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Nerdikarp Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Can I replace colons with periods? I see many writers do it all the time
Here's the sentence:
"But so much is jammed in, around the desk and up the panelled walls, that you barely find room to stand. Books; papers; dried plants; animals stuffed and preserved, antique instruments, candles of any hue."
1. Before 'Books', there's a period instead of a colon. Is that right?
2. This writer starts using commas instead of semicolons after 'animals stuffed and preserved'. Can you do that?
"But so much is jammed in, around the desk and up the panelled walls, that you barely find room to stand. Books; papers; dried plants; animals stuffed and preserved, antique instruments, candles of any hue."
1. Before 'Books', there's a period instead of a colon. Is that right?
2. This writer starts using commas instead of semicolons after 'animals stuffed and preserved'. Can you do that?
Top answer
1. Yes, it's acceptable to do this in this case. It is a stylistic choice.
- 1.
- Yes, it's acceptable to do this in this case.
- It is a stylistic choice.
- 2.
- I can't see any justification for the mixture of commas and semicolons.
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1 Answers
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1. Yes, it's acceptable to do this in this case. It is a stylistic choice.
2. I can't see any justification for the mixture of commas and semicolons. Normally you would choose one or the other and use that throughout. Semicolons are usually used when the individual listed items are long and complicated. Commas seem sufficient here.
2. I can't see any justification for the mixture of commas and semicolons. Normally you would choose one or the other and use that throughout. Semicolons are usually used when the individual listed items are long and complicated. Commas seem sufficient here.
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