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That’s really picky. The conjunctive adverb is already there, which is more than good enough for a non-formal post on an internet forum.</p>
<p>I love this quote from wikipedia about comma splices:</p>
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<p>I’ll just pretend the OP is famous.</p>
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<p>Conjunctive adverbs have nothing to do with comma splices.</p>
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A conjunctive adverb, in combination with a semicolon or dash, can cure a comma splice.</p>
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<p>A semicolon or dash can cure a comma splice whether there is a conjunctive adverb there or not.</p>
<p>(Grammar debates are always so much fun. :))</p>
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Sure, but to me it’s all about readability, not obsessive conformance to the rules.</p>
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<p>Comma splices hinder how easily readable things are to me. Fixing comma splices, moreover, does not strike me as obsessive.</p>
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To me, the presence of the conjunctive adverb makes it perfectly readable. I don’t find the dash or semicolon to be necessary in this case.</p>
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<p>In writing, one should probably choose what is correct and readable to everyone over what is incorrect and readable to some.</p>
<p>Most grammatically incorrect sentences are readable and understandable; however, they are incorrect. A conjunctive adverb takes a semi-colon. A coordinating conjunction takes a comma in a compound sentence.</p>
<p>Grammar mistakes in speech are fine by me - as long as it doesn’t seem like the person is trying to be all correct. That’s why “I don’t know who it’s by” or “Me and him are going to the store” don’t bother me; in fact, I use them myself. What does get me is “I don’t know whom you think you are” and “Between you and I.” </p>
<p>Also the whole “could care less” thing drives me nuts. Nothing makes a person sound stupider to me than when they say “I could care less.”</p>
<p>But unless you’re writing an essay, mistakes like the one I made in my last sentence just shouldn’t be an issue. =)</p>
<p>so the middle paragraph beginning “Also the whole…” was poorly written on purpose to demonstrate that grammar doesn’t matter?</p>
<p>^anonymityyy, I’m a fan of the “plural of indefinite gender” (I assume that’s the mistake you’re referring to). At least, I strongly prefer it to the awkward “he or she” or the hideous “he/she” or “s/he.”</p>
<p>@younghoss: My American Heritage Dictionary lists “stupider” as the standard comparative of “stupid.”</p>
<p>anonymityyy: “I don’t know whom you think you are?” is (in fact) incorrect. The subject of the clause is “who”. </p>
<p>“I could care less” and “I couldn’t care less” appear to me to be regionalisms. They are both used in the same context (to mean “I don’t care”). However, as far as I can tell, which is used depends on where you live.</p>
<p>*I hate it when kids (and some adults) say…</p>
<p>Me and ________ are going …</p>
<p>Ugh. *</p>
<p>*^ Sometimes compromises in grammaticality with respect to the nominative case in compound subjects are necessary to maintain an appropriate level of informality in colloquial discussions with teenage peers. I certainly feel compelled to do so at times (I am in high school). *</p>
<p>Huh??? </p>
<p>Why would you feel the need/pressure to say: “Me and ____ are going to …” instead of “_____ and I are going to…”?</p>
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<li><p>dmd77, “I could care less” may be commonly used in some regions, but that doesn’t make it correct. Saying it that way conveys a meaning precisely the opposite of what’s intended.</p></li>
<li><p>I happen to think that dogs, cats and other pets deserve a “who,” not a that or which. After all, we use gendered pronouns for them in English, unlike for inanimate objects; using “who” is consistent with that practice. They may not be human, but surely they’re people, yes?</p></li>
<li><p>I’m sure there’s another thread about this somewhere, but I believe that the singular use of “they” is entirely acceptable (at least until a gender-neutral pronoun like “zie” catches on!), and is infinitely preferable to “he or she.” Many grammarians agree, and have created long lists of eminent authors, going back several hundred years, who have followed that usage.</p></li>
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<p>I agree with you. But on the ACT and SAT, they and its inflections are always plural.</p>
<p>Thankfully, I will never have to take the SAT – or, I hope, any other exam – again.</p>
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<p>Same here. :)</p>
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I can imagine that in some contexts, “____ and I are going to…” might sound self-consciously proper. </p>
<p>Correctness is not a simple, absolute thing. It is relative to situation and audience. If I asked a group of people which of them had done something, and you said, “It wasn’t me,” I would understand you perfectly, even though this is technically incorrect. If you instead said (correctly) “It wasn’t I,” I would still understand you perfectly, but I might be inclined to giggle at your fussy, old-fashioned way of talking. Therefore your communication would be less successful–and the purpose of language is successful communication.</p>