So now we have: Call me Janet we’re all adults now. Grammar rule 6.54 in the Chicago Manual of Style has this to say about the utilization of a semicolon: “In regular prose, a semicolon is most commonly used between two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction to signal a closer connection between them than a period would.” In other words, this bit of correct punctuation will help alleviate the condition of a run-on sentence as defined by Merriam-Webster. Okay, the first two items are closely related enough that we could use a semicolon and join the two thoughts in one sentence. I know it was the way you were raised, but things are different now.No need for such formality, don’t you think?.Let’s take a look and break it down for her, adding punctuation. There are at least five different thoughts in that sentence with only one conjunction, and nary a sign of punctuation till the very end. defines a run-on sentence as “a sentence containing two or more clauses not connected by the correct conjunction or punctuation.” So Janet’s true message is running on . . . Simmons-Janet-where is your punctuation? I beg you for a comma or a period or a question mark, even an exclamation point! You always seemed the most eloquent of the bunch, with your teacup and saucer in hand while standing out with the moms. What? For starters, I was a pretty rotten kid, beating everyone up when the moms weren’t looking. The message was more like: Call me Janet we’re all adults now no need for such formality don’t you think I know it was the way you were raised but things are different now you were always such a good kid. She didn’t say it exactly that way, though. Simmons (not her real name), but she insists that we’re all grownups now so I should call her by her first name. Now, forty years later, I’m Facebook friends with one of those moms. (Turns out the Scot was known as The Scottish Nightingale and had given a command performance to Queen Elizabeth! She was so humble that we only found out in her obituary.) There were three Americans, one Brit, one Irishwoman, and one Scot.Īn American and the Scot have since passed on, may they rest in peace. We were past the hats and gloves by that point, but they were all cultured and well-spoken. Sometimes they’d be in making dinner, and we’d know when it was time to come home when the porch light flashed on and off (or if the streetlights came on, whichever happened first). They were chatting, keeping an eye on us to make sure we didn’t kill each other. We kids would be out playing in the circle, and sometimes the moms would be congregated in the center somewhere. When I was growing up, I lived in a cul-de-sac (back then, we called it a dead end). Although they let us express so much of our thoughts in so many different ways, run-on sentences offend our readers, listeners, and friends, without our even realizing it.
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