Ask Our Grammar "Experts" II, the Sequel

[Doug]

it did not work

[Mackay]

Jonmontanavega wrote: "While I'm playing Inquiring Minds Want To Know, I was asked to correct the follow bit of dialog. (Remember I'm using the no 'ue' form.) The writer wants the speaker to ask a series of questions rel..."
Instead of the ellipses, try em-dashes and one question mark at the end.

[Doug]

__?see__? ?__see__? ?--see--? ?__see__?

[Mackay]

"...see--what are you wear--how soon will you be ready--can you hurry up?"

[Stephen]

Been experimenting with Grammarly lately and it just suggested something I'd not considered before.

It deals with writing dialogue as part of a paragraph.

The paragraph starts out
"Sure Mrs. Shier." Danny responded and left the till to head to the egg and dairy case to find what she'd asked for.

Grammarly suggested that the period in the quote "Sure Mrs. Shier." be a comma. While I wasn't finished with my sentence, the character Danny was finished with his. Which is proper?

[Doug]

Stephen wrote: "Been experimenting with Grammarly lately and it just suggested something I'd not considered before.

It deals with writing dialogue as part of a paragraph.

The paragraph starts out
"Sure Mrs. S..."

I do it all the time. It is possible to put dialogue in front of the quote also. If you do that, the Capital letter that begins the quote can be a problem for various reasons. I also put quotes inside and on both ends. I never put two people into the same sentence. I also do not put separate people into the same paragraph. It is your choice though.

Johnny commanded from the ladder, "Get that chicken," laughing loudly, "off of the curtains," as he fell.

This expresses a change in two simultaneous actions without three or four sentences which would reduce the feel of the rapidity.

Each part get a separation comma inside the quotation marks whether or not it is a complete phrase.

[Ken, Moderator]

Grammarly got it right!

[Mackay]

Stephen wrote: "Been experimenting with Grammarly lately and it just suggested something I'd not considered before.

It deals with writing dialogue as part of a paragraph.

The paragraph starts out
"Sure Mrs. S..."
Grammarly is correct. If you want dialogue (with a tag such as "Danny responded"), then the actual speech is part of the whole sentence and a period breaks that sentence falsely. However, you could write:
"Sure, Mrs. Shier." Danny left the till...
That way, readers know Danny speaks, because of the action beat, but it and the speech are separate sentences, grammatically.

[Doug]

It is like a sandwich. You don't slip a piece of wrapping paper in between the bread and contents when a little mustard or mayo will do.

[Sally]

Agree with all this and with Grammarly. "Danny responded" is the dialogue tag for "Sure Mrs. Shier." Actually, there should also be a comma after "Sure" because without it, you are labeling Mrs. Shier as being sure (instead of addressing her), which implies a different use/meaning of the word "sure." The same would apply if you substituted "of course" or another word or phrase for "sure."

[Doug]

Perhaps Mrs. Shier is sure of herself (what she asked for) but actually Danny says "Sure" as a poor colloquial expression of "that is correct".
The sentence also has different tenses connected with an "and".

[Stephen]

Not so much a grammar question but a language / cultural one...

What is the significance of Blue in French and how/why did it come to mean something so different than in English?

The French seem to use blue very differently than the English, Sacre Blue (an expletive) , Cordon Blue a classy french school of cooking) , the Blue Train (historically a VERY posh passenger train) even the French song Love is blue (in which blue seems to be happy/joyous)

In English we have Blue laws (naughty things can't be sold on Sundays), Blue movies, the Blues (a form of music springing from sorrow) ,etc.

Can somebody enlighten this provincial Yank?

[Ken, Moderator]

No, but I can add a blue moon to your list!

[Doug]

A good drink.

[Danny]

Stephen wrote: "Not so much a grammar question but a language / cultural one...

What is the significance of Blue in French and how/why did it come to mean something so different than in English?

The French see..."

Idioms with a colour are always very different from a language to the other.
e.g. You say in English "to be yellow bellied", which mean "to be easily frightened". There's nothing like that in French. But there is "avoir une peur bleue" (meaning: "to be very scared"). Which is literally translated by "Having a blue fright".

Nothing logical in the choice of colours in the mentioned English idiom nor in the French one. ;)

[Doug]

The logic happens in the cultural upbringing, not in the lexicography. All one need do is keep an open and educated mind while reading. That applies to everything, not only colors. Being human though does have hard idioms and analogies common to all culture.

Grammatically, it is fun to see how far one can bend thoughts in concert or conflict with various reality, hence the art of Poetry and it's cousin, Philosophy exist.