For want of a Comma

[Quid est Veritas?]

That's ... creative. I guess I should start spelling my name like this:
Ada.

I'd spell it Am&a, myself.

 

[LaSorcia]

I'd spell it Am&a, myself.

Amampersanda? Sounds Sanskrit.

 

[RDKirk]

I want to buy bread, milk and eggs.

That seems clear until I have your shopping list in hand and see a product on the shelf called "Milk and Eggs."

 

[RDKirk]

From https://www.grammarly.com/blog/what-is-the-oxford-comma-and-why-do-people-care-so-much-about-it

There's a difference between:
1) I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
and,
2) I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.

Of course, they make the point that you could just rewrite the sentence:
I love Lady Gaga, Humpty Dumpty and my parents.

Extra work just to avoid a comma.

When I was in the business of writing military operational orders that would instruct people on the other side of the planet, I learned never to avoid anything that made my writing more clear. Don't expect someone on the other side of the planet to just "know what I mean."

 

[RDKirk]

We were taught at school not to put a comma before 'and'. I still try to avoid it.

Yeah, my daughter had a teacher who told her, "Insert a comma where you take a breath." That teacher was wrong just as your teacher was wrong.

 

[LaSorcia]

Yeah, my daughter had a teacher who told her, "Insert a comma where you take a breath." That teacher was wrong just as your teacher was wrong.

I think that was a music teacher.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

That seems clear until I have your shopping list in hand and see a product on the shelf called "Milk and Eggs."

Then it would have to have been bread and Milk and Eggs.

Yeah, my daughter had a teacher who told her, "Insert a comma where you take a breath." That teacher was wrong just as your teacher was wrong.

Perhaps, or maybe that teacher is just way better than you thought, but was misunderstood. Archaically, the teacher is right.
Commas developed out of signs invented by Aristophanes of Byzantium, to indicate when a breath should be taken when reading aloud.

 

[RDKirk]

Then it would have to have been bread and Milk and Eggs.

Perhaps, or maybe that teacher is just way better than you thought, but was misunderstood. Archaically, the teacher is right.
Commas developed out of signs invented by Aristophanes of Byzantium, to indicate when a breath should be taken when reading aloud.

The importance of commas in written English becomes clear when you learn to diagram the sentence to track the flow of communication being transmitted by it. Not everyone needs to learn how to diagram sentences (just like not everyone needs to know how to sketch out the flow of motion through the engine of an automobile), but a grammar teacher ought to know how to diagram just as an automobile mechanic can sketch out the action of an engine.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

The importance of commas in written English becomes clear when you learn to diagram the sentence to track the flow of communication being transmitted by it. Not everyone needs to learn how to diagram sentences (just like not everyone needs to know how to sketch out the flow of motion through the engine of an automobile), but a grammar teacher ought to know how to diagram just as an automobile mechanic can sketch out the action of an engine.

Agreed.

Did you actually hear the teacher, or merely a report of what was said? My devil's advocate position is that maybe the teacher was just sharing an anecdote on the origin of the comma.

I could also see a teacher saying something such as: "commas divide clauses, showing how sentences should be parsed. If you are struggling, say the sentence aloud. Often, a short pause in the flow of the sentence would be made where a comma is needed. Like taking a breath between ideas or concepts."
The child then went home and said that where you take a breath, you put a comma. Such misunderstandings happen.

But hey, maybe the teacher was just not very good, as you say.

 

[Dave-W]

One of my colleagues once saw a girl, whose name was written Le-né. He assumed it was pronounced 'le NAY', only for her mother to inform him that the dash wasn't silent.
Turns out they were calling the girl 'le DASH ni'.

This would be funny if it were not a true situation.

Back a few decades ago here in the US certain lower income populations would put on the birth certificates the name "Female" for their baby girls. They pronounced it fuh MAH lee.

 

[Petros2015]

http://gptsrabbi.blogspot.com/2011/10/punctuating-bible.html

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic (the Aramaic portions are as follows: Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:11-26; Daniel 2:4-7:28; Jeremiah 10:11, and two words in Genesis 31:47). The New Testament was written in Greek. The original Hebrew (and Aramaic) manuscripts were written without vowels and without punctuation.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

http://gptsrabbi.blogspot.com/2011/10/punctuating-bible.html

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic (the Aramaic portions are as follows: Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:11-26; Daniel 2:4-7:28; Jeremiah 10:11, and two words in Genesis 31:47). The New Testament was written in Greek. The original Hebrew (and Aramaic) manuscripts were written without vowels and without punctuation.

Hence there are many problem passages in the Bible, so created, upon which significant doctrinal meaning depends.

Most notably, Luke 23:43.
"Truly I say to you today you will be with me in Paradise"
Did Jesus say the Good Thief would be with Him in Paradise that specific day, or merely tell him he would be in Paradise eventually? It all hinges on whether the comma comes before or after 'today'.

 

[Dave-W]

Most notably, Luke 23:43.
"Truly I say to you today you will be with me in Paradise"
Did Jesus say the Good Thief would be with Him in Paradise that specific day, or merely tell him he would be in Paradise eventually? It all hinges on whether the comma comes before or after 'today'.

In the original, there was no punctuation of any kind.

Or upper and lower case letters for that matter.

 

[Sam91]

so we went and complicated matters over the years life would be so much simpler to not need to worry about punctation again we should just drop it and the grammar nazis would become happy no longer needing to feel infuriated at lesser educated folks hey it flows better dont you think we could read much faster too didnt somwone mention that thy mttd th vwls

 

[Dave-W]

The New Testament was written in Greek.

with no capital letters, no punctuation and no spaces to denote word separations.

The original Hebrew (and Aramaic) manuscripts were written without vowels and without punctuation.

Actually, no vowels existed in Hebrew or Aramaic until about 1000 ad. (after the Talmudic period)

there is a famous question in the Talmud about Genesis 2.23.

And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”​

We know that woman (ishah) is named that because she was taken from man (ish), but why is man called aish? (fire)

the spelling in Hebrew is the same for man and fire.

That illustrates the flexibility of Hebrew. And why translations often fail to convey the original meaning. Both words may actually be correct.

 

[Sam91]

with no capital letters, no punctuation and no spaces to denote word separations.

Actually, no vowels existed in Hebrew or Aramaic until about 1000 ad. (after the Talmudic period)

there is a famous question in the Talmud about Genesis 2.23.

And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”​

We know that woman (ishah) is named that because she was taken from man (ish), but why is man called aish? (fire)

the spelling in Hebrew is the same for man and fire.

That illustrates the flexibility of Hebrew. And why translations often fail to convey the original meaning. Both words may actually be correct.

Sshldhvwrttnlkthsnstd

 

[Petros2015]

the spelling in Hebrew is the same for man and fire.

 

[Dirk1540]

There's a difference between:
1) I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
and,
2) I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.

What’s the difference?

 

[Sam91]

What’s the difference?

The first looks like the parents are humpty dumpty and lady gaga. The lack of a comma between humpty dumpty and lady gaga makes them seem a pairing, especially because parents are two people.

The second loves humpty dumpty, lady gaga and her parents.

 

[Dirk1540]

There's a difference between:
1) It's hot, Tinker.
and
2) It's hot Tinker.

I don’t mean to continue to expose my ignorance but Huh?? Lol