June 28, 2021
Do you use said or asked after a ? or tag your interruptions? Any punctuation that bugs you? What’s the hardest for you to get right?
The first thing I thought about when I saw this topic was how to make the post funny, but a comedian I am not. Not for lack of trying, but my sense of humor is warped. People don’t get my attempts at humor, and I have to admit, I’m not that funny. So, you’re stuck with me answering this as blandly as possible. Hopefully, it won’t be that bad.
Punctuation is hard. I don’t get it right 100% of the time. Thank heavens for good editors. But the question mark question I have covered. If I add a tag to a sentence that ends in a question mark, it’s always asked or questioned, but it’s never said. That wouldn’t make sense to me. I suppose it’s possible that a person asks a question in a monotone and using said would work, but I don’t believe I’ve ever written a sentence like that. I have written sentences that grammar programs have interpreted as questions when they aren’t, and then I confuse the computer by refusing to change the period to a question mark. But there’s no ask or said involved.
Is there punctuation that bugs me? Let’s talk quotation marks. Why is there a difference in usage of question marks between the United State and part of Europe? They use the single quote to mark dialogue. ‘Punctuation is the devil,’ rather than the double quotes we use in the US “Punctuation is the devil.” How did that happen and why? Who thought that was a good idea?
And is there punctuation I struggle with? Besides almost all of it? Let’s talk dashes. Why do we need three forms of dashes? Not two, but three. You have the dash – the en-dash – and the em-dash —. The rules of how and why to use each other is enough to make a writer’s s head spin and a grammarian’s heart sing, and I’m not going to try to explain them here. I don’t think I’d do a good job. Feel free to give yourself a headache and research them in your favorite fashion.
What about you? What punctuation do you struggle with? Let’s commiserate in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the other authors on the hop by checking out the links below.
As always, until next time, stay safe.
June 28, 2021
Do you use said or asked after a ? or tag your interruptions? Any punctuation that bugs you? What’s the hardest for you to get right?
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