ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: Ending a grammar argument

Anonymous — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:31:33 GMT

Hi branwen319 - There are no need for using comma for the first sentence. About the second sentence, i don't quite understand. However, i think there are many unnecessary commas used in the sentence. You should refer to the English grammer book.

Hope this will helps.

Amber

Re: Ending a grammar argument

MrPedantic — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:51:42 GMT

Hello Branwen319, welcome to English Forums! (Are there really 318 other Branwens here?)

No comma is needed; "your" is a possessive pronoun, and "no" is an indefinite determiner (i.e. they're not adjectives).

Two or more qualitative adjectives may be separated by a comma, e.g. "a long, thin piece of wood"; but if we use "my" instead of "a", it does not need to be followed by a comma, any more than "a" does (thus "my long, thin piece of wood", if for some reason we need to specify such a thing).

The trick is to treat the comma as a pause. Does your boyfriend pause after "your", when he says "your normal routine"? I doubt it. Better to save all those commas and cut down on toner.

Good luck!

MrP

Re: Ending a grammar argument

Clive — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:34:01 GMT

Hi,

I have been arguing with my boyfriend about his overuse of commas. He thinks he uses them appropriately. Hopefully this will end our argument. Are the following sentences gramatically correct? Why or why not?

Have you ever tried to just get along with some one with no, common interests, just a desire to talk and coexist? Don't use a comma after 'no', because 'no common' foms a single adjectival phrase.

One day, while going about your, normal routine and minding your own business, one of your friends says, "Hey dude, look in that building over there." Don't use a comma after a possessive adjective like 'your'.

Best wishes, Clive

Ending a grammar argument

branwen319 — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:19:02 GMT

I have been arguing with my boyfriend about his overuse of commas. He thinks he uses them appropriately: hopefully this will end our argument. Are the following sentences gramatically correct? Why or why not?

Have you ever tried to just get along with some one with no, common interests, just a desire to talk and coexist?

One day, while going about your, normal routine and minding your own business, one of your friends says, "Hey dude, look in that building over there."

Thanks for any help.