Fw: [Gllug] just a quick question

[John Winters]

On Mon, 2006-02-13 at 15:12 +0000, paul wrote:
> No, I meant meant why are you interested in how I punctuate things.
> 
> > Oh dear - back to basics.  It was intended as a joke, but since you
> > ask...
> 
> You should look at your own punctuation. The three dots at the end would
> denote that you have left something unsaid.

As indeed I did.  I missed out the, "I'll go on and explain in more
detail".  It's a common way of using an ellipsis.

> That is not the case, because you then go on to say what was left unsaid.

Not all of it - specifically not the bit that I missed out.

> The conclusion being that
> you intended the three dots to be a pause in a larger statement, which could
> equally have been covered by a semicolon,
> or a hyphon.

Isn't that a mythical beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a
dragon?

> There was nothing wrong with the sentence you are criticising.

This is only the case if you stick to the, "I can do what I like"
position of punctuation.  By the conventional rules of punctuation
(which you are quite right in saying that no-one can force you to use)
it was simply wrong.

HTH
John

-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at gllug.org.uk
http://lists.gllug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug