theemdash | Grammar Rant: Punctuation for Pauses

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Grammar Rant: Punctuation for Pauses

There are times when

fandom_grammar is not enough for me and my passion for punctuation explodes from my face (beware projectile commas). There are also times when I read a few fics in a row that have no conception of how to punctuate for pauses, and that vexes me.

So, today you all are suffering through a lesson on punctuation for pauses.

Lesson 1: Periods end sentences.
Periods signal the end of a complete sentence. A complete sentence—for those who need the reminder—is a complete thought with a subject and a predicate, or (boiling it down even more) a noun/pronoun and a verb. Complete sentences include:

Notice that each complete thought ends with the proper terminal punctuation that signifies the end of the sentence.

These are NOT complete sentences:

These are not complete sentences because Daniel kind of doesn't have a verb; it's not a complete thought even. A complete sentence should tell you what Daniel is doing. Sirius transfigures the table and is also not a complete sentence because it isn't a complete thought. Sirius transfigures isn't even a complete sentence because "transfigure" is a transitive verb, which means that it needs an object. In this sentence the object is the table. So a complete sentence is Sirius transfigures the table. However, and is a conjunction, which means that it joins two thoughts together. Unless your point is to prompt further explanation with the sarcastic "And?" you cannot end a sentence with and.

Lesson 2: How to pause.
There are two ways to punctuate a pause in the middle of the sentence—use an ellipsis or use an em dash.

Daniel kind of . . . ran.

This example is showing a hesitation in defining the way Daniel is moving. The narrator is struggling to find the right word and finally settles. That hesitation is shown through the ellipsis—a piece of punctuation that doesn't end a sentence but conveys a pause.

The ellipsis works in this sentence as well, but I would encourage the use an an em dash here. Why, you may ask. Because an em dash signals a change in direction. An ellipsis is very specifically used to designate an omission or pause, whereas an em dash symbolizes a break in thought. Originally this sentence would probably have been a statement and ended in a period, however, when the narrator saw Sirius fall asleep, he was surprised and the end of his sentence became a question. Since there was a change in direction in the middle of the sentence, an em dash is more likely to be the appropriate punctuation here.

In Summary
Punctuation is efficient. It's short-hand for the author's intended meaning. And while Daniel kind of. Runs. does get across the intended pause, it ignores the fact that there is a piece of punctuation that would convey this inflection, and it misuses the period, signaling an end of a sentence that isn't a sentence.

In short: Don't abuse punctuation!

Also, I provided a very nice write up on punctuating pauses at

fandom_grammar last November.

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I adore the ellipsis (as you can tell from just about anything I post or comment on LJ.) If I could, I would marry one.

I understand; I feel that way about em dashes. (Don't tell my husband.)

So I should not use ellipsis at the of a sentence to indicate lack of a fully-formed thought or a general meandering of brain because...

So.
Bloody.
Confused.

am kidding, btw. smushes you
~~well, maybe I am curious about your answer to the end of a sentence thing~~

Interesting thing about "ending" a sentence with an ellipsis, you actually end it with a period. When a sentence trails in an ellipsis you use four "dots." The first "dot," which is snug against the last word, is actually a period; the next three "dots" are the ellipsis.

Therefore, you should now know what to do. . . .

I love the misused period as a stylistic device though, when used to indicate bitten-off words or thoughts. It feels like they've been thoroughly ground through the teeth.

Like,

Misused punctuation drives. Me. Crazy.

While I'm good with that in netspeak, it doesn't belong in prose. I'm willing to let someone get away with that in the safety of dialogue because dialouge is just different, but narration should be smoother and properly punctuated. There are very, very few times that I can think of in which improper punctuation or grammar should be used in narration.

Plus, this also means the same thing: Misused punctuation drives—me—crazy.

Hmm . . . or maybe just italics:
Misused punctuation drives me crazy.

Or something more stylistic with a colon:
Misused punctuation: Drives. Me. Crazy.
(I could get behind that as a one-line paragraph.)

Actually I think the only "proper" way to punctuate it is:
Misused punctuation drives . . . me . . . crazy!

I sometimes like to use improper punctuation or grammar in first person stories, or bits of writing like I've been doing lately, to give flavor to the speech. It happens more frequently for some of my characters than others.

And "Hi!" by the way. :)

I was taught (Canadian university, early 1990s) that ellipses were to replace missing passages of words such as within very long lists, and never to indicate a pause. In fact, I was docked marks for using an ellipse to create a pause. There were even distinctions for correct usage between three-period ellipses and four-period ellipses. If the ellipses came at the end of a sentence, it was necessary to include a period, something no one seems to do these days. I was also taught that emdashes --- or three hyphens when there was a possibility of formatting inconsistencies between different computer word processors --- were used for certain types of parenthetical clauses. Abrupt closing breaks were indicated by endashes or two hyphens.

I don't always like stylistic devices and they are inappropriately used, not to mentioned overused too often, but I've come across two examples of that full-period stop which were so effective that I set aside the usual reaction to its unorthodox usage. I've also come across a handful of examples of incomplete clauses used as full sentences which had a very powerful impact. Admittedly, the exceptions are rare and the overuse lessens the effect.

I was taught the same thing (Australian secondary school, middle 1990s), but I only ever applied it to essay writing. It was just too much fun to take a quote that wasn't quite right and then make it right by employing a cunningly-placed ellipsis. I'd never use an ellipsis-as-pause in an essay, though. I'd also use different spacing: an ellipsis in an essay for me is always surrounded by spaces (and yes, if I'm cutting out the end of a sentence, then it'll be " ... ."); an ellipsis-as-pause anywhere else usually follows straight on after the word without a space.

Unfortunately, I was never really taught much about dashes.

You're spot on about the tweaked quotations. Ellipses in formal essays are a real cautionary sign. Usually, I insert them only when there are lists which don't need to be spelled out. Companies of more than three senior partners, for example, are written out once in completion, and ever after referred to as "Beelzebub, Boggums ... et al", for example.

I explain it much more in depth in this post at

fandom_grammar. I am American taught, so some discrepancies may exist, however, the ellipsis is more precisely an omission. Fiction uses it a bit more liberally and that's why it's in good form to use it as a pause—in fiction. I would never use it as a pause in a research essay.

If the ellipses came at the end of a sentence, it was necessary to include a period, something no one seems to do these days.

This is true and is what I explained to zats_clear above.

Em dashes are for parenthetical clauses, but like parenthetical clauses that are set off by commas, you don't need a second one to "close" the clause if the sentence is ending.

Abrupt closing breaks were indicated by endashes or two hyphens.

This is something I need to research. The only time I've actually seen an en dash used is for a span like "5–10."

Also, generally it's accepted in American that 2 hyphens make an em dash and most people ignore the en dash. (Thankfully I can make them both on my computer. YAY!)

Admittedly, the exceptions are rare and the overuse lessens the effect.

The exceptions are quite rare and mostly I just want people to punctuate correctly. I think the real driving force is that people don't understand what punctuation means and why it's so important. Once they understand what their punctuation is saying, I think they'll know how to use it effectively.

I just want to say how marvelous I think it is that you discuss these things in your journal, which has the effect of raising awareness about how language is used and abused.

I use different style-guides depending on to whom I'm sending queries: Chicago, NYTimes or -- very rarely -- Webster for American markets, Canadian Gage or Canadian Oxford for the publishers in my country, Oxford for British Commonwealth or English publications abroad. Different editors and copy editors have their own preferences, so if I don't know, I usually email or phone to find out.

One thing I was discussing with an editor on my f-list was about how grammar, punctuation and spelling are habitual and memorized, and the habit-forming aspects get confused or, perhaps, re-oriented because of the internet. With so many different practices, all perfectly correct in the country of origin for the writer, the imprints tend to change. Then there are just flat-out mistakes but, because the memory is imprinted by common usage, they become absorbed into normalcy. The multi-stop sentence ending is a good example.

Oh! About the use of hyphens and dashes ...

I wrote a story for a giftfic exchange, and because I use a lot of parenthetical clauses and broken sentences to indicate broken thoughts, it had many em dashes and en dashes. As usual, I used the series of hyphens to replace them. My American-trained beta, who was also the moderator of the community, replaced them with proper em dashes and en dashes. Unfortunately, she posted them in the livejournal community in the plaintext window, where they all defaulted to single hyphens. So there were dozens of places in the story which should have been marked with em dashes that became riddled with very strange compound words. That is why I use hyphens instead of dashes.

But STOP Brendon and Ryan STOP Had been known to STOP Fuck STOP

. . .

I hate you STOP

Oh, is it backward day today!? That would explain why Boss keeps complimenting my outfit. I hate you too then! To the bottom of my sparkly, bedazzled, white shoe wearing weemo soul. *bats eyelashes*

Gimme your cookies and we'll be good.

YOU JUST WANT US TO USE MORE EM DASHES BECAUSE IT'S YOUR NAME. I'm onto your dirty game.

Actually . . . yes.

In short: Don't abuse punctuation!

Just. Occasionally? Not. Often?

*runs*

*froths at mouth*

You know this means I'll have to steal part of this for Grammar 101. *g*

Also, I was interviewing for a job today, and the guy asked about serial commas!! I tried not giggle out loud. :)

You should. I am most knowledgeable.

That is giggle worthy. Serial commas are awesome.

If I get called back for a second interview, I'm bring a copy of your article. ;)

AHAHAHA! YES! :D

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Grammar Rant: Punctuation for Pauses

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