Re: grammar tricks

[BAILIND@king.lsc.vsc.edu]

I have this theory that most comma splices are caused by students' ignorance
of the use of the semi-colon, and I promote the semi-colon as the great
compromiser.  It's really the combination of a period and a comma and it
perfectly describes the dillemma in comma-splice sentences.  Here's how I
explain it: 
	Students know when they have two ideas that belong together
logically (I love his eyes; they twinkle when he laughs), but they're not
always so sure about the grammatical structure.  They go with the logic and
put a comma where they know a period would be too much of a stop. But a semi-
colon recognizes both the logical connection (the comma part of it) AND the 
grammatical structure (the period part of it).  So, if on either
side of a comma you have two chunks of words that can stand alone, and they're
really closely related in idea, you should probably use the great compromising
semi-colon.
	The Simon & Shuster Handbook for Writers, 2nd edition (Troyka) has a
great quotation about semi-colons:
	It is almost always a greater pleasure to come across a semi-colon 
than a period.  The period tells you that that is that; if you didn't get all
the meaning you wanted or expected, anyway you got all the writer intended to
parcel out and now you have to move along.  But with a semi-colon there, you 
get a pleasant little feeling of expectancy; there is more to come; read on;
it will get clearer.  --- Lewis Thomas, "Notes on Punctuation"
	Sorry this is so long. Hope it's helpful.
Deb Bailin
Lyndon State College
Lyndonville, Vt 05851
bailind@king.lsc.vsc.edu