1. As first, I am totally confused regarding to the use of commas in English sentences (compare to my mother language for example), i.e. I am always not sure when to use comma and when not (I've seen all variations used on the Internet)


For instance the use of commas (i.e. to use or not to use) in these particular examples:

- after "well": well, and so I said to her, or well and so I said to her

- before/after "i.e." and "etc.": I rebooted my PC, i.e. I pressed the button on PC's casing, I rebooted my PC, i.e., I pressed the button on PC's casing, or I rebooted my PC i.e. I pressed the button on PC's casing, or even I rebooted my PC i.e., I pressed the button on PC's casing (this example applies also to "etc." case)

- when counting up: Reg1Aid, Ad-aware, SpyBot, CCleaner

- when counting up with "and" or "or" in the end: Reg1Aid, Ad-aware, SpyBot, and/or CCleaner

- when using "or" in general ...

- when using "and" in general ...

- between parts of a sentence in general ...


Is there any general rule, any reference (a link to a site etc.) regarding all this ?? Because in Slovenian, we definitely use the commas much more often than in English; actually we use them between all grammatical "parts" of a sentence (with few exceptions of couse), and so I am quite frequently confused (hehe, was it right to use comma here just before "and" ??) about my writing, since I just don't use them the way it seems the best to my in a respective case, i.e. basically I use them much less than in Slovenian, but without any rule/logic just by "feeling" ...


2. Then as second; I noticed that many native English speakers use apostrophe in a wrong way, i.e. for instance in the description of Cheetah DVD Burner program it says: Burn CD's and DVD's Fast, and I am wondering, shouldn't it be Burn CDs and DVDs Fast ??


3. And finally, a two straight-forward questions; which abbreviation is the right one for United States: US or U.S. and ehm, what the phrase "hell bent" means, from which words it's constructed (well, I guess it contains "hell", but "bent" and "hell bent" ...) ??


thanks, satyr

Hello Satyr,

Regarding the use of commas:
http://www.unt.edu/cjus/resources/punctuation.htm#commas

regarding the use of Apostrophe:
http://www.unt.edu/cjus/resources/punctuation.htm#apostrophe

U.S. is correct.

...and finally, "Hell Bent" (or you may also hear, Hell Bent for Leather)
is just a figure of speech wherein the user is describing a sense of
urgency or enthusiasm. The original intent of the phrase is obscure
but I have come to understand the intended meaning when it is used refers to speed and immediacy.
Example:
Supervisor to subordinate--"You'd better knock off the chatter and get
busy, the boss wants those reports done before the end of the day today
and he's hell bent about it."
or:
When the bell rings, the students take off running like hell bent for leather.

You'll find that with English, more often than not, the "correct" grammar
is not necessarily etched in stone (it was at one time, but that was so long
ago that no one remembers).
What is genuinely considered correct isn't because it is text book accurate, but because it is generally acceptable...and that really depends on the audience...and by that I mean, in some circles, it would be called 50 cents, and in other circles it would be called 50 cent.
It all depends on the audience you are speaking to in that regard.

Finally, just a hint...and I'm no expert by any means, but to help you with
the use of commas in English, you can assume that wherever you would pause in an actual conversation, you can count on putting a comma there.

Hope that helps,

Disabled Vet

You are quite welcome Satyr, my pleasure!

Hi Satyr,

What you said about the Slavic languages is fastinating. Don't feel too bad about being confused by the way English is punctuated. Many native English speakers are confused, too.

The book Elements of Style is quite good. However, its use of punctuation is a bit dated. There has been a general change in punctuation over the last 100 or so years. There is not an official body that sets the standards. The great publishing houses in the English-speaking world have their style books, and the universities pretty much follow these. Nevertheless, there are standards that mark the educated writer.

There are some differences in rules for punctuation between British English and American English. You should probably decide which convention to use and then be consistent. I use the American (which is stricter and less logical than British English) because I live and work in the U.S.A. British punctuation is more intuitive and more closely represents what punctuation originally was in English--a method of communicating the non-word parts of spoken language, such as voice pitch and quality, pauses, etc.

The best way to get a feel for English grammar, usage, and punctuation is to read really good books in English. Beware of the English of some public figures. For example, President Bush would do well to take English lessons from President Fox of Mexico, whose command of that language is much better.

The links 1972Vet gave you are from an American University and discuss rules for American English. Another site you might look at is http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/english.html which has linkso to some excellent references for American English, including a link to the above-mentioned Elements of Style.

For British English, a good jumping-off point is http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ This is a treasure trove for study plans, exercises, samples of spoken English in various British accents, and so on. Recently, they have had presenters speaking with various African-English and American-English accents as well. They also broadcast a variety of programs in English. They do a wonderful service for those wishing to learn English.

Regards,

Alan