The exclamation mark!!!!!!!!

Discussion in 'The Muppet Show' started by clueless1, Oct 22, 2013.

  1. clueless1

    clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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    Maybe I'm a bit pedantic, but am I entirely alone in my despair at the increasing misuse of the exclamation mark?


    I believe it is symptomatic of general lowering of standards. It says to me that the writer simply didn't put any thought into the sentence they wrote and so instead of carefully constructing a sentence to convey a point, they simply fill it with superfluous punctuation which I think is meant to tell us that that sentence is sufficiently important that we must make the effort to read it several times to try to derive the meaning, rather than the words actually giving us the details clearly.

    Anyway, here's a nice little article I found that might help explain the correct use of the exclamation mark.

    http://www.thewritingsite.org/dont-abuse-exclamation-mark/
     
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    • Phil A

      Phil A Guest

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      Nice one! :snork:
       
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      • Scrungee

        Scrungee Well known for it

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        OMG! The author of that article can't even get quotation marks in the correct place!

        How appalling that somebody criticising poor punctuation can't even get it right themselves. A screenshot before they discover their error and correct it!

        exclamation.png
         
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        • pete

          pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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          I didn't know I had one, but I've found it now!
           
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          • Madahhlia

            Madahhlia Total Gardener

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            Guilty as charged, my lud!
             
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            • clueless1

              clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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              They are giving an example of how not to use it.
               
            • Scrungee

              Scrungee Well known for it

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              The example is correct, but their punctuation is incorrect. If you quote text with an exclamation mark at the end, the closing parenthesis should be after the exclamation mark, as in their following example.

              They are supposed to be quoting incorrect usage, but the way they have miss- punctuated means they are guilty of same sort of grammatical crime that they are criticising. A really shoddy article.
               
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              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                :snooze:
                 
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                • clueless1

                  clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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                  There are no parentheses in the bit you quoted.
                   
                • Scrungee

                  Scrungee Well known for it

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                  OK, sorted:

                  (
                  [​IMG]
                  )


                  Unless the offending quotation mark is after the exclamation mark it isn't quoted and the 'incorrect' usage becomes that of the author, not of whoever they are quoting.
                   
                • clueless1

                  clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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                  Nope, sorry, still no parentheses unless my eyes are failing me, which is possible. I can see the ones you've put in, but none in the article.
                   
                • music

                  music Memories Are Made Of This.

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                  Clueless, I had two when I was a wee Boy ,with a speech impediment , two Parenth:biggrin:.
                   
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                  • Sheal

                    Sheal Total Gardener

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                    Looks like I'd best go and check all my posts, see you in a couple of years. :heehee:
                     
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                    • Jiffy

                      Jiffy The Match is on Fire

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                      I'm bad at spelling and writing, so it's back to school for me, but i'm a slow learner so it's going to be harder for me to get it right, please forgive of all that i write, it is hard for me to write but i do try my best honst
                       
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                      • roders

                        roders Total Gardener

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                        Yes Clu. you ARE indeed being pedantic.
                        Why you think gardeners are in the slightest bit interested in your pedantic trivia,I don't know!!!!!:)
                         
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