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Joined: Nov 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear of Troy, My all time favorite to hand to new reporters/writers is Strunk & White "Elements of Style." As The New York Times stylebook and Economist are both excellent. I use the AP becase it is the most widely-used in USA and nearby places and because it is consistant and clear. The use is simple and easily understood and good examples are given. And it is a very reasonable price given all the information it contains. It was a suggestion as a place to begin for anyone who wants a practical guide to American English. I don't get a commission! Now I am going to stop. I heard those sighs of relief out there. Nearly blew me off my chair.  Aloha, WOW
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Just a little aside: there are now two AP syle books. THE book and the AP Alaska style book. I kid you not. Have you seen it, wow? We sell it at the bookstore, but I haven't had time to look through it yet (wondering if contains the aprocyphal "nine Eskimo words for 'snow'").
And yes, I agree: Strunk & White RULE!
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Can somebody please explain me how the Empire did manage to last when its subjects couldn't even agree on whether to put a comma? It didn't. It's got only one colony left, far as I know, and commas are quite scarce in Northern South America 
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Can somebody please explain me how the Empire did manage to last when its subjects couldn't even agree on
whether to put a comma ?
Er, Lukas, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but...
TEd
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Joined: Nov 2000
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newbie
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newbie
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I always loved Oscar Wilde's quote -- something to the effect of, "I worked all morning and inserted one comma; this afternoon I took it out."
Carpe rutila
Carpe whatever
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
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Waiting for enlightenmentThis is yet another question with the answer "It depends", is it not, lucasz? Personally I find it difficult to keep punctuation within the quotes, as this can cause corruption of the meaning. e.g.To my amazement he said "We'll make this project on time"!Why did you say "I can't take any more"?and on the other hand:He said "You could have knocked me down with a feather!"He said "What do you think?"IMHO it would be wrong to apply the exclamation marks and question marks within the quotes in the first two examples. There's a bit of shorthand happening here, though. Because there should be some punctuation at the end of the sentences that contain the quotes, which we would indeed apply if the sentences didn't end with the quotes. He said "You could have knocked me down with a feather!" whereas I merely shrugged my shoulders.But I think: He said "You could have knocked me down with a feather!". is 'orrible! 
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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But I think:
He said "You could have knocked me down with a feather!".
is 'orrible!
Worse still, perhaps, results from mixing and matching your previous examples, Fishy:
To my amazement he said "You could have knocked me down with a feather!"!
and
Why did you say "What do you think?"?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I learned it as "You could have knocked me over with a feather." Is it geography rearing its ugly head again?
wow
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old hand
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old hand
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It has to be down - how else do we get the poetry of feather and down being linked? Must be geography - I haven't actually ever heard your version...
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Joined: Oct 2000
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veteran
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veteran
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To my amazement he said "You could have knocked me down with a feather!"!
and
Why did you say "What do you think?"?
I said "Yeurgh, chookman!"
Mind you... I know it's all a bit contrived, but assuming we can do away with an exclamation/question mark in each of the examples above, which one do we remove? Or seen from the other side, which takes precedence?
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