Serial Comma Rules- Page 3
Serial Comma Rules
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#51re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 9:26am
LOL
I contributed to a thread about that on BWW years ago, PJ. It practically turned into World War III!
The Punk-tuationists came out in droves!
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#52re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 9:31amI didn't realize there was any dispute about placement (aside from a transatlantic difference).
#53re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 9:32am
Me either.
Love the cereal Phyllis!
#54re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 9:36am
They should always go inside the quotes, with only one or two possible exceptions (usually to do with a quoted question stated within a list). And those exceptions are an either/or scenario and correct either way.
So keep your punctuation inside the quotes.
... unless you live outside the U.S.
*gets ready for World War III*
I started it last time. Because one of our regular posters who is a teacher of English got it wrong. And then freaked out when I called him on it.
Think of all the little minds he misinformed over the years ...
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#56re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 11:38am
Our work style guide calls for the serial comma, so we do a lot of editing when we get materials from other consultants.
In addition to commas and quotation marks, what about periods and parenthesis?
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. - Randy Pausch
#57re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 11:42am
Using titles also is a reason to put punctuation outside of quotes. Especially when those titles have their own punctuation.
as in
Is anyone going to tonight's opening of "A Steady Rain"?
My favorite song from "1776" is "Is Anybody There?".
Updated On: 9/29/09 at 11:42 AM
#58re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 12:21pm
No period necessary in that last one, Calvin.
The question mark inside the quotes is all you need to end that sentence.
#59re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 12:31pm
I love this thread.
I bet you can tell if someone is gay just by how they serialize their commas.
serialgaydar.
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
#60re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 12:32pm
Truly? It's a construction I don't think I ever used, actually.
Colons and semicolons also go outside of quotation marks, don't they?
Here's an example that ties this whole mess together.
Which is your favorite song from "1776": "Is Anybody There?", "The Egg" or "Momma, Look Sharp"?
Missing serial comma, punctuation outside of quotes...augh! I'm actually not sure about the comma outside of quotes in that sentence, but it looks wrong to me without it.
#61re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 1:23pm
The question mark inside the quotes is all you need to end that sentence.
Something else I've always wondered about, PJ.
This thread is like Schoolhouse Rocks!
#62re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/29/09 at 1:28pm
But if that comma was underage, would you still give it the same attention you would if this question mark had happened to anybody else?
Hmmm?!?!
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#63re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:25pm
You only use it for Jesus's. That's the rule.
Actually, the rule is that the only time you DON'T use the 's is on ancient or Biblical names, such as Jesus, Moses, or Socrates.
http://www.ossweb.com/plural-possessives-for-proper-nouns-ending-in-sibilants.html
Which is your favorite song from "1776": "Is Anybody There?", "The Egg" or "Momma, Look Sharp"?
Techically, 1776 should not be in quotation marks at all because it is a title of a large work, so that solves one problem.
I've always put the punctuation inside the quotes as long as the quoted piece does not have different punctuation, and not included an extra piece of punctuation inside the quotes.
So, I would write that as:
Which is your favorite song from 1776: "Is Anybody There?" "The Egg," or "Momma, Look Sharp"?
Actually, I hate the question mark in the first title throwing off my punctuation, so I'd switch them to "The Egg," "Momma, Look Sharp," and "Is Anybody There?" especially since the sentence is a question anyway.
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#64re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:37pmAP Style unfortunately does not use underlines for titles. All titles (except for the Bible and a few other largely reference works) are in quotes.
#65re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:40pmOh, I've never learned AP. I've always used MLA, even in science courses.
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#66re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:41pmI've had AP drilled into me so hard that my body rejects any other style!
#67re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:47pmHa! What did/do you study? My college roommate had to do AP style and she was a psych major, but I studied theater and math, where the few papers I had to do were all in MLA.
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#68re: Serial Comma Rules
Posted: 9/30/09 at 1:57pmJournalism, both undergrad and graduate, then about five years at daily newspapers. Where I write now largely uses AP but has some of its own little eccentricities, which drive me batty.
Videos