheebo
- Start date
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AuntAgonist
Plastic fan
- Apr 29, 2011
- 50
So after Hovagirl's "corrections". The meaning has changed from what I originally meant, a rehtorical question to express irony and sarcasm to one of an accusation of dishonesty.
Yea that really works.
As Martin from The Simpsons would say "Your very question is faulty".
Nottseagull
Well-known member
If I may be so bold, I'd like to point out that a comma has
been incorrectly inserted after '11' I'm afraid, LB! However,
the main purpose of my post is to agree, not to nitpick. Having
to study Chaucer's Prologue and Henry IV Part One
left me with no appetite to find out what happened in Part
Two, let alone do it all again for A-level!
Last edited:
AuntAgonist
Plastic fan
- Apr 29, 2011
- 50
*Gives looney a big hug* I love these threads and will be back to jump all over the next pedantry-related one. Have to get up early for work tomorrow though 
Nighty-nighty all
Nighty-nighty all
A comma has nothing to do with rhetoric. It is used for clauses.
Asbolutely agree, Lord B. The very things we are discussing now, I learnt at primary school in the early 60s, but homed in on in more detail for the O-Level. As you say, A-Level English was analysis of classical English literature.
phoenix
Well-known member
- May 18, 2009
- 2,871
Totally agree with you.Its like trying to be better. My friend is very good at English, But is a total failure in life. Rep point to you,sir.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
No it hasn't. A comma is a legitimate way to separate clauses and aid clarity.
So after Hovagirl's "corrections". The meaning has changed from what I originally meant, a rehtorical question to express irony and sarcasm to one of an accusation of dishonesty.
Yea that really works.
Your original sentence/s expressed surprise that the other poster had done A-Level in English, yet made five errors in five sentences. There is nothing rhetorical about this, neither is it ironic. It is ironic that the OP complained about spelling errors, and then made some, just as it is ironic that I made a statement, didn't read it back to myself, and NottsSeagull found me out!
I quite agree. I'd actually changed a sentence I'd originally written, but completely failed to read it back, in my haste to click on reply, and carry on chatting with my sister-in-law elsewhere! I do humbly apologise.
Agree with that, but have to agree that the comma after '11' was, at the very least, superfluous. Sorry................!
looney
Banned
- Jul 7, 2003
- 15,652
IF I may quote LB.
"A comma is a legitimate way to separate clauses and aid clarity. "
ie I was clarifying the retorical nature of the question.
Bottom line is you cant "correct" someones punctuation in a way that alters the meaning from what they intended. You are wrong, deal with it.
In the world of newspapers, that is true, but it is not what we were taught at school half a century ago!
Sorry, I'm not wrong.
looney
Banned
- Jul 7, 2003
- 15,652
So explain to me why I wrote a sarcastic reference but your correction alters my intent therefore I must be delusional about what I meant to post.
phoenix
Well-known member
- May 18, 2009
- 2,871
You started the thread. This is an internet fail on scales hitherto only even dreamt about (well, probably not) so you deserve hideous amounts of ridicule for trying to be pedantic, and making yourself look silly. As this is how the inrternet works.
Typo intentionally left in
Lord Bracknell
On fire
How do you feel about replacing commas with dashes? I'll re-work my original sentence, to emphasise that I was 11 years old when I started learning Latin: It would have been impossible to start learning Latin - at the age of 11 - without a solid grounding in the basics of language.
My original intention was, however, not that; it was to emphasise the importance of having a solid grounding in the basics of language - hence the placing of a comma after "11". I fear being fixtured, though, since the opportunity to use commas to create different nuances is what looney and HovaGirl have been arguing about.
It's not a case of being delusional. The grammar was faulty. You said this:
"I counted 5 errors in 5 sentences, you have an A level in English? No wonder the countries going to the dogs."
Here, the comma isn't part of a clause, because the two sections bear no relationship to each other. The comma does not create a relationship. They are two separate statements, one of them being a question. If you want the statements to relate to each other, then you need to add in a conjunction, a joining word, a word which will join the two statements together.
Inserting the word "yet" expresses the opposing sentiments in the two statements. "This yet that?"
"I counted five errors in five sentences yet you have an A level in English? No wonder the country is going to the dogs."
That simple word, "yet", expresses your astonishment, surprise, or even sarcasm. The comma does not fulfill that function.
