Comments on: Since you asked, Vampire Weekend, I do.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:38:53 +0000

Yes, things are different. If I’m not mistaken, the rules for dialogue are the same, just flipped, so that your double quote mark equals our single and vice versa. We do have different rules about punctuation that are probably more complicated than my sense of them: Americans always punctuate within the end quote mark, where Brits do it before or after depending on sense. The British placement of punctuation is something that’s lingered as a bad habit for me since I was in grad school in Ireland (where they actually didn’t require nor care for us to switch our writing habits to standard British from standard American, but I did anyway).

For what it’s worth, I also don’t think we refer to anything as an “inverted comma.” I’m not sure we consistently call single quotation marks anything when they’re not apostrophes.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:27:41 +0000

The same part of me that loves a serial comma and shuns a single space takes issue with the extra “and” there, but I won’t pretend my grammar knowledge runs deeper than gut instinct and vague memories of instruction.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:22:22 +0000

Sadly one of the boys of Vampire Weekend tutored a former intern of ours, so he was probably spreading his bad punctuation far and wide even before he had a viable musical career.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:19:25 +0000

Ha!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:19:10 +0000

I do believe that the Harvard comma, Oxford comma, and serial comma are one and the same. And it’s too early to suggest it’s met its end, so don’t call to gloat just yet! It’s a lovely little piece of punctuation and, as you can see, has many supporters!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:16:49 +0000

Serial Comma-ers and Double Spacers UNITE! We have nothing to lose but a few years off our lives from stressing out about punctuation! (Ok, so the slogan needs work.)

It’s great to have such support from all of you. I’m going to assume the lack of dissent means that all reasonable people everywhere are on our side.

By: Donna Hole

Donna Hole — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:07:40 +0000

Not insane at all. I still remember some rules from English Comp 101 and have a MLA copy somewhere. For shame, what the changing technology times do to a good writing . .

…….dhole

By: Garry Grierson

Garry Grierson — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:45:58 +0000

I’ve actually been chastised; more than once, and usually by Americans; for using the oxford comma. Many of which pick it up as a grammar mistake. I only ever double space after a period when preparing ‘proper manuscript format’ for submission though. The ‘Replace All’ option in word is indeed your friend!
Oh and single quotes, quite a lot of Americans also don’t seem to understand the difference between double and single quotes… Are things different over there?

By: Anita Laydon Miller

Anita Laydon Miller — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 23:46:30 +0000

I TRY to drop unnecessary commas. Really, I do. But I just love those things. Everything about them. Ahhhhh. I want a comma t-shirt.

By: Kait Nolan

Kait Nolan — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:26:13 +0000

Okay we are soul sisters. LONG LIVE THE SERIAL COMMA AND DOUBLE SPACES! Seriously. For all the reasons you mentioned. When I learned to type nearly 20 years ago, double space was the rule, and I see no reason why I should have to change that when it really IS that much easier to read. When I write my manuscripts, I have to go through and do a find and replace of double to single spaces so that I’m “technically correct.” But a little piece of me dies every time.