Helpful Grammar, Punctuation, and Dialogue links!

[oddhatter]

I thought that this thread might help resolve some commonly asked questions and errors.


www.grammarbook.com/punctuation.htm
A very nice site that covers pretty much the use of anything punctuation.


www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
Common errors in the english language. Josh linked to this once, and it has been a pretty helpful resource for me.


www.tridenttech.org/english/felty/Major_Grammar_Errors.htm
Ugly site, good to read.


www.tameri.com/edit/gramerrors.html
Similar to the previous site, this is much easier to read. No examples, though.

And Word's grammar check is often a good preliminary, albeit often wrong, proofreading tool.

If you have any favourite grammar/punctuation help links - please add them here!

Posted by Tdyans:

When I'm reading through the Work Reviews thread, one of the grammatical problems that I seem to see a lot is when it comes to writing dialogue. But I often just correct it without explaining it or don't say anything at all b/c it feels too daunting to try to explain all of the rules of how to write dialogue. So, I just went out and searched around to see if I could find some sites that would help explain these things, and here's what I came up with:

owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_quote.html
Much of this is about quoting things for essays rather than fiction, but some of those rules still apply to dialogue and there are some rules for dialogue in the middle of the page.

www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/mc/support/cwc/fpages/Using_Dialogue.html
This is a pretty good one-- clear rules and good examples. Even I learned something that I hadn't been sure about before.


Well, those are actually all I can find for now-- most of the things that the search engine comes up with seem to be on how to write good dialogue, not how to write grammatically-correct dialogue. But there's some information in those two sites that should be pretty helpful to some. If anyone else has any sites to add, just go ahead, and if I find anything else, I will too. Or if anyone has any specific questions about how to punctuate a particular piece of dialogue, feel free to ask-- specificity I can deal with. It's just when I feel like I have to explain the whole rulebook that I get overwhelmed.

[calvinseviltwin]

All immensly helpful... thanks Shing.

[Tdyans]

I just happened to come across this on the MSN homepage today:

encarta.msn.com/column/grammarmain.asp

It has some tips on common grammatical mistakes and such, as well as some good links scattered throughout.

[calvinseviltwin]

'TIs always good to have a reminder.

[Deleted]

Thanks Shing ( can I call you that?)! BUt will it tell me the difference between : and ;?

[calvinseviltwin]

I believe ; is used like one would use 'and'.

[Tdyans]

from Writing from A to Z:

Do not use a colon where a semicolon is appropriate. The elements separated by a colon are usually grammatically unequal, and what follows the colon explains or illustrates what precedes it. A semicolon separates grammatically equal or parallel elements.

As long as I could remember, I had been told that a female followed three men during her lifetime: as a girl, her father; as a wife, her husband; as an old woman, her son.
--Jade Snow Wong, Fifth Chinese Daughter

A semicolon may be used instead of a comma if independent clauses are long and contain commas or other internal punctuation.

Self-defense specialists offer these tips to help women avoid danger: If someone attacks you, don't panic, because that gives the attacker control over the situation; if the attacker has a weapon, such as a gun or knife, don't be combative; but if a potential assailant tries to get you into a car, don't go, because he will probably try to kill you.

I hope that was at least somewhat helpful, although I realize their explanation is kind of complex. Basically, you will usually use a colon : before a list (although there are certainly other uses.) You'll use a semicolon ; in a place where you might otherwise consider using a comma or a period.

SPOILER: Click to show

Upon finding this listing of resources for grammar and punctuation, you return to Droplet, who has made some headway on the stack of manuscripts.

"Oh, that list is wonderful!" she exclaims. From a box hidden behind the stack of manuscripts, she pulls out some Weewoo wings of various colors. She puts them in a bag, and hands it to you.

"Thanks!" you say, and she smiles. "Here, take this." She places one final wing in the bag -- a white one. "For good luck!"

You received Weewoo wings!

As you turn to leave, you check the ingredient off the list. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find a radioactive bra, perhaps?" you ask Droplet.

She thinks for a moment, and then replies, "Well, Huntress tried to sell me one a few months back. I'd check with her. Last I saw her, she was wrestling some undead woman who was carrying some sort of mangled bush or tree or something."

[sara]

I'm going to add the link to this thread to my list (http://ntag.oddhatter.net/list.html) but I'd prefer directly putting the links themselves. I'll credit you (oddhatter or Shng Khor - whichever way you prefer) as being the source.

[calvinseviltwin]

It's always nice to give credit... but those sites are very helpful!

[hufferfish]

If you want the best help, buy The Elements Of Style 4th Edition!

[htnfund]

Errr, if you ever need to look something up quick, and don't want to/have time to use a dictionary, here is a link to an online dictionary at Encarta: encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?search=. It is very helpful! It has audio thingies, so you can hear the word, and a list of vowel sound. It gives a lot of definitions, very quick and easy.

[annonomous]

I need help in my grammer. Thanks alot!

[Deleted]

Thanks for the help. I am really bad with some of the puncuation stuff. This helped me a lot

[ramsheadrange]

Greetings to all. I am a wanna-be writer, well, one who does not have time to write anything. Tdyans, if you are still here and is willing to chat, you will make my day. (I really love your "Needed" and "Needed Too" series.)

[ikagen]

Hahaha! Something I just found funny for no reason, from www.wsu.edu/

"If you don’t breathe for so long that your face turns blue, you may be dying."

Don't ask why that makes me laugh, but it it does. ^_^