comma or exclamation mark with 'weird' [interjection?]: Weird, he is

RosyIvory

Member
Arabic - Egypt
In: Weird he is a genius. Tom, you've got to admit it.

Is it
Weird! he is a genius. Tom, you've got to admit it.
or
Weird, he is a genius. Tom, you've got to admit it.


I think they both are acceptable, but what would determine which one goes when?
 
  • It seems to me to be an exclamation.
    If so, then it should be:
    Weird! He is a genius. Tom, you've got to admit it.

    I don't see how it could grammatically be part of the following sentence as in "Weird, he is ...".
     
    It might need a question mark:

    (Is he/You think he's) weird? (No,) he is a genius. Tom, you've got to admit it.

    Or the first sentence might be a short way to say:

    (It seems) weird (to me that) he is a genius.

    But that would seem out of place with what follows.

    What comes before these two sentences?
     
    Concerning the conversation there's nothing said before, this is the first sentence in the conversation, but there're a couple of sentences talking about Alex who love a particular singer and Tom doesn't like him.
     
    I expect the context to tell us whether the speaker is calling something weird or questioning whether the "he" being spoken about might be weird. Here is how I would punctuate depending on context/intended meaning:

    Weird? He is a genius.
    (Questioning whether he might be "weird")

    Weird. He is a genius.
    (Calling someone or something weird)

    Weird he is a genius.
    (Calling it weird that he is a genius)
     
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