One of my great discoveries in life was encountering the reality
that English grammar is not an exact science. There are rules --
true, but the key to effective writing is knowing the rules well
enough to know *how* to break them *correctly*. (I have great
empathy for those who must master English as a second language.)
So let me pose a question:
For those who might quibble it should be rendered:
>
> He told me: "That is a silly idea. I never said such a thing."
How do the quibblers determine when to use a comma versus a colon?
(BTW, I agree with the colon. I used a comma at the time to avoid
introducing the additional topic. But no such luck -- you did it
for me. :-) )
And thanks for agreeing with me. My wife once asked me, "Why do
you have to be right all the time?"
When I explained, "I don't have to be -- I just am," that didn't help
the situation a bit. :-)
Clarke
Peter Schaffter wrote:
Clarke --
On Fri, Jun 06, 2008, Clarke Echols wrote:
He told me, "That is a silly idea. I never said such a thing."
Though some might quibble it should be rendered:
He told me: "That is a silly idea. I never said such a thing."
<big grin>
Seriously--I loved your post. Point for point, principle for
principle, I agreed with every word.
