Tutorial: Grammar

Tutorials for Halo CE.

Is this tutorial helpful for people who don't know grammar?

Very much!
13
50%
Yes
5
19%
Slightly
0
No votes
No
0
No votes
Not at all
8
31%
 
Total votes: 26

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llamaboy772





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Tutorial: Grammar

Post by llamaboy772 »

Lately I've seen a lot of members post without any regard for using correct grammar or spelling (mostly new members). Many members use the excuse that "they don't have time to type correctly," or that "it's the internet, who cares?" These kind of excuses don't warrant the pain and suffering other members have to go through to read these post. It's hard to read something without periods, commas, or other necessary punctuation marks. I'm sure other members here feel the same way I do about this too. Why am I taking time out of my day to write a grammar tutorial? I'm doing so because I'm sick and have nothing better to do. Well, I might as start this tutorial (and sorry for any grammar errors I might make, I'm not a grammar teacher).


Periods:

Perhaps the most annoying part of a grammatically incorrect post are the absence of periods. If English isn't your native language, a period is the little dot at the end of a sentence (a sentence is a group of words that forms a complete thought). Periods are used to end one thought so you can go onto another one (I'm not sure what the real definition is, but I think that will work). Without periods writing is a mess, and is hard for people to read. Sentences without periods are called "run on sentences." Here are a few examples of how to use periods correctly, and incorrectly:

Incorrect: My cat went to the store and bought some mice he went home to eat them.

Whats wrong with that sentence? That single sentence is a run on.

Correct:
My cat went to the store and bought some mice. After that he went home to eat them.

See? Two thoughts equals two different sentences. Periods can also be substituted for question marks (?) and explanation marks (!) where necessary. Question marks are for sentences such as this: "Can I have some pie?" Explanation marks are for sentences such as this: "Stop licking me you freak!"


Commas:

Another important part of a grammatically correct sentence involves the use of commas. Commas look like this (without the quotes): "," Commas are used to create small pauses in your writing. Without commas--much like periods--your sentence structure will be a mess. Here are some examples of how to use commas correctly, and incorrectly:

Incorrect: I have to sneeze but I can't, find a Kleenex box.

Obviously there wouldn't be a pause in that part of the sentence.

Correct: I have to sneeze, but I can't find a Kleenex box.

Much better isn't it?


Semicolons:

I myself don't fully understand semicolons, and I think it is fine to avoid them as long as you use commas and periods; never the less, I'll try to provide some information on them from a external source. (I'm not even sure if I used that semicolon right.) Anything regarding semicolons after this sentence is provided by Professor Donald Skrabanek, my old English 1 teacher.

http://www2.austincc.edu/dws/colon.html

The semicolon weighs about twice as much as a comma and half as much as a period. From its weight we may infer its two main uses: as a strong comma and as a weak period. As a strong comma, it is used chiefly between phrases with internal commas:

--Those missing were Lummis Catherwood, the director of the bank; Gjertrud Haterfock, the chief cashier; and two tellers, Ferree Clakey and Alvord Quain.

--Despite the news from the northern front, the invasion was not canceled; but weekend passes were given out, at least to some of us.

As a weak period, it connects independent clauses that are too closely linked to be separated by a period, or too short and undramatic to stand by themselves:

--Such sentiments are not rare; on the contrary, they are very common, especially among policemen.

--Probe is a favored word for headlines; it takes less space than investigate.

An excess of semicolons gives writing a stuffy and pompous air. They are particularly inappropriate in dialogue, and should be used sparingly in informal or colloquial writing. In standard expository writing, however, the semicolon is indispensable. Its chief virtues are two. As a strong comma, it makes possible the clear and orderly grouping of complex units, especially in series. As a weak period, it helps make possible the pleasing variation of pace and rhythm that is essential to good writing.


Colons:

Colons are usually used the present "the goods," or list facts at the end of a sentence. A colon looks like this: ":" I'm not what else to say here, so I'll just get to to the examples:

Incorrect: I have been to every state in the USA except for three: Alaska: Utah: and Hawaii.

I'm not sure why anybody would think that sentence is okay, but I'll explain whats wrong with it anyway. The first thing wrong with it is that fact that it has more then one colon. The second thing is that the last two colons should be commas.

Correct: I have been to every state in the USA except for three: Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii.

For other examples just look for the colon in the rest of this post.


Apostrophes:

Apostrophes can be used to show possession of something, or to form contractions. An apostrophe looks like this: " ' " You can show possession of something by adding a " 's " to the end of the name of a person or a item (such as a cat). Here are some examples(this time all examples will be correct):

Correct: Don't take Carl's hat!

If that sentence lacked the apostrophe in "Carl's," the sentence would be incorrect.

Correct: That's the ladder's step.

Correct: Don't hurt the kitten's tail!

Apostrophes can also be used the show the possession of one thing by many things. This is done by placing the apostrophe after the "s."

Correct: Thats the puppies' refrigerator.

Thats means that many puppies own that refrigerator.

Correct: I'm the peoples' president.

The last usage of a apostrophe is in contractions. Contractions group two words into a single word with the use of a apostrophe.

Correct: It's a very nice day outside.

It's means "it is."

Correct: I'll be down in a second!

I'll means "I will."

Correct: This can't be good.

Can't means "can not."

A word of caution, its and it's ARE NOT the same thing! You use the word "its" to show possession of something, despite the fact it doesn't have a apostrophe. The word "it's" means "it is," so you can't say something like "thats it's item."



Spelling:

Rather then ramble on all day about the rules of spelling, I'll just give you a link to firefox 2.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

Firefox 2 has a built in spell checker.


Alrightly then, this is the end of the tutorial! There are still several topics in grammar I haven't discussed, but I think I covered the main points. Please inform me of any errors I made in my tutorial, because I'm not a grammar teacher! If you would like me the add anything to this tutorial, please post it here.

Note: This tutorial was originally made for gearbox, so it might serve as much as a purpose here.
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Post by TomClancey »

I think this was a nice tutorial and it should teach new members that are of the 10-13 year old age group how to actually write properly and/or take away the excuse as to why they write so illegibly.


btw: You might want to go a little more in depth with the comma section. There are so many ways to correctly/incorrectly use commas that it would be wise to include most if not all the reasons/ways to use a comma correctly.

Just a suggestion.
Last edited by TomClancey on Sat Apr 21, 2007 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Monz0 »

TomClancy, I find what you have just posted a completely biased comment. Just because you assume that anyone who comes onto a forum would go about posting in slang and without proper netiquette is within the age range of "10-13" it most doesn't mean you can preach that. Did you happen to think that someone might find this offensive? You see, posting on a forum isn't JUST about proper grammar, it is also about having the right attitude.
~Monz0
foot note: Terribly sorry for bumping a 6 day old post. :)
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Post by [RR]RedRene »

Monz0 wrote:TomClancy, I find what you have just posted a completely biased comment. Just because you assume that anyone who comes onto a forum would go about posting in slang and without proper netiquette is within the age range of "10-13" it most doesn't mean you can preach that. Did you happen to think that someone might find this offensive? You see, posting on a forum isn't JUST about proper grammar, it is also about having the right attitude.
~Monz0
foot note: Terribly sorry for bumping a 6 day old post. :)
An agreeable comment.

This grammer topic will help those who cannot spell themselves.
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Post by Philly »

:D It's nice to see that someone actually cares about speaking proper english these days.
For anybody still wondering where FTD has gone, here it is.
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Post by TomClancey »

Monz0 wrote:TomClancy, I find what you have just posted a completely biased comment. Just because you assume that anyone who comes onto a forum would go about posting in slang and without proper netiquette is within the age range of "10-13" it most doesn't mean you can preach that. Did you happen to think that someone might find this offensive? You see, posting on a forum isn't JUST about proper grammar, it is also about having the right attitude.
~Monz0
foot note: Terribly sorry for bumping a 6 day old post. :)
Maybe it was a bit "biased", but you know what? Most 10-13 year olds on this forum don't type legibly because:
a) They can't
b) They don't care
c) They don't want to
d) They don't think they should or need to.

If the case is B, C, or D, then they're just very arrogant...

Sure the forum isn't just about typing legibly, but it's a big part of getting known and not being shunned because you can't understand what the hell they just said.

Finally, I guess I forgot to say "some 10-13" year olds told type legibly.
Last edited by TomClancey on Sun Apr 22, 2007 9:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Monz0 »

I would reply but I ain't gonna start no flame war, lol. But very nice work on the tutorial llama! :P
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Post by darkmummy9 »

2hat are you are moms?
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Post by TomClancey »

No where just freaking annoyed at people who join the forum thinking everyone's going to help 11 year olds who have done nothing and expect everything. Then they can't even type a coherent sentence and when someone tells them to type better they say "they can't" or they "don't want to" or "why should I?".

So pretty much, don't be ignorant and arrogant when someone makes a tutorial for grammar when you obviously need it.
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Post by Corvette19 »

Wow this tutorial, may help, me later in, life with all my grammar and punctuation erros well done!!

Non-Noobish

Wow! This tutorial will help people that speak similar to the above sentence. This should be in the cafe because it has nothing to do with Halo CE.

You forgot Capitalization, since I have nothing better to do, I'll do the part

Capitalization
Always use them at the beginning of a sentence or Proper Noun.
I cant really explain it but i can give examples:

Correct: I enjoy playing Halo with the community.

Incorrect: I ENJOY PLAYING HALO WITH THE COMMUNITY.
Incorrect: i enjoy playing halo with the community
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Post by StalkingGrunt911 »

...Why did you make this? This is Halomods, not grammer school. I also highly doubt anyone will bother improving their grammer it's just a modding forum, just let people type how they want to...
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Re: Tutorial: Grammar

Post by Corvette19 »

llamaboy772 wrote:Lately I've seen a lot of members post without any regard for using correct grammar or spelling (mostly new members). Many members use the excuse that "they don't have time to type correctly," or that "it's the internet, who cares?" These kind of excuses don't warrant the pain and suffering other members have to go through to read these post. It's hard to read something without periods, commas, or other necessary punctuation marks. I'm sure other members here feel the same way I do about this too. Why am I taking time out of my day to write a grammar tutorial? I'm doing so because I'm sick and have nothing better to do. Well, I might as start this tutorial (and sorry for any grammar errors I might make, I'm not a grammar teacher).
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Post by StalkingGrunt911 »

Yeah, I can read... if it hasn't got moved to a right section, if there is one for it... I guess it's ok then.
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Post by TomClancey »

StalkingGrunt, you're very ignorant. He wrote this tutorial because It's not a chat room, it's a forum. People hate it when other people read long posts and they can't even type for crap. Don't you think that gets a little annoying? This tutorial was written to help those who can't type, and take away the excuse that they don't know how.
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Post by [RR]RedRene »

TomClancey wrote:StalkingGrunt, you're very ignorant. He wrote this tutorial because It's not a chat room, it's a forum. People hate it when other people read long posts and they can't even type for crap. Don't you think that gets a little annoying? This tutorial was written to help those who can't type, and take away the excuse that they don't know how.
Someone beat you to it, so stop calling people idiot's(or ignorant) just because they don't know certain thing's, that doesn't make them an idiot.

Anyway's, this should be moved now.

And did you ever stop to think people might be Dixlexic(ok, I definetly can't spell that) or suffer from Aspergus Syndrome like me?

At least some of their post's are remotely readable, and aren't full of bulls*** like your's.

Now I am removing myself from this topic indefinetly.
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Post by TomClancey »

No one "beat me to it" and I didn't call anyone "idiot's". I said ignorant, which is not even close to idiot. All my posts were about other people thinking I was an ass for saying this would help 10-12 year olds who can't type legibly..

So please, stop making petty arguments.
Last edited by TomClancey on Sat May 05, 2007 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by [RR]RedRene »

TomClancey wrote:No one "beat me to it" and I didn't call anyone "idiot's". I said ignorant, which is not even close to idiot. All my posts where about other people thinking I was an *** for saying this would help 10-12 year olds who can't type legibly..

So please, stop making petty arguments.
You've called me an idiot before after asking about Beta Tester's, so back of.

And someone did beat you to it by quoting the first post.

And you spelt were wrong.

Anyway's, can someone hurry up and move this.

Conversation closed Clancy.
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Post by bricksarefun »

[RR]RedRene wrote:This grammer topic will help those who cannot spell themselves.
I lol'd. Seriously it's the internet, it doesn't matter if people spell right or use correct grammar. Also, just as many people not within the 10-13 age group use incorrect grammar as ones in said age group.
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Post by TomClancey »

[RR]RedRene wrote:
TomClancey wrote:No one "beat me to it" and I didn't call anyone "idiot's". I said ignorant, which is not even close to idiot. All my posts where about other people thinking I was an *** for saying this would help 10-12 year olds who can't type legibly..

So please, stop making petty arguments.
You've called me an idiot before after asking about Beta Tester's, so back of.

And someone did beat you to it by quoting the first post.

And you spelt were wrong.

Anyway's, can someone hurry up and move this.

Conversation closed Clancy.
I called you can idiot because its common sense not to ask for beta material, especially if the team doesn't know you and you just joined.
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Post by Si1v3rFir3 »

I think I have something to add, because it really get's on my nerves when people spell these words wrong :? ...

There is no such thing as a turrent. A turret is a mounted gun or cannon, and a current is something that has to do with moving water.


A gernade does not exist. A grenade is a hand-thrown or propelled explosive device, and "grr" is a sound that many large animals make when they are scared or angry.
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