Friday, September 22, 2006

Comma karma

Here's a cartoon for Nate and Jen. Both of them have been having their own challenges with a simple punctuation mark. And they aspire to be attorneys?

9 comments:

Nateusmoore said...

I told, you that I left them, out on, purpose.

Jen said...

yes, i am going to be a lawyer. no, i never claimed to be an expert in grammatics. yes, nate is going to be my paralegal and do all my research for me, then he can catch my mistakes.

Abe said...

Nate and Jen, you will find that, as an attorney, proper comma usage is more important, perhaps, than having something important to say (and the use of parentheses is also very persuasive).

Johnny Piano said...

Jen, sometimes a comma isn't enough. Edited version: "nate is going to be my paralegal and do all my research for me[semicolon] then he can catch my mistakes." Nate, first rule of holes: when in one, stop digging. Abe, excellent advice from senior counsel.

I must, however, post a grammar alert: a phrase preceding a fundamentally independent clause must refer to the grammatical subject of the clause. The construction "as an attorney, proper comma usage ..." ascribes to "usage" the status of "attorney." Edited version changes the position of "that" for clarity: "... you will find, as an attorney, that proper comma usage is ... important ..."

Nateusmoore said...

Oh my god.

Jen said...

ditto nate

Nateusmoore said...

Also, this school year I have a job as a manual laborer. I dig holes for a living, John.

meg and ry said...

Will you guys come teach grammar to my students? It might be more entertaining for them (although, possibly more confusing!).

Anonymous said...

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muchlovemaurika