Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Yeager on April 30, 2007, 10:17:38 PM
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I have two sentences that are in need of some english advice. Specifically my use of the colon and semi colon.
1) Jon is finally able to enjoy doing what he loves to do most; Experiencing the great outdoors.
2) The book sums it up best for me in this way: Life is what you make of it, not what it makes of you.
My question is am I using the colon and semi colon in the correct manner?
Thanks!
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They seem to pass my giggle test, but I ain't no english major.
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1st sentence needs a period.
2nd sentence needs a period.
Hanging participles, conjoin them.
1) Jon is Ghey.
2) This is Jon's Ghey Book.
Which now questions Yeager mind thought... Yeager only want's to talk about Colons... and a Semi in his Colon.....
Ewwww...
:D
Mac
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dOh! :p
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The first sentence is incorrect in many ways. A semicolon can be used to combine two closely-related sentences. The clause after your semicolon is not a sentence. There is also a parallel problem and no capitalization should be used.
Rewriting the sentence is left as an exercise.
No capitalization is use after a colon, either.
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Originally posted by Rolex
The first sentence is incorrect in many ways. A semicolon can be used to combine two closely-related sentences. The clause after your semicolon is not a sentence. There is also a parallel problem and no capitalization should be used.
Rewriting the sentence is left as an exercise.
No capitalization is use after a colon, either.
Rolex while we determine Yeagers use of his Colon, can you help me find my Watch?
Pun and Hurl
Mac
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I may be wrong, but IIRC a semi-colon is used similar to this: Jeremy Piven was quite good in the movie "Smokin' Aces"; a much more serious role than he usually plays.
A connected thought with a pause, but not a full stop like the end of a sentence.
It is a quite rare thing to actually use a semi-colon; it is usually replaced by a regular comma, but a comma infers something more on the same topic. A semi-colon is just a related matter, but not necessarily directly connected.
Oh Hell get a real English major in here, I am probably totally off-base, since I usually ignore all grammar rules when typing here anyway.
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Originally posted by JB73
I may be wrong, but IIRC a semi-colon is used similar to this: Jeremy Piven was quite good in the movie "Smokin' Aces"; a much more serious role than he usually plays.
A connected thought with a pause, but not a full stop like the end of a sentence.
It is a quite rare thing to actually use a semi-colon; it is usually replaced by a regular comma, but a comma infers something more on the same topic. A semi-colon is just a related matter, but not necessarily directly connected.
Oh Hell get a real English major in here, I am probably totally off-base, since I usually ignore all grammar rules when typing here anyway.
Got it.. laymans terms.. when yer in bed with the wifey this "semi colon" is just a pause... but not a full stop. Mkay been there. Yes quite rare but sometimes it's a related matter when not neccessarily directly connected. Hence the term "Semi Colon"? or "Taint"?
I can relate. And I do usually ignore all my Gramma's Rules here anyways.
:aok
Mac
Did I nail the meaning?
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I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Friday, should this make me an authority on the subject?
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Originally posted by Mr No Name
I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Friday, should this make me an authority on the subject?
Man yer gonna fart alot... Giggle in Recovery!!!
:aok
Mac
Hope all goes well.
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(quote) Comma and Semi Colon usage
I have two sentences that are in need of some english advice. Specifically my use of the colon and semi colon.
1) Jon is finally able to enjoy doing what he loves to do most; Experiencing the great outdoors.
2) The book sums it up best for me in this way: Life is what you make of it, not what it makes of you.
My question is am I using the colon and semi colon in the correct manner?
(unquote)
Better like these:
1) Jon is finally able to enjoy doing what he loves to do most: experiencing the great outdoors.
2) The book sums it up best for me in this way: Life is what you make of it, not what it makes of you.
Capitalization after a colon depends on how strong the phrase is. Complete sentences are sometimes capitalized after a colon, phrases rarely if ever.
Semicolons are usually used to join items in a series that include commas, e.g.: Fred has two cars, one red; Jill has three cars, none red; and Tony has one car, green.
Semicolons also are useful for two closely related sentences that are more effective more closely linked than separated by periods, e.g.:
John has three cars but doesn't like any of them; Jill has two cars and likes them both.
Being weaker than periods but stronger than commas, semicolons are compromises not often seen in contemporary usage.
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Actually, the second part of his first sentence is not a clause.
There has to be a subject, and the two independent clauses must be closely related. In your example, JB, a comma would suffice. The second part cannot stand alone.
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Dammm is this Jill from the early '60's books?
Nooooo... it was Jane right?
I get sooo confused sometimes.
:confused:
Mac
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Hey! Speaking of the colon...
Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were
quite humorous ... A physician claimed that the following are actual
comments made by some of his patients (predominately male) while he was
performing their colonoscopies:
1. "Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!
2. "Find Amelia Earhart yet?"
3. "Can you hear me NOW?"
4. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
5. "You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married."
6. "Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?"
7. "You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out..."
8. "Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!"
9. "If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!
10. "Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity."
11. "You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?"
12. "God, now I know why I am not gay."
13. "Should I smile for my Kodak Moment?"
And the best one of all...
14. "Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?"
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Originally posted by Mr No Name
I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Friday, should this make me an authority on the subject?
Just hope you don't wake up during it like I did! It's a royal pain in the prettythang!:D
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Originally posted by Mr No Name
I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Friday, should this make me an authority on the subject?
the 2 almost 3 day liquid diet is the hardest part.
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Everyone has a colon. I suppose if you have a semi colon it's so big you can drive a truck through it........ Do ya think that's rosies situation????:confused:
:p
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Nah, she's pretty butch... I more picture her as the pitcher than the catcher.
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Well, if you ask me,
Colon has been miss used and quoted over the last four or five years. While Colon never did divide or stop anything, he did make you take notice important data that has to be seen. In doing so he jeopardized his place and most likely his job.
The last head line I saw him in read;
“President Bush has irritated Colon, May have to be removed.”
Man I need something to do.
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Say it with a lisp
C:###
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off topic, but what is it that Jon wants to do? Experience the great outdoors, not experiencing.
Jon is finally able to enjoy what he loves to do most, experience the great outdoors.
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works for me McGroin, thanks fellas...appreciate the input (no pun intended) :aok
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Originally posted by Yeager
I have two sentences that are in need of some english advice. Specifically my use of the colon and semi colon.
1) Jon is finally able to enjoy doing what he loves to do most; Experiencing the great outdoors.
2) The book sums it up best for me in this way: Life is what you make of it, not what it makes of you.
My question is am I using the colon and semi colon in the correct manner?
Thanks!
Halo is right about the first one.
Jon is finally able...do most: (two spaces after ':' ) experiencing the great outdoors.
or: experience the great outdoors.
or: to experience the great outdoors.
Experiencing seems to work better if you put it into the whole sentence:
Experiencing the great outdoors is what Jon loves to do the most, which he is finally able to enjoy doing.
Is the second one a direct quote of the book? If so you can use either a comma or colon, but since you say "In this way" it seems a colon is best. It comes down to artistic license. If it is a quote, make sure to use "...". If this is a scholarly work and it's not a quote, but you're taking the ideas of the author, you are paraphrasing and still need to site your source. If it's a book report then you've effectively already sited it, but you still need a page number for a specific quote or idea. Just make sure its in there somewhere about the first place you use the idea.
Semi-colons are used to connect two closely related sentences that are the same idea or could otherwise be combined into the same one sentence, they just fit better apart. It's more of an older, British English thing, and they don't get used too much in modern American writing. An example:
Aces High II is more than just the best video game ever; it is the best entertainment activity in the history of stuff that is cool!
Not sure about spacing or capitalization after the ';' though. I never really use them. I just, kinda like, commas, yep.
Hope that helps! :cool:
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Suggest you obtain a copy of the book mentioned here.
Eats, shoots and leaves. (http://eatsshootsandleaves.com/ESLquiz.html)
Should explain all.
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The word "experience" is the parallel problem I mentioned in the 3rd post from the top. The gerund form would use a comma, not a colon.
Original: Jon is finally able to enjoy doing what he loves to do most; Experiencing the great outdoors.
Jon is finally able to enjoy what he loves to do most: experience the great outdoors.
or,
Jon is finally able to enjoy what he loves doing most, experiencing the great outdoors.
No semicolon would be used in the first sentence.
Note to 68Hawk: double spacing after a colon or period used to be correct and accepted practice when we were using typewriters. Single spacing is the accepted practice now.
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Originally posted by AWMac
Got it.. laymans terms.. when yer in bed with the wifey this "semi colon" is just a pause... but not a full stop. Mkay been there. Yes quite rare but sometimes it's a related matter when not neccessarily directly connected. Hence the term "Semi Colon"? or "Taint"?
I can relate. And I do usually ignore all my Gramma's Rules here anyways.
:aok
Mac
Did I nail the meaning?
lol
that was funny.
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Mac & Eagler... Thanks for the well wishes and the info... Fortunately they are only prepping me 18 hours ahead of time.
I will see if i can do some sphincter exercises so I can change pitch and play a tune or two for em!
:aok
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I only use a semi colon to join two sentences that are related. I usually use a colon when a sentence ends with a list of three or more things and before an example or illustration. I wanted to look it up to confirm that I was correct; my instances are fairly correct but there are also more. The source I found doesn’t mention illustrations but I think they fit into the example rule.
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Colon.
A colon marks a pause for explanation, expansion, enumeration, or elaboration. Use a colon to introduce a list: thing one, thing two, and thing three. Use it to pause and explain: this sentence makes the point. Use it to give an example: this, for instance.
There are other uses: the entry on Citation includes some tips on colons in bibliographies. Americans use it after the salutation in a formal letter: "Dear Sir:" (the British use a comma, which we Americans restrict to less formal letters). It also introduces a block quotation or a list of bullet points.
Semicolon.
Semicolons probably produce more confusion and misery than all the other punctuation marks combined. But they're really not very difficult to master.
The semicolon has only two common uses. The first is to separate the items in a list, often after a colon, especially when the listed items contain commas: "The following books will be covered on the midterm: the Odyssey, through book 12; Ovid's Metamorphoses, except for the passages on last week's quiz; and the selections from Chaucer." The semicolon makes it clear that there are three items, whereas using commas to separate them could produce confusion.
The other legitimate use of a semicolon is to separate two independent clauses in one sentence: "Shakespeare's comedies seem natural; his tragedies seem forced." Here's how to tell whether this one is appropriate: if you can use a period and begin a new sentence, you can use a semicolon. In other words, this kind of semicolon can always be replaced by a period and a capital letter. In the example, "Shakespeare's comedies seem natural. His tragedies seem forced" is correct, so a semicolon can be used. (If you used a comma here — "Shakespeare's comedies seem natural, his tragedies seem forced" — you'd be committing the sin of comma splice.)
It's risky to use semicolons anywhere else. There's no need for them after, for instance, "Dear Sir" in a letter (where a comma or a colon is preferred). Don't use them before a relative pronoun ("She sold more than 400 CDs; which was better than she hoped") — it should be a comma, since the bit after the semicolon can't stand on its own. [Entry revised 10 December 2006.]
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/s.html#semicolon
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Target glances from side to side, and wonders if this will stir them up . . .
Originally posted by Yeager
1) Jon is finally able to enjoy doing what he loves to do most -- experiencing the great outdoors.
When in doubt, just use a dash. :aok
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Simply the best book on punctuation I've read. It's funny and written for the layman.
"Eats, Shoots and Leaves" (http://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-7542973-0261463?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178096278&sr=8-2)
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Originally posted by AWMac
Rolex while we determine Yeagers use of his Colon, can you help me find my Watch?
Pun and Hurl
Mac
It's behind the couch
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My school memories tell me that semicolons are usually followed by "however,"or something similar...to link up 2 otherwise separate sentences.
(They also tell me that Vicki Krazinsky had HUGE tits:aok )