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Please learn to spell, MacRumors writers.
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Yes, that's a great one.
Pretty sure that's not a spelling error, but point taken.
Yeah, the old PowerPC grammar and spelling checkers (third party, Apple never did grammar checks in the PPC days) would be screaming, "PUNCTUATION ERROR!!!!" I think it was called Grammarian?
You always have to comma out appositive phrases.
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Delighted to hear this.
Actually, it is brilliant.
A wonderful read.
The very title is something that she uses as an example where the meaning is totally transformed by inserting a comma.
Writing about the diet of the giant panda, the sentence, "eats shoots and leaves" - a verb and two nouns - makes complete sense.
However, when you place a comma after "eats" the meaning of the sentence is transformed utterly.
Like the very first post in this thread where Apple closed Charlotte, as well as North Carolina and a place called "Store" (with the extra comma).
While we're at it, how about fixing one frequent grammatical error?
Instead of the wrong "Apple today did something." one of the correct "Today Apple did something." or "Apple did something today." should be used.
Instead of the wrong "Apple today did something." one of the correct "Today Apple did something." or "Apple did something today." should be used.
Like the very first post in this thread where Apple closed Charlotte, as well as North Carolina and a place called "Store" (with the extra comma).
Which, again, is why you always comma out appositive phrases. When I refer to Nermal, a moderator, I had to separate "a moderator" with commas, as it is an appositive phrase. The same applies here. There are lots of places named Charlotte and for clarity, North Carolina was added as an appositive. Therefore, the state needs sliced out with commas.
I can't do it. I can't get that book. It is a book about punctuation that doesn't believe in the Oxford comma--at least in the title. In this case, I am definitely judging that book by its cover.
I love the Little Brown Handbook. Just get an old edition off eBay.
I can't do it. I can't get that book. It is a book about punctuation that doesn't believe in the Oxford comma--at least in the title. In this case, I am definitely judging that book by its cover.
I love the Little Brown Handbook. Just get an old edition off eBay.
I always put that comma. I hope there aren't other things that throw me. Fingers crossed.
Adverbs of time like "today" in mid position are generally considered acceptable in journalism and are commonly used in that manner.
I am very old. That sounds so incorrect. LOL...I am absolutely not doubting you. Heck, I have trouble with one space after a sentence.
I can understand why (Apple is the most important part, not today), but it still feels weird.
Not in a quality publication. One would hope.
Anyway, I feel a pain that is almost physical when I read such a sentence.
For, to my eye, it is jarring, and clumsy - and yes, ugly - in construction.
Why would wrong grammar be acceptable in journalism? And (why) should it be? I expect articles to be written to a higher standard than reddit comments.
I can sort of understand why Apple themselves put their name first, must be some kind of capitalist marketing egotism. Doesn't mean I consider it something to be emulated, quite the opposite.
"Apple did x today" still puts Apple front and centre without butchering the sentence.
Exactly.
And "butchering" - well said - was precisely the verb that came to mind, when I first read that particular linguistic atrocity.
Did the rule change in the last 10 years or so? When I was in high school and college, sticking time in the mid position was never taught as being acceptable. In fact, I was always taught to put such first, outside of constructing the sentence as @Nermal proposed.
There is no universal English language; there are domain-specific variants: formal, colloquial, technical, journalistic, and many others. A newspaper article written in formal English would be corrected by editors to conform to the norms of journalism; especially a headline.
When I'm writing code and I have to write A, B, C, and D, where B is the only lengthy part, I try to craft things so that the order is A, C, D, and B. In that way A, C, and D are not overlooked due to the noisy B. That's a reasonable explanation of why the important, short parts are pushed to the fore in a headline.
"Oxford, last week, at a press conference, presented a forceful and well-reasoned argument that the comma they have been ignoring for so long should be treated with more respect because it is especially cute and should not be left to question its own worth."
I think I saw that headline in the New York Times.
When I'm writing code and I have to write A, B, C, and D, where B is the only lengthy part, I try to craft things so that the order is A, C, D, and B. In that way A, C, and D are not overlooked due to the noisy B. That's a reasonable explanation of why the important, short parts are pushed to the fore in a headline.
"Oxford, last week, at a press conference, presented a forceful and well-reasoned argument that the comma they have been ignoring for so long should be treated with more respect because it is especially cute and should not be left to question its own worth."
I think I saw that headline in the New York Times.
But the point of the title is to show just how important the Oxford comma isI can't do it. I can't get that book. It is a book about punctuation that doesn't believe in the Oxford comma--at least in the title. In this case, I am definitely judging that book by its cover.
I love the Little Brown Handbook. Just get an old edition off eBay.
I'm going to order right now.But the point of the title is to show just how important the Oxford comma is
I read it and got a lot out of it. Two big takeaways:
- There are no hard and fast rules; famous authors argue about proper punctuation and the conventions are always evolving.
- I would never want to meet the author in person since she would tear me a new one.
The recent turn this thread has taken reminded me of this book:
I read it years ago but the story of how "do" became an integral part of English grammar has stuck in my mind for some reason.
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English
Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one liv...
www.amazon.com
I read it years ago but the story of how "do" became an integral part of English grammar has stuck in my mind for some reason.
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