Complicated question! In general, if what follows after 'and' could stand alone as a sentence. She looked at me and smiled. She looked at me, and I wished she would smile.
Isn't it also true that "She looked at me and I wished she would smile" would also be grammatically correct? Commas are vexing.
Reading that makes me twitch with frustration. I can't stand commas used "for effect." They're so damn distracting.
When people say that it means one of two things: 1. Comma splices 2. Long sentences Sometimes when it's #2, the sentence is perfectly fine.
Sorry, @cydney , I have to disagree; I think it's a bloody stupid sentence. It's like a piece of purple prose from a 19th century bodice-ripper, and could mean a dozen different things (or, nothing at all!) if punctuated differently. So there is no correct answer. It all depends on what you want it to mean.
Not sure what you mean, @Dr. Mambo . Appears to be working just fine. @Shadowfax, good grief. you need a chill pill.
I always assumed that English people were stereotyped with drinking tea, just as everyone here in Ireland are stereotyped as drinking any alcohol available, considering that in the UK there is this thing called the "TV Pickup" which is referencing to a time of day that affects electricity generation and transmission networks during the evening when people go to make tea during the advert breaks. But I recently read this article (as boring as f^*k I'm going to sound) that said that the biggest tea drinkers in the world are : 1st, Turkey. 2nd, Ireland. 3rd, UK. We're mad for our tea as much as we are for a drink to be fair. Blew my stereotyping mind.
That's interesting. Turkey drinks the most tea. I never thought that everyone in the UK drank tea. I just thought it was strange (never having been to the UK [or any top three tea drinking nation] and rarely drinking hot tea) that the first example that came to mind was "tea, milk, and biscuits."
My father is American and drinks coffee every morning. My mother is British and drinks tea every morning. Coincidence? I think not!
My mother drinks tea though which means everybody in England drinks tea for every meal. Case reopened.
A very British poem. Do you want a cup of tea? Do you want a cup of tea? All I want is relief from pain. Would you like a biscuit? Please take this fear away. How about a relaxing bath? The shame I feel shrivels me. Are you drinking enough water? I am wracked with guilt. Think positive thoughts! I want to die now. Have you got a hobby? Yes, sleeping. I’ll put the kettle on. Don’t light the gas. Now stop being silly, Do you take sugar? Got any drugs? What can we do to cheer you up? Fuck off. I know you don’t mean that. How? How what? Do you know? Because you’re not that sort of person, Here’s your tea. Thanks Now, let's talk about all this. Written by Francis de Aguilar©
