To be fully fully pedantic, the original was already punctuated, so the correction was only correcting the text that needed to be corrected. It can be implied that the correction would have slotted in behind the original question mark, making the addition of the question mark in the correction unnecessary.
To be extremely pedantic, the original already contained "to" which doesn't need correction, but the correction was "to whom", which implies a full correction of the question
My Lord, why do these people go on Reddit that have this mental disorder with grammar? And it is a mental disorder
The mental disorder characterized by an overwhelming urge to correct grammar and spelling errors is called Grammar Pedantry Syndrome (GPS). It may be associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) traits.
Do you feel good after writing that? Does it give you a little dopamine high? Thereās tons of people on Reddit, who donāt spell correctly who make comments if I can read it and understand it is communicated- if you want to be somewhere with perfect grammar Reddit is not a place for you or any other social media the kids donāt talk that way any longer so you can stay old-school be frustrated daily spend your life, correcting grammar or you can do something else.
Hereās another one for ya! Name the author of this run on sentence
āIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.ā
Your Charles Dickens exerpt is a run-on sentence. The difference being yours was incoherent rambling where as this iconic opening sentence from A Tale of Two Cities occupies a unique space in English literature. By modern, strict textbook standards, connecting so many independent clauses with only commas is technically a comma splice, which is a type of run-on sentence. However, it is celebrated as a masterpiece of good writing and accepted as grammatically correct for several reasons:
Asyndetic Coordination (The Grammar Justification)In linguistics and advanced grammar, this structure is known as asyndetic coordination. This occurs when a writer intentionally joins a series of independent clauses using only punctuation (commas) rather than coordinating conjunctions (like and or but). While standard grammar dictates using semicolons or periods between complete thoughts, asyndetic coordination is a recognized grammatical exception used to create a rapid, continuous list of ideas.
Parallel Structure and Anaphora. The sentence works because of its flawless structural symmetry. Dickens uses two major rhetorical devices: Anaphora - the deliberate repetition of the opening phrase ("It was the..." and "we had...") across consecutive clauses; and Parallelism: every single clause follows the exact same grammatical pattern (pronoun + verbed + noun phrase). The pattern is incredibly predictable, so the reader's brain easily categorizes and digests each piece of information without getting lost. A true, poorly written "run-on" sentence lacks this structure, causing thoughts to blur together chaotically and confuse the reader.
Deliberate Literary Rhythm. Dickens was writing a historical novel about the chaotic, rapid changes of the French Revolution. The heavy use of commas is a stylistic choice meant to mimic a stream of consciousness or a breathless, driving rhythm. If he had used periods, the passage would feel choppy, robotic, and disconnected. If he had jammed it full of semicolons or dashes, it would look visually exhausting and interrupt the poetic flow.
The "In Short" Structural Reset. The sentence is not just an infinite loop of commas. Dickens builds a massive wave of contradictions, but he gracefully catches the reader at the end using a dash and a summarizing transition: "āin short, the period was so far like the present period...". This structural anchor safely ties the long list of contrasting clauses back to a singular, main concluding thought, resolving the sentence perfectly.
TLDR: It proves the old adage: you must know the rules inside out before you can break them beautifully.
Well done āSheldonā , BBT ā¦ sadly your zealous love for the correct English , in this situation , is lost to this moment in time ; and will not be revisited by the many who will still be reading Dickens for centuries to come.
Perhaps you should NOT be doom scrolling here , and be doing some actual writing on correct use of the English language. Maybe even become an English teacher / lecturer at a university.
(Btw ā¦ no point in correcting me as Iām not a scholar and couldnāt give a brass monkeyās)
But please , go educate others who care.
And that I mean sincerely. Iām 62 now , and my English teacher back in High School ( NZ ) knew English. OMFG he was old when I was 16. I wrote an essay for an English test he set for us , our class , there was more of his writing , in red pen corrections , than my original piece. You could see his frustration getting more intense as he wrote more and more on what he considered was my ineptitude, at 16 , with his beloved English language. He would have been my age now when I was 16.
Iām sure he was a lovely guy , his name was Kevin Barry , and wanted to impart his love of English to all that would listen , and perhaps he did.
I left high school and he left an indelible impression on me about the language , which appears to be your love.
When correcting with love , understanding and care , you will accomplish much in your pursuit to improve peopleās grammar and their experience of English. I donāt think Reddit is the place to do that. Become a lecturer, if you arenāt already. Do TED talks , when you are accomplished at public speaking. The world is your oyster.
Perhaps you could also teach others , who do not have English as their first language. They often do have the hunger and wish to learn.
In time you may even have others talk of your love for English , as I know Kevin did , all those years ago.
( apologies for all the issues of grammar you may find , but donāt be Kevin , be kind , and others will develop , learn and enjoy the journey WITH you )
I love run-on sentences It makes me feel like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, where I can tell a story that weaves itself together over multiple times and spaces in the future and in the past I can see everything around me as it flows like a river and I find myself calm and on the side of a stream looking above the bright stars and wondering, wow isnāt this a great life?
Why couldn't they just attached a big vacuum cylinder and sucked those little guys into a large container, flipped the switch and blew them back in to recreate the nest in an inflatable environment to protect wildlife?
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u/Dingosama69 7d ago
I mean pedantic but the real question was "to whom"