Calling all grammar police...

[markvee]

I believe that the comma only gets used with "and" if you are talking about a series. An example would be "I hate grammar, spelling, and punctuation." The statement "I hate grammar and punctuation" needs no comma (then again, I could be wrong. I studied Engineering, not English)

You are correct in this case because the "and" is separating two words.

A comma is also not required when "and" separates two phrases, for example:
I will clean my room and do my homework.

However, when the "and" separates two clauses (a clause can stand alone as a sentance), there is a comma, for example:
I will clean my room, and I will do my homework.

Your example of using the comma before the "and" in a list is correct, but the comma is optional. I like using the comma in the list.

 

[smylee52]

OK. Everybody who is stoned on this thread raise your hand . I thought so .

 

[The Truman Show]

Sheila needs to fix her damn dishwasher.

 

[Kyra.Graves]

You are correct in this case because the "and" is separating two words.

A comma is also not required when "and" separates two phrases, for example:
I will clean my room and do my homework.

However, when the "and" separates two clauses (a clause can stand alone as a sentence), there is a comma, for example:
I will clean my room, and I will do my homework.

Your example of using the comma before the "and" in a list is correct, but the comma is optional. I like using the comma in the list.

Markvee - Could you please invest in a tablet and mark up our posts with a red pen? I'm feeling nostalgic reading this and you remind me of my writers craft teacher. I can only hope that like her you'll disapprove of my casual misuse of punctuation and will find an appropriate punishment.
I recommend a good spanking for my errors.

 

[BallzDeep]

OK. Everybody who is stoned on this thread raise your hand . I thought so .

There should be a comma after the word thread, as well as hand, no need for two sentences.

 

[basketcase]

There should be a comma after the word thread, as well as hand, no need for two sentences.

Semicolon (or is that after you've had a bowel resection?)

 

[Mervyn]

Both parties involved in this are inncorect, as the very first word is in error.

It should read Sheilas' ( which denotes possesion ) and not Sheila's which means Sheila is.

 

[MissCroft]

Both parties involved in this are inncorect, as the very first word is in error.

It should read Sheilas' ( which denotes possesion ) and not Sheila's which means Sheila is.

Sheila's does not only mean 'Sheila is' but it is also the correct possessive form of Sheila. Sheilas' is incorrect. You would only do that to a proper name to mark possession if the name already ended in an 's' as in James'.

 

[Helena Handbasket]

Thank you MissCroft, I thought that looked a little off.

Thanks everyone, I think I'll be keeping my bonus after all

 

[Perry Mason]

Both parties involved in this are inncorect...

And so is your spelling of incorrect!

So you are the kettle calling the pot "black."

Perry

 

[Lou Siffer]

Both parties involved in this are inncorect, as the very first word is in error.

It should read Sheilas' ( which denotes possesion ) and not Sheila's which means Sheila is.

Who let this guy into this thread?

There should be some sort of literacy test at the entrance.

 

[basketcase]

And so is your spelling of incorrect!

So you are the kettle calling the pot "black."

Perry

This is the grammar police thread. Go start your own spelling police thread.

 

[RayFinkel]

When should this be used "--" because I have no idea.

example:

In the great empires of antiquity--Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Persia--splendid though they were, freedom was unknown.

 

[thompo69]

When should this be used "--" because I have no idea.

example:

In the great empires of antiquity--Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Persia--splendid though they were, freedom was unknown.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Em_dash#Em_dash

 

[k57]

You are correct in this case because the "and" is separating two words.

A comma is also not required when "and" separates two phrases, for example:
I will clean my room and do my homework.

However, when the "and" separates two clauses (a clause can stand alone as a sentance), there is a comma, for example:
I will clean my room, and I will do my homework.

Your example of using the comma before the "and" in a list is correct, but the comma is optional. I like using the comma in the list.

In Canadian style of writing it is generally taught that a comma shouldn't appear before 'and', even with a list. In American style, the comma is generally accepted in that situation. No big deal really.
I've always followed the standard that a comma in front of 'and' is only used in rare occasions; for example, a subordinate clause.
IE: :"The dishwasher overflowed, and it's a very good dishwasher, and now there is water on the floor."
Isn't gramma an spellin phun?

 

[Bud Plug]

In Canadian style of writing it is generally taught that a comma shouldn't appear before 'and', even with a list. In American style, the comma is generally accepted in that situation. No big deal really.
I've always followed the standard that a comma in front of 'and' is only used in rare occasions; for example, a subordinate clause.
IE: :"The dishwasher overflowed, and it's a very good dishwasher, and now there is water on the floor."
Isn't gramma an spellin phun?

In your example, the second clause is a tangential point in relation to the 1st and 3rd. Tangential subordinate clauses are better identified to a reader by use of parentheses.

e.g. (btw, "i.e." is used to provide an equivalent, not an example): "The dishwasher overflowed (and it's a very good dishwasher), and now there is water on the floor".

Of course, in fiction the rules go out the window, as you can employ grammar for stylistic effect rather than being bound to convention. By employing the wording of your example, you could convey that the speaker's attention was easily distracted by employing the device of connecting subordinate clauses that are ostensibly unrelated within the same sentence, separated only by commas.

 

[k57]

In your example, the second clause is a tangential point in relation to the 1st and 3rd. Tangential subordinate clauses are better identified to a reader by use of parentheses.

e.g. (btw, "i.e." is used to provide an equivalent, not an example): "The dishwasher overflowed (and it's a very good dishwasher), and now there is water on the floor".

Of course, in fiction the rules go out the window, as you can employ grammar for stylistic effect rather than being bound to convention. By employing the wording of your example, you could convey that the speaker's attention was easily distracted by employing the device of connecting subordinate clauses that are ostensibly unrelated within the same sentence, separated only by commas.

Yeah, I didn't come up with the best example. Some of us actually were awake during school!

 

[Anynym]

Would this be correct grammar?

*Sheila's dishwasher overflowed and there is water on the floor.*

And then the pedants launch into a discussion of proper usage.

Grammar (to simplify it) describes the rules for construction of sentences. Grammatical correctness doesn't require the sentence to be perfect, or even to make sense, just to follow the rules.

The light was red and now it is green. Sheila's dishwasher broke; there is water on the floor. There is water on the floor because Sheila's dishwasher broke. Sheila's dishwasher broke and there is water on the floor.

English has few enough hard-and-fast rules that when asking about incorrect grammar, most people actually mean "poor usage" (or poor grammar, whatever that means). Is the sentence as given grammatically correct? Yes.

 

[johnhenrygalt]

Sheila needs to fix her damn dishwasher.

Is Sheila hot? And if yes, will she have sex with me if I fix her dishwasher? Should I take her from behind while she is on all fours cleaning up the water on the floor? Or should I wait till we get to the bedroom? And is it permissible to begin sentences with "and"? Or is it only permissible to begin a sentence with "or"? Or is it neither? Should I have written "until we get to the bedroom" instead of "till we get to the bedroom"? When should I use "toward" as opposed to "towards"? Will Carey Price be a star one day?