Then I said <?> wait a minute, [punctuation]

U

uruj asif

New Member
Pakistan/Urdu
So, which one is better?

Then I said; wait a minute, I want to go too.
Then I said, wait a minute, I want to go too.
Then I said: wait a minute, I want to go too.
 
    • I would do it like this:
    Then I said, "Wait a minute, I want to go, too." or
    Then I said, "Wait a minute...I want to go, too."
     
    Pearl said:
    I would say:

    Then I said: -Wait a minute, I want to go too-.
    Click to expand...

    But this would not be correct punctuation in English. An English teacher would mark you wrong. You need the quotation marks "" for written speech.
     
    Sharon is correct. The quotation should be preceded by a coma, begin with quotation marks, and, because it is a complete sentance, Wait should be capitalized. All three of Jacinta's original choices were incorrect.

    El inglés es un lío.
     
    Cuchufléte, it was not Jacinta's question!

    "El inglés es un lío." Does this mean "The English is a mess/muddle." (??) Does that refer to these examples in particular, or just the language in general? (I admit we have some picky rules, and sometimes the spelling is crazy.)
     
    Wait a minute. I want a go too. :)

    My preference would be for:

    Then I said, "Wait a minute. I want to go too."

    F
     
    jacinta said:
    I think this was written in error? Could you clarify it, if not?
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    Jacinta--

    Please accept my sincere apologies.

    It was not you who offered the three incorrect choices!

    I will try to be more careful in the future.

    I willingly accept whatever punishment you think appropriate, so long as it doesn't require me to get it right the first time.

    Cuchu [humbled and ashamed]
     
    Anyway... I think the simbols - .... - are used just in books, but not at school.
    I don't know if there is that difference between italian and english, I used the italian rule, but when I was learning English, noone told me there was that difference in writing.
    When you have to write something someone said, you put the : and then you write the phrase between " ".
    Example -> I said: "This is unfair!"
    There are no other way...

    Correct me if I am wrong..
     
    Silvia, you can use a colon ( : )

    She said: "It doesn't matter."

    but it's much more usual to use a comma ( , )

    She said, "It doesn't matter."

    It is important, though, to start the quoted words with a capital letter.

    F.
     
    cuchufléte said:
    Jacinta--

    Please accept my sincere apologies.

    It was not you who offered the three incorrect choices!

    I will try to be more careful in the future.

    I willingly accept whatever punishment you think appropriate, so long as it doesn't require me to get it right the first time.

    Cuchu [humbled and ashamed]
    Click to expand...

    Dear cuchu: I know it was an error. I just like to have a cleared record and an untarnished reputation!! Absolutely no hard feelings. Please lift your head now and continue your great offerings to this forum.
     
    Silvia, not to argue with Focalist, but according to my "book of rules," you would use the colon to introduce long quotations (more than one sentence) or a quotation not introduced by such words as said, remarked, and stated. (Any word that indicates you are about to quote, asked, and commented would be other examples.)
     
    So, which one is better?

    Then I said; wait a minute, I want to go too.
    Then I said, wait a minute, I want to go too.
    Then I said: wait a minute, I want to go too.
    Click to expand...
    from Uruj Asif

    Then I said, "Wait a minute. I want to go too."
    Click to expand...
    from Focalist.

    I would do it like this:
    Then I said, "Wait a minute. I want to go, too." or
    Then I said, "Wait a minute...I want to go, too."
    Click to expand...
    from Sharon.

    =========

    For Standard American English and Mechanics, I would choose Sharon's. I would go with Focalist's choice if the teacher weren't a picky, rigid person. Focalist's choice makes the short sentences in those quotation marks look less cumbersome. Try to read the words aloud and you'll see the effect that commas can create.
     
    Yes, you could use a colon after "said," although a comma is customary.

    Some people would omit the comma between "go" and "too."

    Yes, you could use a period instead of an ellipsis.
     
    I would definitely omit the comma between "go" and "too", because that sentence wouldn't normally be said with any pause before "too"; also because I can see no grammatical reason for having a comma there.

    Ws:)
     
    Florentia52 said:
    Yes, you could use a colon after "said," although a comma is customary.

    Some people would omit the comma between "go" and "too."

    Yes, you could use a period instead of an ellipsis.
    Click to expand...

    I agree on the use of the colon and the comma.

    I was taught that "too," when used to mean "also," should always be set off by commas.

    You should never use more than one period (.)! An ellipsis (...), if used, should be separated by spaces from the words before and after it: "Wait a minute ... I want to go, too."

    And finally, if it is indeed urgent (as it says in the thread title) I would use an exclamation point at the end: "I want to go, too!"
     
    RM1(SS) said:
    [...] I was taught that "too," when used to mean "also," should always be set off by commas. [...]
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    Did anyone ever tell you why, RM1? It seems to fly in the face of grammatical wisdom. I tried to find out more about this "rule", which many American sources refer to (most of them disagreeing with it), but none seems able to say where it came from or why it should be.

    The Gregg Reference Manual states boldly that it shouldn't be done when "too" is at the end of a sentence. The much-quoted Chicago Manual of Style says "Use commas with too only when you want to emphasize an abrupt change of thought: He didn’t know at first what hit him, but then, too, he hadn’t ever walked in a field strewn with garden rakes". Clearly there's no abrupt change of thought in "I want to go too".

    Many other sources decry this mysterious "rule"; I couldn't find any that support it (present company excepted?     ;)).

    Ws    :)
     
    The comma is much more frequent in BrE.

    If you look at British published material, single inverted commas (quotation marks) are common:
    Then I said, ‘Wait a minute, I want to go too.’
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    I think I wouldn't generally pause between go and too and so would usually not have a comma there.
     
    This link leads discussions of the comma before 'too'. comma too

    There are eight threads, discussing use of the comma in sentences of varying lengths. There is not universal agreement on the topic. :)
     
    RM1(SS) said:
    I was taught that "too," when used to mean "also," should always be set off by commas.
    Click to expand...

    Wordsmyth said:
    Did anyone ever tell you why, RM1? It seems to fly in the face of grammatical wisdom. I tried to find out more about this "rule", which many American sources refer to (most of them disagreeing with it), but none seems able to say where it came from or why it should be.
    Click to expand...
    That, I believe, was fourth-grade grammar, meaning that it was almost 50 years ago; if any explanation was given, I've forgotten the fact. I believe it was just presented as a rule, like everything else: This Is the Way It Is Done.

    My wife, who is seven years younger than I and went to school in a different part of the country, says that she was taught no such rule.
     
    RM1(SS) said:
    [...] I believe it was just presented as a rule, like everything else: This Is the Way It Is Done. [...]
    Click to expand...
    Ah, one of those "rules". If they have no reasoning behind them, I tend to think of them rather as rumours — because they start as one person's quirky idea, then spread without anyone knowing the source. In the days before we had 'instant communication', the process was gradual, and their disappearance was correspondingly slow. Nowadays such things go viral quickly, but are often equally quickly quashed. All the signs are that that one's well on its way to the garbage can (unless it gets recycled ;)).

    Ws:)
     
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