Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:58:02 -0600 (CST) From: Robert Bonomi <bonomi@mail.r-bonomi.com> To: freebsd@edvax.de Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: well, try here first... Message-ID: <201211140658.qAE6w2tT090220@mail.r-bonomi.com> In-Reply-To: <20121114054848.3a35510f.freebsd@edvax.de>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:48:48 +0100
> From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>
> Subject: Re: well, try here first...
>
> On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:20:51 -0700, Chad Leigh Shire.Net LLC wrote:
> >
> > To be fair, a lot of the same rules exist for English. The comma
> > is not optional or left to preferences in English, either. There
> > are definite rules and it brings structure.
>
> That matches what I've learned in school, but it doesn't match
> realitiy anymore. :-)
>
> A famous thing is "comma in lists": Unlike German, where "and"
> substitutes a comma, in English it seems to be valid to put a
> comma infront of "and":
In 'classic' English (as taught in the 60s and earlier), a comma was
_required_ before a trailing 'and' in a list of 3 or more items, and forbidden
if there were only two items.
The famous "eats roots, shoots..." would parse as eating 3 objects, with the
comma before the 'and'.
for three actions, change the 'and' to 'then', comma before 'then'.
If eating two objects, "eats roots AND shoots *comma* and..." (emphasis added)
The accepted 'rules' changed about the time "new math" was foisted on the
world. The most visible ones involved comma placement, and punctuation
inside trailing quotes.
The password is "frodo."
It is 5 characters long.
The password is "frodo."
It is 6 characters long.
BAH, HUMBUG!!!
Make the first one:
The password is "frodo".
and all the ambiguity goes away. <*snarl*>
> He bought a glass, a towel, a toothpick, and a nose.
>
> In German, that would be
>
> Er kaufte ein Glas, ein Handtuch, einen Zahnstocker
> und eine Nase.
how do you write:
The sandwich choices are: tuna salad, chicken, roast beef and
ham, and cheese.
*without* making the last option a '{2 meats} and cheese' sandwich ??
(the next-to-last has two types of meat on it)
<*EVIL* grin>
> Note that the structure of a sentence, aided by
> punctuation, is an important part during the reading experience.
> Sentences that do not show any structure are hard to read and
> to understand, and a missing comma can decide about life or
> death easily:
>
> KILL HIM NOT WAIT UNTIL I ARRIVE
the traditional one of these in English is:
Go kill Joe Brown
_who_ is to die depends on whether or not there is a comma after
the second word. Ditto for who -does- the deed.
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?201211140658.qAE6w2tT090220>