A few grammar questions.

[thirtythree]

1. When should "too" be set off with a comma?


2. Which of the following is correct?

I like the word "poop." < This one is correct in America, apparently.
I like the word "poop".


3. Which of the following is correct?

I like doing many things?running, swimming, hiking.
I like doing many things: running, swimming, hiking.

Should it be "running, swimming, and hiking"?

Can dashes be used to combine two sentences, when explaining something further, for example?

Ex: He offered me a banana, and I politely declined?I'm allergic to bananas.

How about...

I knew it was someone I recognized?a childhood friend.

Are all of these correct?

 

[Orsorum]

I like the word poop.

 

[cremator]

2nd one, because the period finishes the sentence. I like the word "poop".

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: Orsorum
I like the word poop.

Yeah yeah. I couldn't think up a good example of when I'd need to quote a single word/phrase at the end of a sentence.

 

[cremator]

Another example.

I was talking to Bob, and he said "Suck it you lamer".

 

[Allio]

With speech, the punctuation is normally included in the quotation marks if you're quoting the whole sentence.

 

[KK]

Here you go.


KK

 

[Ikonomi]

2. I like the word "poop".

At least, that's my personal opinion. This was brought up in another thread, and with American usage, you can safely put the period inside the quotation marks.

Edit: Sorry, reading that, I see it's a little unclear. What I meant to say was that I like the British usage, where punctuation comes outside the quotation marks unless part of the original quote. Here in America, some punctuation always goes inside (comma, period), some always goes outside (colon, semicolon), and some depends on the situation (question mark, exclamation point).

The British way is simpler and more elegant, in my opinion.

1. Well... Let me think about this.

I enjoy playing tennis, and Jennifer does too.
I enjoy playing tennis, and Jennifer does, too.

Honestly, I don't know the answer, but to me it seems like both are correct. Without the comma, the sentence is more streamlined, but I can't think of any reason the comma in the second example can't be there. It simply changes the scansion of the sentence. Plus, think about it this way: If you were using the phrase "as well" instead of "too", you'd add a comma, right?

I enjoy playing tennis, and Jennifer does, as well.

It's a little clumsy, but it's the same principle.

So, I suppose, much of the time it's personal preference. I hope that's the kind of situation you were asking about. I'm sure there are some places to use "too" I forgot. My explanation is really cursory...

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: cremator
Another example.

I was talking to Bob, and he said "Suck it you lamer".

Like Allio said, I'm pretty sure the punctuation is included within the quotation marks in dialogue. I think there should be a comma after "said" also. A better example of what I'm asking about:

I just listened to "Cherub Rock."
I just listened to "Cherub Rock".

 

[thirtythree]

Thanks, Ikonomi (and KK, though I haven't looked at that site yet). I wouldn't put a comma before "as well" in your example either Maybe I'm just strange.

EDIT: Found this on that site:

In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic. Click HERE for an explanation (sort of). > *There are peculiar typographical reasons why the period and comma go inside the quotation mark in the United States. The following explanation comes from the "Frequently Asked Questions" file of alt.english.usage: "In the days when printing used raised bits of metal, "." and "," were the most delicate, and were in danger of damage (the face of the piece of type might break off from the body, or be bent or dented from above) if they had a '"' on one side and a blank space on the other. Hence the convention arose of always using '."' and ',"' rather than '".' and '",', regardless of logic." This seems to be an argument to return to something more logical, but there is little impetus to do so within the United States.