Another question about comma...

I don't put a comma in "I've got a lot of questions here" or "That's a fine hunting dog you've got there."

maestrowork said:

"I've got a lot of questions, here."

Why is there a comma before "here"? I find that comma very odd. When I say that line out, I don't hear a pause between "questions" and "here."

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I wouldn't place a comma before "here." A comma isn't called for.

I suspect it sounds like it needs a comma to some because the word "here" has no business being in the sentence at all. Commas are often used because of poor construction. "I've got a lot of questions," or better, "I have a lot of questions," does the job nicely.

"Here" is stuck on the end like piece of chewed gum, and instinct says it doesn't belong, so a comma must be needed.

maestrowork said:

Then someone introduced me to this one:

"I've got a lot of questions, here."

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I think "someone" was on a comma high.

Would you punctuate this passage the same way?

The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us...

rpl said:

I think "someone" was on a comma high.

Would you punctuate this passage the same way?

The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us...

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No, but on the other hand, if we are to believe legend, that was a first draft.
I should have such first drafts.

Sometimes we look too objectively at a piece of writing. Something that passed for great literature can be, at times, hacked to death for reasons that make a lot of sense in a diagnostic way. I try to go with what I feel while still keeping a cautious eye on what I percieve as logic.

Just about any veteran poet considers The Gettysburg Address as poetry.

And hey, I doubt if Abe had any beta readers, and on the other hand, nor can it be proven that it was truly a first draft--which only goes to show that the acid test for good writing is still in what's presented, and still in the eyes of the beholder.

rich said:

the acid test for good writing is still in what's presented, and still in the eyes of the beholder.

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Rich, a truer word was ne'er spoke.