lady_windermere

twilightofmagic asked about commas and semi-colons in the UK in her journal. So I looked up my Fowler's Modern English Usage I usually try to forget I have it! Second edition, printed 1978

Comma: Separating inseparates, e.g. a verb from its subject of object or compliment, a defining relative from its antecedent, or an essential modification of what cannot stand without it.

The charm of Nelson's history, is, the unselfish greatness (read history is the). The comma parts the verb from the subject, the other complement from verb.

Semicolon: The use of semicolons to seprate parallel expressions that would normally be seprated by a comma is not in itself illegitimate; but it must not be done when the expressions so seprated from a group that is in itself seprated by no more than a comma, if that, from another part of the sentence. To do this makes the less include the greater, which is absurd.

And therein lies a guarantee of peace and ultimate security, such, perhaps, as none in the South of America; such as not even Mexico itself can boast.

So anyone fancy giving us a translation?

And now on to the use of Exclamation Marks.

Exclamation: Not to use a mark of exclamation is sometimes wrong: How they laughted., instead of How they laughted!, is not English. Excessive use of the exclamation mark is, like that of ITALICS, one of the things that betray the uneducated or unpractised writer.

Oh Fowler is turning in his grave right now at the use of exclamation marks on LJ. Haa Haa!