Talk:Style Guide
From TCWiki
Regarding the Comma Splice section
It's worth noting that replacing the comma with a semi-colon in the example given would fix the grammatical error, and look stylish to boot. People seem so afraid of semi-colons, but they're our friends!
--Kuraiou 12:47, 06 Feb 2008 (PST)
Yeah, man. Semicolons are the bomb.
--BozoCat 12:45, 11 Feb 2008 (PST)
From: 'Never start a paragraph with pronouns'
"a clean sleight"
Sleight, according to Google:
dexterity: adroitness in using the hands
skill and dexterity, as in: Magicians use sleight of hand to make illusions seem real.
A secret move which brings about the magic or facilitates the trick.
Dictionary.com:
1. skill; dexterity.
2. an artifice; stratagem.
3. cunning; craft.
... that's an interesting phrase... And I could actually see that being used somewhere, though I'd have to think a bit on just what it means. Though it could be that 'clean slate' was meant instead? ^^;;
--Shugo 07:31, 26 Jan 2008 (PST)
Good catch. Will fix shortly.
--BozoCat 11:19, 27 Jan 2008 (PST)
"It's = it is." Does "It has" or "It was" work for "It's" as well? Like maybe "It's changed"? Though maybe you're going for a concept that I read in a bit of writing on someone's LJ recently: "outside of time, has is simply another form of Is." ... and 'it is' just acts as a catch-all in the guide.
--Shugo 09:13, 26 Jan 2008 (PST)
Definitely not "it was". However "it's" has been used in a song title for "it has", as in the BNL song "It's All Been Done". I shall do further research.
--BozoCat 11:19, 27 Jan 2008 (PST)
Merriam-Webster confirms that "it has" can be contracted to "it's"
--BozoCat 11:35, 27 Jan 2008 (PST)
"A pronoun always refers to the most recent noun before it"
Suggestion: Since English has gender-specific pronouns, I tend to use a pronoun to refer to the most recent noun of the same gender. Which this can become unclear if the last use of a person's name was some time ago, it's useful for situations where the two people in a scene aren't the same sex. Example, from my most recent post:
Laura's neighborhood was a drastic change from the affluence of Chuo-ku, Tokyo's main banking district, where Will's apartment was located. Her apartment complex was drab, four or five stories tall.
Here, the pronoun "Her" refers back to Laura, even through there are three nouns after her name (Chuo, Tokyo, Will), because she's the most recent female noun used.
Thoughts?
Vavrek 15:41, 26 Jan 2008 (PST)
I meant to have it say the first possible pronoun that agrees with it in gender and number. Good catch.
Digression: I shall alter accordingly. (In Latin, it also has to match case as well, and there are special pronouns "hic" and "ille"-- hic refers to the most recent noun, ille to the second most recent. Because Latin has more grammar than you can shake a stick at.
--BozoCat 11:19, 27 Jan 2008 (PST)
