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ClarissaMach · Last edited by ClarissaMach on Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:13 pm; edited 1 time in total

The amazing thruth was, that we were a bunch of loosers.

Is the comma in the right place in the sentence below?
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ad-miral · Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Posts: 1488

I guess no, I'm not sure, but you can also say "The amazing thruth was that we were a bunch of loosers." or "The amazing thruth was: We were a bunch of loosers."
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Mary W. Ng · Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Posts: 261

ClarissaMach · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:58 pm Post subject:

What about this sentence:

"But here be it said, that owing to the unwearied activity with which of late they have been hunted over all four oceans, the Sperm Whales, instead of almost invariably sailing in small detached companies, as in former times, are now frequently met with in extensive herds, sometimes embracing so great a multitude, that it would almost seem as if numerous nations of them had sworn solemn league and covenant for mutual assistance and protection".

By the way, in Portuguese we use " " to quote parts of books. Should I do the same when it comes to English?
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Mary W. Ng · Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Posts: 261

CP · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2875 Location: California

1. The word is "losers," not "loosers."

2. The passage that you quoted, beginning, "But here it be said," sounds like it was written a long time ago -- say, before 1900. Then it was more common to put in commas where we do not, much as German does to this day. Ms. Ng is exactly right (as usual) about the two extraneous commas and the fact that the final period goes inside the quotation marks.

3. The British use single quotation marks for quoted materials, and double quotation marks for material quoted inside quoted material. The Americans do it just the opposite.

British: 'The trouble with Los Angeles is that there is no "there" there.'

American: "The trouble with Los Angeles is that there is no 'there' there."
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

ClarissaMach · Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 6:38 am Post subject:

Dear teachers, thanks a lot!

CP, you answered doubts I had had for a long time! The first time I saw sentences like the one I mentioned above, I found it very strange. But as they belonged to classics of British and American literature, I thought they were probably right and that I was the one who should get used to them.

The books in which I read these sentences in fact were written before 1900 (Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and "Persuasion", and Herman Merville's "Moby *beep*", that I'm reading at the moment).

About the quotation marks, we Portuguese speakers use them just like the American do.

Thanks you all once more!
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Stormy Weather.

CP · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2875 Location: California

Ms. Clarissa: If you write "Moby D i c k" in a post, you get a beep from the naughty-word robot unless you put in some spaces. I got it for referring to a C o c k ney accent.

Censored by robots. What next?
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

ClarissaMach · Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:17 am Post subject:

Oh, yeah... much ado about nothing...

By the way, how should I call you, CP? I don't know your last name, neither your first name! All I know is that you're an excellent teacher!
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Stormy Weather.

CP · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2875 Location: California

Ms. Clarissa: You are very kind to say that. Just CP is enough for me -- it is what some people call me at least part of the time, so it is really one of my names.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb