In Colons^x, Clauses^x

Hello Sextus Here you go: 1) “The past few years have witnessed the publication of a considerable number of books and papers on the influence that ancient scepticism (broadly defined) . I don’t understand whether by adding “an” before “assimilation”, the sentence is correct, or whether I...

Dear JTT, I don't agree, IHNN. Why is a colon mandatory? If anything there is one too many commas. An appeals court ordered the money returned, however the IRS didn't comply. While you can discuss wether, the comma before "however" is to weak, and therefore should be replaced by a semicolon...

I would insert a semi-colon after 'returned'. JTT's 2nd clause has a different meaning from the original: it has become 'in whatever way the IRS didn't comply'. MrP

You can't put a semicolon before the 'however', because there is no independent clause preceding it. The bit needs re-working; it is awkward. You can keep the semicolon if you wish, but I would prefer a full stop and a new start on the complex sentence to follow: 'There are no absolute rights...

Not wrong, Paco. Your basic explanation is correct, except for 'phrase': it should be an independent clause to the left of the colon, although often the clause appears a bit incomplete without its explanation, definition, elucidation, or exemplification on the right. The sentence in question...

hello Mister Micawber thank you Can I use adjective clause''that or which '' to modify these two sentences instead of coordinating conjunctions, semicolons to clarify. I am a little confused with adjective clause.

'During the last decade, some people in Taiwan have been over-harvesting trees, such as padauk and mangrove, for private profit; this has resulted in many landslides.' 'In order to make private profits, some people in Taiwan have been over-harvesting trees, such as padauk and mangrove, and...

I have got these points from a website: Using However ‘However’ can be used in a number of different ways and each usage requires particular punctuation. using ‘however’ as a conjunctive adverb ‘However’ can be used to join two simple sentences to make a compound sentence. ‘However’...

Hi, I am going to comment on three of your paragraphs, and then let you finish your essay. We are going to examine your first and second paragraphs, as well as your paragraph on sexual love. **First Paragraph** Love is a passionate four letter word that all of us have experienced...

I think he says pretty much what I did, if I classify what he says about R/NR clauses as a problem of clarification subsumed under my 'Rule'. Of course there are more obvious places where commas are consistently needed-- like dates (since no one seems to like the military system). Then again,...