I hate this grammatical rule

[laarree]

[quote Greg the dogsitter][quote jimbrady]If you know the rules, would it kill you to just follow them?
When the rules make the sentence more difficult to understand, then my inner rebel tends to emerge.
There are operations you can get to remove that, you know.

[Greg the dogsitter]

[quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote jimbrady]If you know the rules, would it kill you to just follow them?
When the rules make the sentence more difficult to understand, then my inner rebel tends to emerge.
There are operations you can get to remove that, you know.
You put no smilie. I am grievously offended.

[laarree]

[quote Greg the dogsitter][quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote jimbrady]If you know the rules, would it kill you to just follow them?
When the rules make the sentence more difficult to understand, then my inner rebel tends to emerge.
There are operations you can get to remove that, you know.
You put no smilie. I am grievously offended.
I should hope so. I only put smilies in my posts periodically.

[jimbrady]

> You put no smilie.

Would you say that was an error in grammar?




PS:

[laarree]

[quote jimbrady]> You put no smilie.

Would you say that was an error in grammar?
PS:
I would call it a peccadillo of parsing.

[Greg the dogsitter]

[quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote jimbrady]If you know the rules, would it kill you to just follow them?
When the rules make the sentence more difficult to understand, then my inner rebel tends to emerge.
There are operations you can get to remove that, you know.
You put no smilie. I am grievously offended.
I should hope so. I only put smilies in my posts periodically.
Another nested quote.

[laarree]

[quote Greg the dogsitter][quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote jimbrady]If you know the rules, would it kill you to just follow them?
When the rules make the sentence more difficult to understand, then my inner rebel tends to emerge.
There are operations you can get to remove that, you know.
You put no smilie. I am grievously offended.
I should hope so. I only put smilies in my posts periodically.
Another nested quote.
May all your quotes be nested, and may they all have punctuation marks properly
positioned relative to them. In a nested way, of course.

[mikebw]

[quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote laarree][quote Greg the dogsitter][quote jimbrady]If you know the rules, would it kill you to just follow them?
When the rules make the sentence more difficult to understand, then my inner rebel tends to emerge.
There are operations you can get to remove that, you know.
You put no smilie. I am grievously offended.
I should hope so. I only put smilies in my posts periodically.
Another nested quote.
May all your quotes be nested, and may they all have punctuation marks properly
positioned relative to them. In a nested way, of course.
Ahh what the heck.

[Lux Interior]

"So, where is your birthday party at?"

"Hmph! Only uneducated fools end a sentence with a preposition!"

"Sorry. So, where is your birthday party at, bitch?"

[Robert M]

Lux,

I remember it as a joke based around the Harvard library.

A Texan is admitted to Harvard. His first day he's leaving
class and comes upon a gaggle of preppies who are discussing
current events, social issues, etc.

He asks, "Excuse me, where is the library at?"

One of the preppies turns around, nose way up in the air, real
effite, says, "Here at Hahvahd, we never end a sentence with
a preposition."

The Texan ponders that for a moment and then replies, "O.K.,
fair 'nuff. Excuse me, where is the library at, asshole?"

'course, this is the first one I found via a google search. The version I remember is a bit different and significantly more offensive.

That said, I disagree with Jim when he says the following...

"Written language is an abstraction, making the rules that shape it seem arbitrary. This is especially true of punctuation which, unlike grammar, is made entirely of symbols that do not appear in the spoken word. "

The symbols do appear. The pauses and nuances we use while speaking can be represented via punctuation. If you listen to someone speak and jot down what they say, you'll absolutely use punctuation marks. For example, you may use a comma where he/she pauses mid-sentence. A question mark when he/she asks a question. you get the idea.

One of the first tricks I was taught when it came to grammar and punctuation was, "Read your paper out loud. If something sounds off, then there is a very good chance you've used poor grammar and/or punctation in that sentence and/or paragraph." I've used that trick many times over the years and it works pretty well, especially when you're crash and burning an essay at the very last minute. It's not perfect but definitely better than not checking a paper at all.

Robert

Robert