c9: (Default)
c9 ([personal profile] c9) wrote2004-01-06 11:21 am

(no subject)

I think now that livejournals are free without invite codes, I need to start another account, which I shall use to be pedantic. And bitch about spelling and apostrophes. I swear I'm an English teacher at heart.

(pause while I extremely carefully proofread the previous paragraph, for irony-avoidance reasons)

[identity profile] jasondclinton.livejournal.com 2004-01-06 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
In the first sentance, the second comma is not needed. In your second sentence, you have no subject therefore making it an incomplete thought.

... unless, of course, you're claiming poetic license.

[identity profile] c9.livejournal.com 2004-01-06 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooo, you're saucy aren't you? I never said a *good* English teacher. :)

[identity profile] alliensis.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
I think now that are free without invite codes, I need to start another account I shall use to be pedantic bitch about spelling and apostrophes. I swear an English teacher at heart.

It is an admirable goal, to be sure, but grammar and online blogs mix only sparingly. As hard as one might try, discipline collapses as frequently as it might in conversation.

(Just giving you a hard time. :P)

[identity profile] alliensis.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
In the first , the second comma is not needed. In your second sentence you have no subject therefore making it an incomplete thought.

[identity profile] jasondclinton.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
No.

Granted, I spelled "sentence" wrong in the first sentence. Everythign else, however, is correct. The second comma is a prepositional phrase delimiter. There is no comma required before the logical opperand "therefore". That would be like saying that "because" needs a comma preceeding it, always.

[identity profile] alliensis.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
In your current syntactical setup, the anastrophic prepositional dangling at the front of your second sentence perhaps could be salvageable. Nevertheless, moving the comma would be the sound grammatical thing to due because of the resultant pure compound-compound division: without the second comma you have a lack of parallel constructions in your use of a present participle and the main clause is appended to it awkwardly.

*Everything
*preceding

[identity profile] c9.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
Boys, boys, settle down or you get no dessert. Despite your pleasantness to the eye, this is silly. :)

[identity profile] alliensis.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
*obeys*
*hopes second comment is in reference to the much-prettier [livejournal.com profile] clintonj*
*acknowledges silliness*

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<rips [...] "8">') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

*obeys*
*hopes second comment is in reference to the much-prettier <user site="livejournal.com" user="clintonj">*
*acknowledges silliness*

<rips "8" key from keyboard to prevent further asterisk use />

[identity profile] c9.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
I believe I shall now drop this idea of being an English teacher. It appears to involve a lot of intense scrutiny.

[identity profile] alliensis.livejournal.com 2004-01-07 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
You should try copy editing. It's a great way to go insane. But there's a difference between nitpicking and English teaching. Besides, they don't teach grammar in schools anymore. Bullshitting is a far more valuable skill. :P