Skylar, if you want my 2 cents, here it is:
You wrote:
"In John Carpenter’s 1988 action thriller “They Live”, greed has lead to a complete inversion of what is considered human transforming those who are biologically human into a low class group of sub-humans... I'm usually good with this, but I can't figure it out this time. Thanks"
My suggestion:
A semicolon is used between two closely related sentences. The operative phrase is "closely related sentences." I would use a comma after "human" because the latter phrase beginning with "transforming" is not a sentence. The more technical explanation escapes me. Sorry!
Further suggestions:
1. Check MLA (or some other format) regarding the comma outside of quotations: "They Live," is my preference; I seem to be in a growing minority on that one. (I still use two spaces after punctuation, although the latest edition of MLA suggests that one space is sufficient; two spaces is okay, unless prohibited by a professor or editor.)
2. Did you intend to write "led" rather than "lead"? (I've slipped on that one a time or two myself!)
I hope these friendly colleague-to-colleague suggestions help.
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I agree with Cheryl. I think a semi-colon should be used between two independent clauses that are closely related. The latter part of the sentence is a dependent clause and hence can't stand on its own...so a comma would be nice! :)
ReplyDeleteMmmm, pesty. Joke! Seriously though, Cheryl, no need to be coy. P.S. I <3 semi-colons; I write for the world. That's an example of a semi-colon that should be a period; here's a slightly better usage. Look to Moncrieff/Kilmartin's Proust for proper examples in English. Give me money. Bye.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies to Sklar, Ryan and anyone else who may have been offended. I certainly did not intend to be coy, although I've been accused of worse LOL.
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoy using semicolons and colons. During my court reporting days, I had to punctuate unimaginably poor sentences, phrases, clauses, run-on sentences, etc. As a court reporter I probably maxed out on "all things grammar" simply to make sense of nonsense.
Again, my apologies.
I suffer no offense and accept no unnecessary apologies. What I meant to say was that I agree with you on all points.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
See, I thought you meant "pesky," but then I noticed that "pesty" is a word too. I've got pesto on the mind. Someone should bring pesto tomorrow. I hear it's good on gin.
ReplyDelete