Thursday, January 8, 2009

73 - Not using three full stops for an ellipsis


It's three dots...
Not two..
Not four....
Three...
And if you really want to emphasize the feeling of time passing for a... pause in speech, or an unfinished thought...

...don't use sixteen, twenty-six or seventy-seven full stops. Use a number that's divisible by three...............

39 comments:

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

haha I'm just a little guilty of that on occasion... Oh I used them lol. But yeah I frequently end up with four full stops rather than three, but if on computer, I mainly correct.

Anonymous said...

i actually use them quite often...but only ever put three, I'm very careful to always put three not sure why. And when other people put more I end up counting them! Crazy moi?

Michael said...

Larissa: I'm just joking around here, but your e-mail displays otherwise. Hahaha.

Oops, looks like I'm being hypothetical.

Michael said...

Vivienne: Not crazy in the slightest.

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

lol oh my bad, when it's personal and more just trying to get thoughts out of my mind than anything else, i barely notice grammar >=|
haha

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

lol i remember that other post of yours, and nah it's completely okay ;P
but, just checking, did you mean "hypocritical"? or am i merely confused? ;P

Michael said...

Ahhhh. You speak of an ugly truth because I do that too. But I'm surprisingly astute with my grammar, spelling and punctuation when I'm drunk. I'm replying to your e-mail now. So brace yourself.

Michael said...

Oh, wow. Epic mistake. Just like I thought, it looks like I'm not very astute when I'm sober. LOL!

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

lol right back atcha ;P
haha I was so confused for about a full minute there, until it crossed my mind what it could be.
yeah I have a theory, and forgive me for I remember a post about your dislike for high heels, but I love them; that I have better balance while walking in high heels than barefoot or with other shoes... I am really uncoordinated and tend to stumble an infinite number of times per day; however in heels it seems to be far less...
I also fall over less when drunk unless at the stage where I am unable to stand up, and so a combination of the two, that is, me drunk while wearing heels, should ensure perfect balance! (:
hahaha
Oh and walking in a straight line, while unable to do that while inebriated, I also lack the capacity to do that while sober ;P
gahh
hahah

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

oh and just noticed you're following my friend kate's blog, Binding the Mind and the Heart. she's lovely! (:

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

hurrah!!! haha i haven't had an email conversation in eons, or something... gotta love MySpace, Facebook, MSN, and of course my overuse of text messaging when I could wait for 5 minutes to reach a computer to tell a friend something entirely unnecessary that costs me a lot >.<
anyway, i'm quite anticipating your reply ;D
yeah i text pretty while drunk also =/

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

oh and, although this is adding to it, sorry for the amount of comments i am leaving here completely irrelevant to this post and without giving you any time to reply if you so wish ;P
and sorry to anyone else subscribed to follow up comments!
haha

Michael said...

You're one of a kind, Larissa and I love you because you're a pretty perfect version of who you are. Now shush. Resist the temptation! All the other bloggers are watching... they'd be disappointed if you added one. more. comment...

Syam Ahmedarino said...

I love to use them too...
but dont count their quantity everytime i put them...
now i should be more alert bout that...

Michael said...

Larissa: I replied to your e-mail. You can talk now, hahaha. I will stop by your blog later. I have worn high heels when I was drunk. Don't even ask...

Syam: I think it's necessary. Nice idea to use them in the comment, by the way.

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

lol Michael, got any pictures of this particular drunken escapade? i'd definitely be interested in seeing them ^_^
lol
i read your email. wow.

Everyday Housewife said...

Guilty as charged! It is so easy to continue hitting the "full stop" key on the keyboard.....(oops)

Michael said...

Larissa: I still have to post pictures from my holiday in China...

Everyday Housewife: Hahaha. Like a stake in my heart, but hahaha. (As you can see, the rule applies to the number of has as well.

Toivoa ja Elämän said...

Sigh. I still have to post comments in response to certain posts of yours which I feel terrible for neglecting. Just so you know ;P
Well, I shall wait with high hopes for any possible surfacing of you in high heels documented in any way on the internet
And your holiday pics too of course ;P

Sophie said...

I'm gulity of this. I regularly use '..'.

Actually, that's eh, how we write them in Britain. Yes ...

Chris O said...

Do you take umbrage at "um" too?

I enjoyed this article in my local paper...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008596878_opin07rams.html

I really enjoy your, um, informative blog posts

Um, er, really I do...

i have the sickness said...

that was a good one....

Douglas said...

Just one question. No, revise that, two questions.

Is there a space after the ellipsis?

And...

...is it proper to continue the ellipsis (as I just did) when continuing the thought/sentence/whatever?

Unknown said...

.....

oops, I meant ...

sorry...

ash said...

My OCD makes me use four....can't help myself....

J.J. in L.A. said...

Cool...I've been right all along!

Michael said...

Larissa: I look forward to your name popping up in my e-mail inbox soon. I'm so tired... Thank God it's the weekend.

Hail To The Thief: Really? *checks chat log with British friend* ...Really?

Short Stick: It's like a knife in my chest...

Michael said...

Chris O: Thanks for the visit, compliment and the article. I can understand the point of view of the article's writer, but I personally have no vendetta against 'um'. I try not to use it and I think some people I know say it way too often.

Michael said...

Douglas.

...

Apparently, this is more correct.

This is ... correct as well (with spaces).

This is more correct than ...
what I demonstrated in my post.

This is also more correct than
... what I said in my post.

Michael said...

Marcy: ...doing this getting annoying.

KMcJoseph: Hyphens? Hmm...

Ash: Ah, an even numbered OCD. Your OCD is weird.

J.J.: Yes, you have!

Louise Viray said...

I only do that if I chat. When I text, I only use two dots. But when blogging or making requirements, I use three of them.
Kinda guilty here, hehehe...

marrriahhhh. said...

That might just be on of my biggest grammar pet peeves...doing more than three dots...I hate it...also when people do not capitalize their I's.

Michael said...

Louise: lol. "When I text, I only use two dots." What strange rules we make for ourselves when it really doesn't matter. Hahaha...

Mariah: Ah, yes. I always capitalize my I's. Good one.

Phil said...

I hate it when people put more than 3 periods. There's never any excuse for it.

Michael said...

Comic Superzero said...

I hate it when people put more than 3 periods. There's never any excuse for it.

I just noticed the ellipsis in each comment. Interesting.

ash said...

Yeah, it is a weird OCD. My favorite number is 11, though, which is odd. But 1 and 1 make 2, so it's ok! :P

I'm nuts!!

Hippie said...

Oh I'm bad at this. I hold the button down until it feels right.

Hmmm, so that's the correct term for the three dot pause. Hehe, I learn something new, interesting and rather irrelevant every day.

:)

Michael said...

Ash: You are nuts! Join the club!

Hippie: Glad I'm able to educate as well as entertain people.

Michael said...

Forty comments for three dots. Who would've known.