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Formal Grammar and Syntax Poll


Callie

Grammar and syntax  

31 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you use an Oxford comma (serial comma) more often than not?

    • I play Avadon, Geneforge, and Avernum.
    • I play Avadon, Geneforge and Avernum.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
      0
  2. 2. Do you always avoid passive voice?

    • Yes: the slith mage cast a fireball.
    • Mostly (I use passive voice for technical writing, etc.)
    • No: a fireball was cast by the slith mage.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
    • Other
  3. 3. Do you split the infinitive?

    • I wish to go boldly where no exile has gone before.
    • I wish to boldly go where no exile has gone before.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  4. 4. Do you use the objective "whom"?

    • Yes, for whom it may concern.
    • No, for who it may concern.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  5. 5. Do you begin sentences with conjunctions?

    • And why are you asking?
    • I don't begin sentences with conjunctions.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  6. 6. Do you avoid ending sentences with prepositions?

    • To who(m) is this question addressed?
    • Who(m) is this question addressed to?
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  7. 7. How do you feel about the subjunctive mood?

    • If I were a rich man...
    • If I was a rich man...
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  8. 8. Which jingle do you prefer?

    • Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.
    • Winston tastes good as a cigarette should.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  9. 9. How many spaces do you place after a period?

    • I use one space. That's the way to go.
    • I use two spaces. That's the way to go.
    • I have no preference/Don't care
  10. 10. Are there too many poll questions?

    • There should be fewer poll questions.
    • There should be less poll questions.
    • I have no preference/Don't care


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Another holdover from the typewriter era is the qwerty/azerty layout - not the best layout for typing efficiency, but instead having commonly juxtaposed letters spaced out from one another for little reason other than to keep the type arms from getting stuck together.

 

It's a construct we're still stuck with, decades after typewriters have fallen from common use. The dvorak keyboard is much more efficient and I had actually switched to it in my formative years with some success, but I had to go back to qwerty because I learned that in the workplace and in university computer labs, alternate keyboard layouts were not really an option.

No real advantage for Dvorak has ever been rigorously demonstrated, as far as I know. It's all hype and anecdotes. I learned Dvorak, found it inconvenient to switch a lot and not noticeably more efficient than QWERTY, and switched back.

 

—Alorael, whose anecdote counterbalances yours. Unfortunately it's a very hard thing to study. You can't exactly double-blind typists.

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No real advantage for Dvorak has ever been rigorously demonstrated, as far as I know. It's all hype and anecdotes. I learned Dvorak, found it inconvenient to switch a lot and not noticeably more efficient than QWERTY, and switched back.

 

—Alorael, whose anecdote counterbalances yours. Unfortunately it's a very hard thing to study. You can't exactly double-blind typists.

I think it heavily depends on setting. My typing speed significantly improved once I did get used to it - but once I emerged from my basement cave and joined the real world, it became more of a detriment... and once I had to keep switching between the two I really slowed down in both. It was better for me to just relent to qwerty and "go with the flow".
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I use the Oxford Comma, yes. So whenever I throw a party featuring not only strippers but also two reanimated political figures from the twentieth century, I write "I invited the strippers, Stalin, and Kennedy." However (and this is important) whenever I throw a party where those two politicians were hired as strippers, I would write "I invited the strippers: Stalin and Kennedy." That's because I'm not some savage who thinks the comma and the period are the only forms of punctuation. Additionally, when throwing a really big party that features more than just the aforementioned strippers, I would write "I invited the strippers: Stalin and Kennedy; five clowns, two elephants, and a ringmaster from the circus; and a mariachi band." See, I paid attention in school, and I know that the semicolon not only separates two independent clauses, but is also the delimiter for lists of lists.

 

"I invited Stalin and Kennedy, the strippers" would be an alternative construction that also avoids ambiguity, although it changes what the sentence is emphasising and can get awkward for longer lists.

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See, I paid attention in school, and I know that the semicolon not only separates two independent clauses, but is also the delimiter for lists of lists.

 

Consider yourself lucky. Not everyone gets such comprehensive grammar education.

 

Dikiyoba.

 

There's also the fact that we talked about this on CalRef recently. :p

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