What do writers think? What do retired people think? I’m retired, and I like to write. But what does that have to do with grammar? (I didn’t have time to seriously write or to create a blog before I retired.)
This blog is not about random thoughts or about random punctuation marks.
Punctuation is structured, like traffic signs. A stop sign has context (a specific location in the world) and a message (traffic may be crossing in front of you). It’s at the end of a street for a reason. It wants you to stop for a reason.
But this thread is not structured that way. This is just what I happen to be thinking at the beginning of a week (or, if I’m organized, near the end of the week before).
Quiz on Parentheses and Brackets
Parentheses – Quiz Insert parentheses, commas, or dashes in the following sentences: Four cows two Holsteins, a Guernsey, and a Hereford stood in the middle of the road. It all happened on this very day my birthday. Jalene and Henry they are married now went to Mexico together. The best time to travel is in […]
Mr. Ed, the Talking Horse
This was the introduction to the TV show about a talking horse: A horse is a horse, of course, of course, And no one can talk to a horse, of course. That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed. Go right to the source and ask the horse. He’ll give you […]
Focusing Is Important
In a couple of writing classes I have taken, the instructor has given us the task of simply writing whatever comes to mind. What I have written will never be required reading for some college class, but simply the act of writing is practice. Perhaps that is a good exercise for those ten minutes between […]
Ruminating (Thinking)
Which week this is depends upon how you count. If you count weeks consecutively, then I’ve lost track. If you simply count weeks I have posted, then I think I have five posts so far. You may have noticed, but this is a tough time, not just in our country, but in our world. We […]
Are Commas Necessary?
Table of Contents CommasQuiz:Answers Commas Commas have several purposes. One is to protect sentences. They separate out what is not necessary to the sentence itself. Often that is extra information needed by the reader but not by the sentence. Think of a sentence as an interstate highway, allowing only limited exits. To travel from Teaneck, New Jersey, to […]
Simplified History of Written Language
Written in the manner of Ancient Hebrew and Greek The words are written in English, but the formatting is from biblical times. Ancient Hebrew Written Hebrew of the Old Testament used no vowels, no spaces, and no punctuation. wrtngdvlpdslwlybcschnwdvlpmntdpnddnthnbfrpctrshdlmttnsbcsthycldnlydrwthngsctnswrlmtdtwhtcldbdmnstrtdphyscllyvntllydrwngsbcmsymblctrprsntmrthnjstthpctrsmwhrnthprcssdrwngsbgntrprsntsndsnstdfbjctsrdsfrmsndscmlttrsndlttrsfrmdlphbtshwlngddttkytfgrthst Ancient Greek Greek of the New Testament times included the vowels, but no spaces or punctuation […]
Suggestion
Let me throw out a suggestion. Never ask for advice if you’re not willing to follow up on it and do the work involved. I thought I had a great post for my second week. I tossed it out to some friends. While that was not a mistake, it’s going to take me a week […]
Grammar Quiz 1
It’s another week. What am I thinking? With all the weeding I’ve been doing, I’m wondering how that connects to writing. You have to recognize the weed as such before you pull it. You don’t want to remove the horses’ favorite grasses. (There are even some weeds they like to eat!) What are the weeds […]
Responsibility
Starting something new is always a little frightening. One form of responsibility is taking on new family members. In this case, the new ones are three kittens. (No, they don’t have mittens, but they are adorable.) A friend found three kittens in the ditch behind their house. The mama cat was killed on the nearby […]
