Random fact you probably did not know about me

[fencer_x]

One of the grammatical tendencies that ticks me off and is possibly my biggest pet peeve:

PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE A SERIAL COMMA.

That is all :D

Also, people who don't use the subjunctive correctly

IS IT NOVEMBER 5TH YET??

Comments

[reppu.livejournal.com]

WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?! Me speak no English good.

I never learned the proper names of things. I wanted to do linguistics in college, but the professor was a whore, and thus ended that English career. ^^;;

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia? :D

It's the comma that comes (or doesn't come) before the "and" in a series:

I like apples, peaches and oranges.

Seems to be more and more common these days not to use it, and it pisses me off for some reason :P Commas are supposed to represent pauses in most cases, and you don't say, "I like apples, peachesandoranges" right? >_> *is irrationally angry at this*

[jazzy-peaches.livejournal.com]

So apparently my grade school was on crack (which I suppose is entirely possible), because I was taught that you do not use a comma before the 'and' in a list. :|

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

>| (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma)

[jazzy-peaches.livejournal.com]

I believe you; I'm just saying.

I promise to try and teach it the right way? If I ever have to teach grammar...

[x-reggg.livejournal.com]

same i was taught not to .__.

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

Yay lack of a consistent prescriptive grammar \o/

(actually more like "yay influence of different dialects of English with different grammatical rules")

I dunno, it makes no sense to me NOT to have it. If you read it aloud, it'd sound like the last bit of your series was one long run-on sentence o_O

[analineblue.livejournal.com]

Yep, it bugs me too. When I proofread things for people at work I frequently find myself adding them (or taking them out) and then arguing with people about my choices. (I don't think I needed one before the 'and' there though... Do you? *paranoia* ....Because it's not so much representing a pause as separating related and not-so-related ideas, right? At that's how I make the decision in my mind... @__@)

[onewhomust.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Oxford comma. I learned it when I was in elementary school, and then was promptly told to forget about it when I move back to the US for high school. =.= I never know if I should use it anymore.

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

Sentences look so...run-on in a list without it to me :/ And Wiki says that it's "more common" in the US, but I still don't see it that often at ALL anymore, wtf?

[onewhomust.livejournal.com]

Hm, I wouldn't say it's more common in the US, but that's just me. It seems, though, that commas are falling out of use in general. Like, isn't a person suppose to use a comma in between two adjectives (e.g., the big, shiny car)? I never see that anymore.

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

Yup :/ I get that feeling, too <--most people probably wouldn't put that comma before the "too" :/

[hamykia.livejournal.com]

yeah, I learnt british english and was taught not to put a comma in there by our native teacher. Nor that we would have put it anyway, as you can't use it in spanish either. And no, I don't make a pause there in oral speech either (I think)
And what about subjunctive? I was taught people don't use it much in english?

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

In English, though, you WOULD make a pause there :/ If you don't make one in Spanish, then of course there's no need to have a comma there.

And people use the subjunctive in English all the time, they just don't realize that the construction they're using requires the subjunctive and either use it incorrectly or use it correctly and can't tell you why :P Almost every single conditional sentence in English uses the subjunctive.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Oh, if only he had come home a little later!"
"If you were to push that button, you'd be in for a big surprise."

[love_archived]

Strange. The serial comma is also called the Oxford comma, so I presumed it was British.

[presencedear.livejournal.com]

Hm, my grade school grammar book said a serial comma was optional, except when one of the items in the series included "and."

We played games like Hopscotch, Red Rover, and Hide and Seek. (required)

We played games like Hopscotch, Red Rover and Tag. (optional)

[love_archived]

I AGREE WITH YOU.

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

I need someone to bitch about improper grammar with ;_;

[love_archived]

Floor's open any time with me, dear. *snug*

[fuketsuayame.livejournal.com]

*raises arms*

Yeah me too. Anytime is okay.

But same thing with what was taught to me. I remember that if it's three nouns or verbs...etc(well I forgot)...just put "and" in between the second and last word. But if it's more than 3 then that's the time to put comma before the "and"

"She went swimming, diving, parasailing, and fishing last Saturday."