Posted by Geoff Pullum to LanguageLog. When commas are crucial to comprehension When I write a clause that begins with a clause-containing adjunct, I generally put a comma after the adjunct. The comma in that first sentence illustrates my practice. Some writers studiously avoid such a comma (sometimes my style is known as "heavy" punctuation and the other style as "light"). I also like the so...
[ Currently listeningto: my father playing the piano] [ Currently reading: Firebirds , Sharyn November (ed.)] carobanano tagged me to do this one (uh, on 10 August 2005) , so here it is: the literary survey! First, to introduce my official sponsors (i.e. in the links): Canadian: Chapters-Indigo American: Barnes and Noble British: Foyles And now, onto the questions! (...
I've been meaning to post this for a while, but passing by the airport Burger King and noting to myself that I'd rather overpay for a Starbucksmuffin than eat there, because of their offensive advertising , reminded me. (Have I not posted before about Burger King ads? I stopped eating there entirely, not that I ever really went there much anyway, after they took "I am Woman" and turned it into ...
What with my new facination with Boxing Day I thought it only right that I find out what it was all about, what's the meaning of this day afterChristmas Day and before New Years. Boxing Day is not the same thing as St Stephens day, which celebrates St Stephen who was the first Christianmartyr and is often on the 26th December or, in some Eastern churches the 27th December. However, Boxing ...
This Languagelog post by Mark Liberman is short enough to quote in full: According to the BBC , the Swansea council should have gotten a second opinion on this road sign: The cited article says that the council emailed the English text to their Welsh translator, and gave the response to the sign painters. Unfortunately, according to the article, the response meant "I am not in the...
Language Log написал о говорящем казахском слоне Батыре: "Batyr's words and phrases were apparently not all so polite, including things like «Иди (на) хуй», "go on the penis" , a Russianidiom of abuse." Хороший перевод! Вот еще несколько в том же духе: - "Go away in a vagina-like manner" - "Oh, the whore" - "Here's a penis for you".
More on the process of outlining in fiction
Electric Velocipede has a subscription drive — Come on, you know you want to support real cool independentshort fiction.
Publisher Imprint Report Card, Part 1 — A disquisition on branding in publishing. In case you weren’t confused enough already. (Snurched from Scrivener’s Error .)
Dr. Roundbottom: Scientist & Philosopher — If you ...
