Hela  +  101207 Thu, 19 May 05 04:31 PM Dear teachers, This is a passage from "Archaelogy" by John Cranna which might have been reprinted. 1) I'd like to know if there are commas that are missing in the sentence in bold. "One afternoon Chris and I went up the valley to the gold workings to search out wood for the boat he was planning. A century before the upper valleyhad been well populated with men looking for gold and above the stream bed we came upon a collection of derelict huts and their complicated arrangement of wooden parapets and sluices. We worked on a sluice run until we could free its boards with ease, digging to loosen the framework from the earth. Then Chris stopped and stood up, he held in his hand a long tapered bone from which he shook the remaining traces of soil." Shouldn't there be a comma after "A century before" and one after "above the stream bed" OR a comma before "and". Otherwise, where should I pause, please ? 2) In the second passage should there be an "s" to "others" or is it a mistake ? "We scraped at the earth at the base of the frame and came upon others bones, they were laid out in a pattern that twisted in under the frame posts..." Thank you in advance, Hela Hela Joined on Mon, Nov 15 2004 Tunisia Regular Member 831 Commas

	pieanne  +  101209 Thu, 19 May 05 04:39 PM I agree with you for the comma after "a century before", and after "for gold". "others" shouldn't have an -s. pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos... Commas

	Hela  +  101251 Thu, 19 May 05 06:59 PM Another remark, please. Why is there a comma and not a semi-colon before "he was frowning heavily" in the following passage? "Then Chris stopped and stood up, he held in his hand a long tapered bone from which he shook the remaining traces of soil. “What's this ?” Leaning forward, he pointed the bone at my chest, he was frowning heavily." Thanks again, Hela Hela Colons, Commas

	pieanne  +  101252 Thu, 19 May 05 07:03 PM You're right, Hela, a semi-colon would be better here. With a comma, "“What's this ?” Leaning forward, he pointed the bone at my chest, frowning heavily." would be better pieanne Colons, Commas

	rishonly  +  192575 Sat, 04 Feb 06 05:20 PM  Hela wrote: Another remark, please. Why is there a comma and not a semi-colon before "he was frowning heavily" in the following passage? "Then Chris stopped and stood up, he held in his hand a long tapered bone from which he shook the remaining traces of soil. “What's this ?” Leaning forward, he pointed the bone at my chest, he was frowning heavily." Thanks again, Hela Besides, the comma after "stood up" seems a bit odd to me. Does the following rewrite make sense? "Then Chris stopped, stood up, and held in his hand a long tapered bone from which he shook the remaining traces of soil". rishonly Joined on Sat, Mar 5 2005 KUMBAKONAM,INDIA Contributing Member 1,782 Regards, Krishna Colons, Commas

	Clive  +  192588 Sat, 04 Feb 06 05:46 PM Hi guys, I think that in these kinds of discussions about commas, it's good to remember that punctuation reflects the way something is said out loud. Thus, a comma represents a very brief pause. So, if you are deciding whether to write a comma, think about whether you would pause very briefly in speech. A semi-colon is trickier. It's a pause that is longer than a comma, shorter than a period.  Personally, I've never mastered the art of speaking like that, so I never use a semi-colon in my writing. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,580 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Colons, Commas, Punctuation

	rishonly  +  192593 Sat, 04 Feb 06 05:53 PM  Clive wrote: Hi guys, I think that in these kinds of discussions about commas, it's good to remember that punctuation reflects the way something is said out loud. Thus, a comma represents a very brief pause. So, if you are deciding whether to write a comma, think about whether you would pause very briefly in speech. A semi-colon is trickier. It's a pause that is longer than a comma, shorter than a period.  Personally, I've never mastered the art of speaking like that, so I never use a semi-colon in my writing. Best wishes, Clive A good tip, Clive. Thanks rishonly Colons, Commas, Punctuation