Dash, comma or colon?
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Re: Dash, comma or colon?
Moved-I asked my dad what he thought today, too. Again, amusing as I'm the teacher of twelve years.
He would have used a comma and laughed at the use of a dash! I would love to speak to someone who marked those papers.
He was also bemused at the answer to question one!
He would have used a comma and laughed at the use of a dash! I would love to speak to someone who marked those papers.
He was also bemused at the answer to question one!
Re: Dash, comma or colon?
Could you possibly explain why? In language suitable for an eleven year old, if poss!fm wrote:I would use a dash and definitely not any of the other ones.
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fm
Re: Dash, comma or colon?
I don't suppose I shall get away with saying, 'I just would.'
To quote from the book Handling Punctuation (published 1985), 'a dash is used to indicate a sudden turn in the thought of a sentence or to mark an unexpected ending'. To quote from Punctuation Repair Kit, 'a dash can just indicate a pause--for effect'.
In the case of 'Pelagia was amused by the situation--not so the cat.', I would say this comes under the category of pause for effect.
I would not use the semicolon because they aren't two sentences with main verbs but just a sentence and a phrase. You can use semi-colons with phrases but this when you have a list of phrases.
As to commas, I'd put one in the following: 'I'm afraid I take the old-fashioned view, the correct one'. I'd also have used one if your phrase was something like 'Pelagia was amused by the situation, not the cat' meaning she found the situation funny but she wasn't amused by the cat.
The above is probably clear--well, clear as mud.
To quote from the book Handling Punctuation (published 1985), 'a dash is used to indicate a sudden turn in the thought of a sentence or to mark an unexpected ending'. To quote from Punctuation Repair Kit, 'a dash can just indicate a pause--for effect'.
In the case of 'Pelagia was amused by the situation--not so the cat.', I would say this comes under the category of pause for effect.
I would not use the semicolon because they aren't two sentences with main verbs but just a sentence and a phrase. You can use semi-colons with phrases but this when you have a list of phrases.
As to commas, I'd put one in the following: 'I'm afraid I take the old-fashioned view, the correct one'. I'd also have used one if your phrase was something like 'Pelagia was amused by the situation, not the cat' meaning she found the situation funny but she wasn't amused by the cat.
The above is probably clear--well, clear as mud.
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DIY Mum
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Re: Dash, comma or colon?
You know FM, that was my gut reaction too but didn't really know how to explain it. When a dash is used, the meaning of the sentence is conveyed really well. It just wouldn't have the same effect with the use of a semi-colon or a comma 
.
Just my thoughts.
.Just my thoughts.
