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Posted By: Father Steve On the import of punctuation - 03/08/06 08:46 PM

The following letter to the editor appeared in this morning's Telegraph:

----------------------------------------------------

SIR -- as a schoolboy, when learning of the importance of precise
punctuation, I was shown the following two statements:

"Woman without her man is useless."

"Woman! Without her, man is useless!"

As a happily married man, my wife assures me that the second statement
has the ring of truth.

Thomas Wingate,
London W2

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The second curiousity about this letter is that the fellow's wife is, apparently, a happily married man.
The Importance of Avoiding Dangling Participles

res ipse loquitur
Posted By: inselpeter Re: On the import of punctuation - 03/08/06 09:29 PM
Father Steve, you make me smile! Gracias.
Posted By: Faldage Re: On the import of punctuation - 03/09/06 01:53 AM
Quote:

… the fellow's wife is, apparently, a happily married man.




It always amazes me how you prescrips will go to such lengths to willfully misunderstand a perfectly comprehensible sentence.
Posted By: AnnaStrophic Lengths, schmengths - 03/09/06 12:41 PM
Quote:

Quote:

… the fellow's wife is, apparently, a happily married man.




It always amazes me how you prescrips will go to such lengths to willfully misunderstand a perfectly comprehensible sentence.




Comprehensible, schmomprehensible. I had to read it twice.
Posted By: inselpeter Re: Lengths, schmengths - 03/09/06 03:03 PM
Aktully, I didn't get the 'ambiguity;' I thought Father Steve was throwing in an extra bit of information at the end. But then I'm from New York.
Posted By: Jackie Re: Lengths, schmengths - 03/09/06 03:56 PM
Ditto, 'cept I'm from Kentucky.
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