Errors and / or Omissions, The Oxford Comma...

[glancaster]

(Warning: Lyrics NSFW)

P.S. Pullman is being an a**e, probably because he just doesn't like Brexit. Not even professional writers agree about Oxford commas.

 

[Joe P]

Vuk,

It's a funny comic — well, it was — to show what happens if you're sloppily with commas. One moment you're rockin' with historical figures *and* stripers, the next the historical figures make you wish you had poked your eyes out with a rusty nail.

Joe

 

[vuk]

Vuk,

It's a funny comic — well, it was — to show what happens if you're sloppily with commas. One moment you're rockin' with historical figures *and* stripers, the next the historical figures make you wish you had poked your eyes out with a rusty nail.

Joe

yeah, i get that, but it is a big stretch. without the picture, nobody would interpret the second sentence that way. i'll grant you that perhaps once in a blue moon there are situations in which the oxford comma clears up obvious ambiguity or confusion, but that certainly is not one of them.

 

[Joe P]

Vuk,

We haven't even broached the other use of commas, which is to indicate, where, to, pause, for, dramatic effect.

Joe

 

[vuk]

Vuk,

We haven't even broached the other use of commas, which is to indicate, where, to, pause, for, dramatic effect.

Joe

joe.

i don't see how oxford is going to survive this.

 

[Joe]

nobody would interpret the second sentence that way. .

People who speak English would.

 

[Darmok]

Vuk,

We haven't even broached the other use of commas, which is to indicate, where, to, pause, for, dramatic effect.

Joe

Stutter punctuation.

There are two pieces of punctuation that will be your companions for these particular speech impediments: the hyphen and the comma. The punctuation you'll use to stutter out a word is the hyphen. After you know that, correctly punctuating for a stutter is as simple as knowing where the word would be stuttered.7 Jul 2008

https://fandom-grammar.livejournal.com/14121.html

Lol

 

[Hook]

Vuk,

The comma in the second sentence is used to introduce a series of items like so — I dedicate this poem to my mentors, Stan and Bubba.

You could also write the sentence with an em dash or a colon.

I dedicate this poem to my mentors — Stan and Bubba.

I dedicate this poem to my mentors: Stan and Bubba.

Joe

Shouldn’t these alternative formats also apply to Electric Boogaloo?

 

[myles]

I'm throwing each one I find into the canal

Let me know which canal; I'll redeploy a lad from the workhouse to go and fish them out for me.

 

[vuk]

a lot more problematic than any comma issue is the dreadful aesthetic, especially the horrible font. what is that, "televangelist cursive"?

 

[Darmok]

a lot more problematic than any comma issue is the dreadful aesthetic, especially the dreadful font. what is that, "televangelist cursive"?

"Spank of England" productions!

 

[Joe P]

Hook,

Shouldn’t these alternative formats also apply to Electric Boogaloo?

I don't think so. The colon in the Electric Boogaloo II formulations is used to denote the subtitle of the sequel on which it's based — Oxford Comma II: Electric Boogaloo.

A comma or em dash wouldn't make sense here.

Joe

 

[Pete MB&D]

I think Shat, has it, correct

Pete

 

[vuk]

I don't think so. The colon in the Electric Boogaloo II formulations is used to denote the subtitle of the sequel on which it's based — Oxford Comma II: Electric Boogaloo.

joe.

i know there's a rich history of dope rhymes at oxford, but what kind of dance moves do they bust?

 

[Yank]

I'm taking every Brexit 50p I receive and hoarding them, thus taking them them out of circulation. I will spend them on the celebration when we re-join the EU.

I hope you live long enough.

 

[Yank]

Spot the Loony...

Which one?

 

[Tony L]

a lot more problematic than any comma issue is the dreadful aesthetic, especially the horrible font. what is that, "televangelist cursive"?

I don’t use cash much at all these days but I hereby pledge to drop every one of these tasteless trinkets I receive in change into a charity box of some description. Utterly vile.

 

[Darmok]

I don’t use cash much at all these days but I hereby pledge to drop every one of these tasteless trinkets I receive in change into a charity box of some description. Utterly vile.

Good on you.

This trinket isn't even worth 50p since the currency collapse post 2016.

I predict some imaginative forgeries.

 

[Mike Reed]

Stutter punctuation.

There are two pieces of punctuation that will be your companions for these particular speech impediments: the hyphen and the comma. The punctuation you'll use to stutter out a word is the hyphen. After you know that, correctly punctuating for a stutter is as simple as knowing where the word would be stuttered.7 Jul 2008

They should use this on University Challenge as a stutter for 10.

I've come across strange thread rambles and deviation over the years, but this one is shaping up to be a parallel thread. I'm just waiting for the coinage comma. This (the Oxford comma parallel) reminds me of the 'Eats Shoots and Leaves' book. Alternatively, 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves'. Okay, different aspect of commas. I understood the Oxford comma was more the mis-use of one before 'and' when it doesn't denote any change of meaning. As 'and' is a conjunction, a comma shouldn't be necessary, but in speech, we frequently pause before 'and' so that pause would be represented by a comma.

I'm quite ambivalent about the Oxford comma (Oxford Comma?) and commas in general as there is a clear use as shown in Joe P's Stalin stripper cartoons. Just wish capital letters were used for proper nouns !!!

 

[darrenyeats]

As I understand it comma, semicolon, colon and full stop denote pauses of increasing length. They could be used for any reason, including parenthesis. For example, when listing things I use a colon at the start and separate the things in the list with semicolons. But em dash is only used for parenthesis, I think.

Happy to be corrected if someone knows better (still learning).

My point being, where you would use a short pause when speaking, a comma should be fine.