I thank you all

[allypally999]

I have just found this corner of the world and you have all kept me entertained whilst enduring a very dull day at work.

I am not sure I am smart enough to be here but I promise to mostly lurk and read ... although ... I too hate the misuse of the words lose/loose.

I use .. all the time .. is that wrong? Perhaps I shall stop to ensure I don't upset any of you good people!

[JeanSeberg]

What's the reason for your usage of .. ?

[AmeliaPeabody]

No not wrong, but I think it's three full stops rather than two for ellipses

[AmeliaPeabody]

Oh you did use three in one of the sentences. Sorry! It would depend on context etc, too, of course.

[DadDadDad]

Maybe I should hand in my pedant's badge, but when it comes to posting on a forum, I personally don't have a problem with using ..., textspeak abbreviations, even (gasp!) spelling and punctuation errors. Many of us commit these "crimes" from time to time.

This is a conversational setting not a place for formal prose. Of course, even here, it helps if others can understand what you've written without having to struggle too much. So, paragraphs, some punctuation, a bit of grammatical structure and some correct spellings all help!

[DadDadDad]

By the way, I wouldn't worry about being "smart enough" to be here. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, although you might be challenged as to why you take a view. And there always seem to be people on here willing to answer even the most basic questions.

As there are some knowledgeable people here, be careful about asserting a fact without checking it first!

[allypally999]

Jean ... don't know really, just a bad habit I think. Thanks Dad, I thought I might get jumped on if my grammar (spelling?) was poor. My brain doesn't function so well these days so have to think before I type and hope not to say anything too stupid although I do like a good challenge.

I feel quite at home already!

[DadDadDad]

On PC, others' will (gently) point out you're spelling and grammar errors, but its a rule that they'll then make won (or too) of there own, posibbly in the verry saim poast. So, it's all normally done good-naturedly.

[MrsMcRuff]

Is there a prize, Dad?

[DadDadDad]

[MrsHathaway]

The usual objections to ellipses (...) are when too many dots are used, or without spaces either side, eg "I love my husband.......he's a god in human form" ; or when no other punctuation is ever used, eg "I love my husband ... He's a god in human form ... But he leaves his socks on the bedroom floor ... Should I ltb ... By the way he has an eight-inch cock, a tongue piercing, and a Lamborghini".

Used correctly, ellipses are used for omissions (She said he had "an eight-inch cock [...] and a Lamborghini" but I doubt it) or trailing off ...

In the latter case a new paragraph is usually needed.

Welcome to Pedants. Watch out for deliberate, ironic Pendants misspelling. Catches out the n00bs.

[pluCaChange]

Oooh, cakey!

I think Pedants' Corner is also expected to function as a kind of safety valve, or fuse board for the whole of Mumsnet. It's not really on, after all, to explode at the illiteracy of people who are, after all, having very serious problems!

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

I am a huge (...) fan.

A forensic linguist would have me sussed immediately, no matter how much I tried to disguise myself.

[pluCaChange]

My forensic-linguist "tell" is semicolons.

[MrsHathaway]

I love semi-colons.

In fiction, my 'tell' is the -" denoting interruption:

"Stella, I love you, but I can't go on. The truth is -"

"I don't care; just hold me."

[MrsHathaway]

Correct use of semi-colons indicates a Hugely Linguistically Talented (and probably fascinatingly sexy) Person.



I like to use them to balance or highlight juxtaposition; used in moderation, they can "show" without "telling" which is what writers should always strive for.

Jane's period was late; Tom was compulsively mowing the lawn.

[pluCaChange]

Hahahahaha! There are too many of us now!


;-) ahem!

[Poofus]

MrsHathaway - aposiopesis!

[pluCaChange]

Okay, I'll admit it first: I had to look that up.

(... buuuut that's use of a colon. Blushes spared! )

[DadDadDad]

MrsHathaway - do you write a lot of fiction? any we might have heard of?

By the way, I'm vaguely aware that your username is a reference to some character in one of those worthy classics written by Austen or similar, but every time I read your posts I just picture you looking like the actress Anne Hathaway.

[ChillingGrinBloodLover]

I try not to be pedantic on the boards, especially now with the ever helpful iPhones that convert things like 'ill' to i'll .

At times I have needed to refer to a post I have written, and by god, some of them are shocking I never proof read, I type quickly and post... such is life.

However, I do have to sit on my hands sometimes, especially if someone is being an arse. Some git tonight posting about The Wife & wrote brought when he meant bought.... itching I was, itching!

But I resisted, someone else didn't though

[pluCaChange]

I saw that bought/brought correction!

The rule seems to be that it's fine to point out mistakes if the person making them is obnoxious. It's also "done", though slightly less "on" (I feel like Nancy Mitford!) to gently tell a poster that paragraphs, sentences or commas would "make your post a bit easier to read, so people will stop to read and help you."

[Thumbscrewswitch]

But it's still frowned upon in general terms, Plu(s)

Not in here though.

My "tell" would be over-use of this dash - I like to use it as a sort of longer-than-a-comma-but-shorter-than-a-semicolon break - and not always as it's mean to be used, enclosing a separate phrase within a sentence. Dead giveaway, that. I like ellipses at the end for trailing off/leaving things unsaid...

[MrsHathaway]

I doubt you would have, Dad. I write mainly for myself but have done some commissions for Americans.