grammar nazi help

[ElFenix]

i've got this sentence:

knowledge of his work locations does not help answer the question of whether the property was "as a practical matter totally unusable for residential purposes . . . ."

my conundrum is that the ending half is a question, but the sentence as a whole is a statement. so following the ellipsis, should i have a question mark or a period? to further complicate matters, there is no question mark in the original quotation.

(yes, i know spacing ellipses is a victorian relic, but the rules of form dictate i do so)

 

[MrChad]

I would use a period in that situation.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: MrChad
I would use a period in that situation.

that's what i'm leaning toward

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: MrChad
I would use a secretary in that situation.

Fixed.

 

[SSSnail]

Grammar Nazzis, help!

There ya go.

 

[sactoking]

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Grammar Nazzis, help!

There ya go.

It's a good thing he didn't ask for Spelling Nazi assistance.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

Originally posted by: MrChad
I would use a secretary in that situation.

Fixed.

ours has no idea. she's not really a secretary but she's been pressed into service

 

[Legendary]

Wouldn't use a ?, that's for sure.

 

[allisolm]

There is no question so no question mark is needed.

Arnold hasn't shown up for work today. Is he dead? That's a question.

When Arnold showed up it answered the question of whether or not he was dead. That's not a question.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Regarding "bla bla bla", your concern.

Two sentences should also work.

 

[seemingly random]

First off, the ellipsis is comprised of three dots.

from wikipedia:

Ellipsis (plural ellipses; from the Greek: ???e????, élleipsis, "omission") is a term in printing and writing that refers to a mark or series of marks that usually indicate an intentional omission of a word or a phrase from the original text. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence (aposiopesis).
The most common form of an ellipsis is a row of three periods or full stops (...). Forms encountered less often are: three asterisks (***), one em dash (?), multiple en dashes (??), and the Unicode Ellipsis symbol [?].
The triple-dot punctuation mark is also called a suspension point, points of ellipsis, periods of ellipsis, or colloquially, dot-dot-dot.

The use of ellipses can either mislead or clarify, and the reader must rely on the good intentions of the writer who uses them. An example of this ambiguity is "She went to ? school." In this sentence, "?" might represent the word "elementary." Omission of part of a quoted sentence without indication by an ellipsis (or bracketed text) would mislead the readers. For example, "She went to school," as opposed to "She went to Broadmoor Elementary school."
An ellipsis may also imply an unstated alternative indicated by context. For example, when Count Dracula says "I never drink ? wine", the implication is that he does drink something else, which in the context would be blood. In such usage the ellipsis is stronger than a mere dash, where for example "I never drink?wine" might only indicate that the Count, not a native English speaker, was pausing to get the correct word.

In writing the speech of a character in fiction or nonfiction, the ellipsis is sometimes used to represent an intentional silence of a character, usually invoked to emphasize a character's irritation, appall, shock or disgust.

...

It's an excerpt from a question, not a question. I'd leave it alone (without the ellipsis). Might possibly append "or not" (without quotes).

 

[ElFenix]

yes, the ellipsis is 3 dots. however, if you read further down the wikipedia article, you'll find it mentions blue book rule 5.3. that's the rule i have to follow. so, i have to put 3 dots, with spaces, followed by appropriate punctuation to finish the sentence.

 

[Barfo]

You also want to start each sentence with a capital letter.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i've got this sentence:

knowledge of his work locations does not help answer the question of whether the property was "as a practical matter totally unusable for residential purposes . . . ."

my conundrum is that the ending half is a question, but the sentence as a whole is a statement. so following the ellipsis, should i have a question mark or a period? to further complicate matters, there is no question mark in the original quotation.

(yes, i know spacing ellipses is a victorian relic, but the rules of form dictate i do so)

First of all, :heart: for the bolded.

Secondly, I agree with allisolm that your quoted fragment is not posed as a question and therefore doesn't require a question mark.

And finally, I learned something today about the protocol for additional ending punctuation when one ends a sentence with an ellipsis. It's always a good day when one learns something! :thumbsup:

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
yes, the ellipsis is 3 dots. however, if you read further down the wikipedia article, you'll find it mentions blue book rule 5.3. that's the rule i have to follow. so, i have to put 3 dots, with spaces, followed by appropriate punctuation to finish the sentence.

What are you working on that dictates these rules? It sounds like legalese.

I didn't know that there is a unicode value for the ellipsis. I wonder if there are values for emoticons also...

Is the previous sentence incorrect? Should it also have a period?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: seemingly random
What are you working on that dictates these rules? It sounds like legalese.

I didn't know that there is a unicode value for the ellipsis. I wonder if there are values for emoticons also...

Is the previous sentence incorrect? Should it also have a period?

i'm a lawyer, so yes, it is legalese. so an ellipsis has a leading space, spacing between the dots, and a trailing space. i've got a very well worn copy of the blue book right here on my desk (an older edition, but the newer one really only updates the internet source rules).

Originally posted by: Barfo
You also want to start each sentence with a capital letter.

wordperfect disgust does that for me

Originally posted by: allisolm
There is no question so no question mark is needed.

Arnold hasn't shown up for work today. Is he dead? That's a question.

When Arnold showed up it answered the question of whether or not he was dead. That's not a question.