Thursday, May 17, 2007

Screw Punctuation "Rules".

According to The Blue Book of Grammar and Education:

**************************************************************************

Rule 1: Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes.

Examples:
The sign changed from "Walk," to "Don't Walk," to "Walk" again within 30 seconds.
She said, "Hurry up."
She said, "He said, 'Hurry up.'"

**************************************************************************

First off, it's nice to see the Blue Book people finally branch out from the used car market.

Secondly, I have been aware of this rule for a long time, but I just can't stomach it in certain circumstances.

He said, "Have a nice day."

Okay, the above sentence makes sense -- I don't mind having the period inside the quote.

The problem, however, was his definition of "nice."

Agh! I hate it! Why is that period in the quote? The quotation marks are acting on the word! Not the sentence! Punctuation, get out of my quotes!

The problem, however, was his definition of "nice".

Ah, my rage is receding.

I'm just announcing here, that I am not abiding by this rule foisted upon us by unaccountable grammarians!

Screw you, "jerks"!

No comments: