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Adom
06-01-2010, 09:29 PM
Almost everyone who uses semicolons tries to sound smart; semicolons are not commas. Saying things like "Joshua likes cheese; pie; and ADOM" is in correct. Now, I know that I definitional don't have perfect grammar and spelling. I'm fine if people type like "hey how r u?" But only use semicolons if you know how to use them. Thanks

fazisi
06-01-2010, 09:31 PM
Who misused semicolons?

Adom
06-01-2010, 09:34 PM
People who try to use them. In newspapers, on most online forums, I *think* I saw someone here use it as a comma.

Adom
06-01-2010, 09:35 PM
Found one.
http://www.adom.de/forums/showthread.php?t=10554

gut
06-01-2010, 09:37 PM
> "Joshua likes cheese; pie; and ADOM" is in correct.

Oooo! I wanna be in correct; I find it in teresting.

> Now, I know that I definitional don't

Who donna wishornal vistogal worbler jarglennen.


EDIT: had to fix spelling in 'jarglenn' to 'jarglennen'.

Adom
06-01-2010, 09:38 PM
I is cccrap ! 1! Thisiisisi is what happend when i tryyy to type fastly

Adom
06-01-2010, 09:39 PM
Correct semicolon usage!!!! http://www.adom.de/forums/showthread.php?t=10543
I'm not saying that people should type correctly and use correct grammar, but if you don't know what something does, don't use it.

fazisi
06-01-2010, 09:41 PM
Using a semicolon isn't hard; I once saw a party gorilla do it.

The only time to use a semicolon as a comma is as a "super-comma".
i.e. While searching for a good place to bury the body, I travelled to London, England; London, Ontario; and London, West Virginia.

BlkDucky
06-01-2010, 09:55 PM
Almost everyone who uses semicolons tries to sound smart; semicolons are not commas. Saying things like "Joshua likes cheese; pie; and ADOM" is in correct. Now, I know that I definitional don't have perfect grammar and spelling. I'm fine if people type like "hey how r u?" But only use semicolons if you know how to use them. Thanks

Yeah, but you misspelt incorrect, therefore: your argument is invalid. :rolleyes:

Grey
06-01-2010, 10:02 PM
I think it is important now; for us all to use semicolons; correctly.

Adom
06-01-2010, 10:14 PM
Yeah, but you misspelt incorrect, therefore: your argument is invalid
I first thought you used a semi colon which would not be in correct. Because it would not be in the correct zone

gut
06-01-2010, 10:15 PM
Now let's crack down, on, the proper; use of its vs it's?
that would, make my life better)

Adom
06-01-2010, 10:21 PM
Now let's crack down, on, the proper; use of its vs it's?
that would, make my life better)

it's= it is
its= possessive of it
itis=inflammation

gut
06-01-2010, 10:32 PM
Good show, now deal with those who insist on using 'would of'
instead of 'would have'. I feel we are really making progress here.

Albahan
06-01-2010, 10:39 PM
I especially hate the your/you're mistake

Grey
06-01-2010, 10:47 PM
And people who get 'a lot' wrong a lot.

gut
06-01-2010, 11:32 PM
the enemy of spelling/grammar is rushing

ihopeiwin
06-01-2010, 11:53 PM
no the enemi of speling and grammar is stupiditey :D

The Metro Gnome
06-02-2010, 02:49 AM
I've always thought of the ";" as an internal body part. Such as "I have cancer in my colon, and now its spreading to my semi-colon!"

But what I really hate is when people use "a" instead of "an" and vise versa. An also vat I vearly vate is ven peovle put acvents in their messages!!!!!!!

gut
06-02-2010, 04:36 AM
How about things like 'a historic' vs 'an historic'?

fazisi
06-02-2010, 07:59 AM
'a historic' would be correct. We're not frogs.

Pumpernickel
06-02-2010, 10:21 AM
Wotcher - so Cockneys are amphibians? I 'ardly fink so, guv.

Anyway, the 'wrong' usage of the semicolon quoted looks perfectly o.k. for me, while the 'correct' usage is rather poor - while not wrong, i'd prefer a colon there.
I'm used to apply the semicolon as a sort of super-comma, to denote a break too significant for a comma but not enough so to warrant a period. Whether or not a semicolon should be used is then a judgement call of the writer, not a definite 'wrong/false' rule.

And hey, you _can_ use a semicolon in co;rrect.

My favourite irritating mistypes are the "they're/their/there" triplet.

grobblewobble
06-02-2010, 10:32 AM
Wotcher - so Cockneys are amphibians? I 'ardly fink so, guv.

Anyway, the 'wrong' usage of the semicolon quoted looks perfectly o.k. for me, while the 'correct' usage is rather poor - while not wrong, i'd prefer a colon there.
I'm used to apply the semicolon as a sort of super-comma, to denote a break too significant for a comma but not enough so to warrant a period. Whether or not a semicolon should be used is then a judgement call of the writer, not a definite 'wrong/false' rule.

And hey, you _can_ use a semicolon in co;rrect.

My favourite irritating mistypes are the "they're/their/there" triplet.

My favourite irritation is unnecessary large quote blocks.

gut
06-02-2010, 11:06 AM
> 'a historic' would be correct

Are you sure about that? There is quite a debate.

The Metro Gnome
06-02-2010, 02:50 PM
The proper use for "A" and "An" is "A" is used for continents and "An" is used for vowels. idk about Historic because since i don't even know how to pronounce it, but if the H is silent, use an. If it's pronounced, use a.

meh
06-02-2010, 03:03 PM
As in "a Africa"?

The Metro Gnome
06-02-2010, 03:13 PM
Oops, auto correct kicked in. Constants (such as b,c,d,f,g and so on)

Albahan
06-02-2010, 05:57 PM
I think you mean consonants.. unless we're now talking about equations.

As for the "historic" debate I'm with the A team..

gut
06-02-2010, 07:08 PM
Well, an university would say that is an Utopian idea : )

Both are considered acceptable, but 'a historic' gets
the nod.

fazisi
06-02-2010, 07:16 PM
"Historic" is not pronounced with as "istoric" unless you're a frenchman. If that isn't reason enough to say "a historic" instead of "an historic", the second sounds fucking stupid and is hard to say without sounding like a total douche.

Grey
06-02-2010, 08:31 PM
I don't think "sounding like a douche" is amongst any of the definitions of proper linguistic form...

gut
06-02-2010, 09:39 PM
> the second sounds fucking stupid and is hard to say
> without sounding like a total douche

Type 'an historic' into google and you will see. I agree
that 'a historic' sounds more correct, but stats say that
1/3 of uses on the net are 'an historic'. It has found its
way into news broadcasts, newspapers, and many other
respected forms of print. You never notice it though, if
you aren't specifically looking for it... or you're just a
nitpicker.

fazisi
06-02-2010, 11:31 PM
That is no surprise. More than 1/3 of the English speaking population is mentally challenged.

Timpak
06-03-2010, 12:36 AM
Haven't read the rest of the thread. But semicolon is really not necessary to write good grammar and most people that uses it use it in the wrong way. It is supposed to be used when puncuation is to strong but comma causes comma splice. Usually you can remove that need by adding a coordinating conjunction or just rephrasing. Personally I stay away from it since I'm really not sure when it fits since I'm not used to reading texts with it within.

Grey
06-03-2010, 12:42 AM
Evidently you're not too keen on commas either...

gut
06-03-2010, 12:49 AM
> More than 1/3 of the English speaking population is mentally challenged.

So if 1/3 of 'a historic' enthusiasts are mental, that brings it even :D

I was always taught that ; is a substitute for a conjuntion. Should only be
used if the words following the ; make a complete and related sentence.

EXAMPLE: 'The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want'.

The 'supercomma' theory is beyond me.

The Metro Gnome
06-03-2010, 03:23 AM
Actually, I've heard that's it's used more like a period (of course, I'm just going off of what I heard from the ACT people)

fazisi
06-03-2010, 05:37 AM
Yes, a semicolon is used to join two independent clauses that have some relation to each other. For example, it is alright to say 'The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.' but not 'The lord is my shepherd; old cheese tastes the best.'

Travis Prue
06-04-2010, 07:00 AM
Am ; I ; Doing ; It ; Right?
;
;
;
;
;
;;
;
;
;
;;;
;;
;
;

ihopeiwin
06-04-2010, 06:18 PM
Yes, a semicolon is used to join two independent clauses that have some relation to each other. For example, it is alright to say 'The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.' but not 'The lord is my shepherd; old cheese tastes the best.'

the latter is still correct, but in that case you (if you had half a brain or just didn't want people to think that you are a complete joke as a writer) still wouldn't say: The lord is my shepherd. Old cheese tastes the best.
As for semicolons coming up in the literature, their use is very widespread and they are often used in place of periods, and as it pertains to common usage it is correct to use them interchangeably with periods (I don't know what some grammar handbook says and frankly I don't care).
Semicolons are not supercommas. I don't even know what that means.

The Metro Gnome
06-04-2010, 06:40 PM
, = pause

; = EPIC PAUSE!!

gut
06-04-2010, 08:11 PM
> Semicolons are not supercommas. I don't even know what that means

Join da club :)

fazisi
06-04-2010, 08:26 PM
I already explained it but let me supply some contrast as to why they are good.


While searching for a good place to bury the body, I travelled to London, England, London, Ontario, and London, West Virginia.


While searching for a good place to bury the body, I travelled to London, England; London, Ontario; and London, West Virginia.

gut
06-04-2010, 09:02 PM
I didn't know that 'london ontario' was a sentence. Who needs verbs though.

While hiding fazisi's body parts, I travelled to: London, England, London, Atlantis, London, Pergatory.

If use gonna use a list, use gonna use a :

Laukku
06-04-2010, 09:30 PM
I didn't know that 'london ontario' was a sentence. Who needs verbs though.
It's an item in a list. Items in a list are usually separated by a comma. However, "London, Ontario" and all those other places already have a comma in them, which will make problems. So, the items are separated with semicolons instead.


While hiding fazisi's body parts, I travelled to: London, England, London, Atlantis, London, Pergatory.
Why visit London three times?


If use gonna use a list, use gonna use a :

Huh? Use use use use?

fazisi
06-04-2010, 09:42 PM
Don't even bother, Laukku. gut's response clearly displays why his feeble hick brain cannot comprehend the use of grammar. He couldn't even use a colon right while starting a list.

A proper use of a colon with similar sentence structure would be

While hiding fazisi's body parts, I traveled to several cities: London, England; London, Atlantis; and London, Purgatory.

Pumpernickel
06-04-2010, 11:36 PM
Well, i would think that someone going under the name 'gut' should be an expert on colons; and duodenums and appendices.

Anyway, to contribute to the debate:
It's not the age that makes a cheese good - it's the type of milk you use and the processes. A gouda, no matter how old, gets nowhere near as good as a nice young goat's cheese. And don't get me started on blue or red mould cheese, or pressed ...
A lifetimes worth of great taste experiences, and that's just the cheeses!

Adom
06-05-2010, 02:56 AM
Haven't read the rest of the thread. But semicolon is really not necessary to write good grammar and most people that uses it use it in the wrong way. It is supposed to be used when puncuation is to strong but comma causes comma splice. Usually you can remove that need by adding a coordinating conjunction or just rephrasing. Personally I stay away from it since I'm really not sure when it fits since I'm not used to reading texts with it within.
I know, but sometimes they make things easier to understand (when the sentences are related). A vs an is not when there is a constant and vowel, but when there is a constant sound and a vowel sound.

yisk
06-05-2010, 05:21 PM
Those damned Americans always write a lot of commas. Because it is inconvenient to put a point with a pencil.

ihopeiwin
06-05-2010, 06:26 PM
Oh shit don't even get me started on cheese. But you already have I see :)... I, for one, am a fan of aged gouda. The only problem is that it fucks up my pallette if I eat too much. Why I don't know but there it is. Most young cheeses are too delicate, but having smooth delicate flavors is sometimes better than the bold flavors that many aged cheeses that stink up your living room. Although I still like the ones that stink the most the most. And one thing that bugs me is that no one seems to know that there is such a thing as sheep's milk cheeses, and those are really good cheeses.
As for the list of cities, I've never seen semicolons used that way although I suppose one could do that to avoid confusion. But I would much rather, if I were to write such a thing, write merely the names of the cities, and if there were cities whom shared the same name I would then extrapolate on that in a later sentence, or perhaps divide the clauses with a lovely semicolon.

Adom
06-05-2010, 06:28 PM
Oh shit don't even get me started on cheese. But you already have I see :)... I, for one, am a fan of aged gouda. The only problem is that it fucks up my pallette if I eat too much. Why I don't know but there it is. Most young cheeses are too delicate, but having smooth delicate flavors is sometimes better than the bold flavors that many aged cheeses that stink up your living room. Although I still like the ones that stink the most the most. And one thing that bugs me is that no one seems to know that there is such a thing as sheep's milk cheeses, and those are really good cheeses.
As for the list of cities, I've never seen semicolons used that way although I suppose one could do that to avoid confusion. But I would much rather, if I were to write such a thing, write merely the names of the cities, and if there were cities whom shared the same name I would then extrapolate on that in a later sentence, or perhaps divide the clauses with a lovely semicolon.
Smoky gouda!

ihopeiwin
06-05-2010, 06:30 PM
and @yisk yes it is extremely incovenient to put a point with a pencil; god knows all of my periods look like commas and then I have to make them semicolons due to my inherent bias towards erasers of all sorts which no doubt stems from my American background.

gut
06-06-2010, 12:31 AM
wellatleastyouarebetteroffthanmeIhaven'tbeenableto usepuctuationatallduetomyAmericanness

Adom
06-06-2010, 01:18 AM
Gut, you're American?
As in live in the U.S.A?
I hate people who live in the U.S.A. Like myself.

Theym
06-09-2010, 04:45 AM
I don't think "sounding like a douche" is amongst any of the definitions of proper linguistic form...

It's right next to censoring yourself to sound more "tolerant"

gut
06-09-2010, 11:01 AM
Did you just tell Grey to go 'censor' himself. I'll second that.