Search results for 'tag:Clauses tag:Hyphens' matching tags 'Clauses' and 'Hyphens'

Choices: Hyphenate or Quote?

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:21:39 GMT

Hi,
I wonder what is the guidelines for deciding whether to use hyphens or quotation marks for cases like these.

... his way was a my-life-for-yours way. (Could one have written it using quotation markslike this: ... his way was a "my life for yours" way?)

He had talked about my-life-for-yours as the Way and ... (Could one have written it this way? He had talked about "my life for yours" as the Way and .."

I am not sure but I think Mr. M said something about this in a thread and I think he said something like quoting is better when you have a choice between quoting and using hyphens. But I think in text, the method of putting quotation marks around a content is more often done for a non-clause type of word strings like "a how-to-do seminar," whereas when a clause or what looks like that is involved, quotation marks are used: a "how are you?" song. Can a question mark be inside the quotation marks?

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Jackson6612 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:05:10 GMT

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Question: I would have written ''Clinton's turmoil''. Why didn't the author use apostrophe?

BY CRAIG GORDON AND TOM BRUNE | <email addresses removed by mod.>
August 13, 2008

Question: Why is semicolon used instead of comma to separate the email addresses above?

WASHINGTON - In a fresh postmortem (=an examination of a plan or event that failed, done to discover why it failed, =autopsy) on Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid (=attempt to obtain or do something), newly published staff memos (=a short official note to another person in the same company or organization) and e-mails reveal a campaign hobbled (=to hobble something or someone means to make it more difficult for them to be successful or to achieve what they want) by internal rivalries (=a situation in which two or more people, teams, or companies are competing for something), faulty planning, bloated (=more than needed, =excessive) spending - and perhaps most important, Clinton's own failure to make the hard decisions.

Clinton offered herself to voters as a hyper-competent (=extra competent) executive ready to be president from day one. But atop (=on top of something) her own campaign, she was a hesitant leader, who allowed bitter infighting (=when members of the same group or organization argue, or compete with each other in an unfriendly way) to fester (=If an argument or bad feeling festers, it continues so that feelings of hate or dissatisfaction increase) among staffers over whether to go negative against Barack Obama, according to the Atlantic magazine.

The most bare-knuckled (=characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules) lines of attack came from Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, who urged Clinton to highlight Obama's "lack of American roots" due to his upbringing in Indonesia and Hawaii - saying he could only win if he faced Attila the Hun ((?406-453 AD) a king of the Huns (=an ancient people from Asia) who attacked and took control of large parts of the Roman Empire. He is famous for being violent and cruel).

But Clinton didn't embrace Penn's flag-waving (=the expression of strong national feelings, especially when these feelings seem too extreme) approach (=way of doing something), which campaign aides (=someone whose job is to help someone who has an important job, especially a politician) insist was never seriously considered.

Question: Clinton didn't embrace Penn's approach because she did not consider it seriously. Therefore, what campaign aides were saying is redundant.

The article also says that Clinton at times grew frustrated and short-tempered - including on the morning after her stunning third-place finish in Iowa in January, when aides on a call were silent. Clinton's camp dismissed the story as "inside-the-Beltway gossip" and "old news." And former campaign aides sharply disputed the notion of Clinton as an indecisive leader, with one campaign veteran saying, "Nobody seems to want to remember the fact that we had so many successes and come-from-behind victories in this campaign ... and they are due in large part to Senator Clinton's leadership."

Question: What does the line including on the morning...when aides on a call were silent mean? If she finished third place, then why would the author describe it as stunning? What does call mean in when aides on a call were silent?

Question: What does the phrase inside-the-Beltway gossip mean?

Question: What does the line Nobody seems to want to remember...to Senator Clinton's leadership'' mean?

But the e-mails and memos offer vivid (=very clear and detailed) new details about what had long been reported - that Clinton's headquarters was beset (=to make someone experience serious problems or dangers) by caustic (=bitter) internal battles involving Penn and former President Bill Clinton, who wanted to forcefully attack Obama, and others who wanted the New York senator to take a more positive tack (=method, =way of doing something). At one point, it was Bill Clinton - and not Hillary - who approved the famed 3 a.m. phone call ad.

Question: what had long been reported is passive past perfect tense. Am I right?

Question: I think headquarters should take plural verb. What do you say?

Question: Why are the hyphens used in -and not Hillary-? I believe commas would do instead?

Adding to the turmoil was the fact that the campaign had little strategy and no money left to seriously compete in the post-Super Tuesday contests - having (=the form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began) burned through $106 million before Iowa. That allowed Obama to win 12 straight contests and effectively wrap up (=to finish a job, meeting etc) the nomination.

Question: What does burned through mean?

In the end, the campaign's strategy came to reflect some of the internal turmoil, as Clinton veered (=changed course) from attacking Obama to emphasizing her personal side.

Question: What does her personal side mean?

Penn did offer some advice in March 2007 that proved on the mark - Clinton's path to victory lay with women and lower- and working-class voters.

Question: What does proved on the mark mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.

But by the time Clinton finally settled on that strategy to win the later primaries, it was too late.

Excerpts from the memos

"All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light ... It also exposes a very strong weakness for him - his roots to basic American values and culture are at best (=even when considered in the most positive way) limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values." Strategist Mark Penn, from a March 19, 2007, memo to Hillary Rodham Clinton advising her to attack Barack Obama for his "lack of American roots."

Question: What does centre mean in the above context?

"The right knows Obama is unelectable except perhaps against Attila the Hun, and a third party would come in then anyway." Penn, from the same memo.

Question: Does right refer to right wing in the above context?

"This has been a very instructive call, talking to myself." Clinton, before angrily hanging up on a staff conference call the day after coming in third in Iowa in January. "She complained of being outmaneuvered (=to gain an advantage over someone by using cleverer or more skilful plans or methods) in Iowa and being painted as the establishment candidate," according to the Atlantic - but was met with near-silence.

Question: I would have written This has been..., talking to me. Why did she use myself?

Question: What is a conference call? Is it some kind of telephone call which address many poeple?

Question: Why is in used in coming in third?

"STOP IT!! I have help my tongue for weeks. After this morning's WP story, no longer. This makes me sick. This circular firing squad that is occurring is unattractive, unprofessional, unconscionable, and unacceptable ... It must stop." Robert Barnett, a Clinton lawyer and Washington insider, from a March 6, 2008, e-mail to campaign staff after a Washington Post story detailed the infighting.

Question: What does I have help my tongue for weeks mean?

Question: What does This circular firing squad mean?

Question: Were the comments in the last paragraph made by Robert Barnett?

Re: malnutrition that's becoming more and more widespread

Cool Breeze — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:42:46 GMT

New2grammar
Dozens of UN humanitarian workers are exposed to risk on their job every day. A good example is truck drivers who deliver much needed food to remote villages in poor countries to combat malnutrition, which is becoming more and more widespread.

Hi N2G

It has become more and more fashionable to use hyphens in English and therefore some might put a hyphen between much and needed but I don't think that is necessary. I wouldn't object to one, either. Clearly, the relative clause is a non-defining one and thus a comma is needed, which means that which is the correct pronoun.

Re: I have these sentences, can you help? thanks

Clive — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:37:14 GMT

Hi,
Welcome to the Forum.
I am new to this site, if i am doing this wrong please correct me but i need your opinion and was so happy when i came upon this site. English is not my strong suit but i try and reason as you will see below.

Just what would you do, Cheryl, if the situation were reversed? This is correct as written.
(Am I correct to say remove the comma before Cheryl?)

The new machine, which I haven't even learned to operate yet, is out of order.
(I think it is correctly punctuated and yet i think you should remove the comma after machine)
Leave both commas in if this is 'non-identifying' information.
take both commas out if it is 'identifying' information. eg
Question: Which machine?
Answer:The one which I haven't learned to operate yet. Not the one that I have learned to operate.

Did the Novelist Ernest Hemingway once live here? It's correct as written. Don't put a capital 'N'.,
(I am leaning toward Correctly punctuated, but still i think i should add a comma after Hemingway)

Queen Mary wanted her death to be remembered, therefore, she staged a pageant.
(I am thinking change the comma after remembered to a semicolon <<< Yes or should I just remove the comma)
I would replace the comma after 'remembered' with a period.

A first class employee is: dependable, loyal, and efficient.
(I would add a hyphen after first Yes. The adjective is 'first-class'.

as you use a colon after an independent clause when a series follow right? Just remove the colon. I'd also remove the comma after 'loyal'.

It's just a very short and simple sentence.A first-class employee is dependable, loyal and efficient.

Best wishes, Clive

I have these sentences, can you help? thanks

lynlu2000 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:20:39 GMT

Hi I am new to this site, if i am doing this wrong please correct me but i need your opinion and was so happy when i came upon this site. English is not my strong suit but i try and reason as you will see below.

Just what would you do, Cheryl, if the situation were reversed?
(Am I correct to say remove the comma before Cheryl?)

The new machine, which I haven't even learned to operate yet, is out of order.
(I think it is correctly punctuated and yet i think you should remove the comma after machine)

Did the Novelist Ernest Hemingway once live here?
(I am leaning toward Correctly punctuated, but still i think i should add a comma after Hemingway)

Queen Mary wanted her death to be remembered, therefore, she staged a pageant.
(I am thinking change the comma after remembered to a semicolon or should I just remove the comma)

A first class employee is: dependable, loyal, and efficient.
(I would add a hyphen after first as you use a colon after an independent clause when a series follow right?

Re: Does this sentence sound right?

Cool Breeze — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:50:51 GMT

I find your sentence very satisfactory. It may be Jane Austenish but there is no law against such language even today. Why should everybody speak and write in exactly the same way in English? People don't do that in many other languages. I see no mistakes in punctuation or hyphens but I know one native forum member who would consider the sentence incorrect because it contains a relative clause from which the relative pronoun has been omitted even though it is the subject of the clause: Their disdain rarely failed to evoke in him a delayed sense of self-irony [which/that was] not at all fatal in nature.

Re: Hyphen

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:18:38 GMT

Hi,

Those look to be hyphens but as an expert, I have to trust you. By the way, what are en-rules? Before asking, I did try to do some research but had hard time trying to find anything that I can understand online. Help. I think you can use a hyphen in most cases where a comma is used and also, it can replace a clause in parentheses under the right circumstances. Thank you.

Re: Hyphen

Feebs11 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:47:57 GMT

They are not hyphens, but rather are en-rules used to indicate a clause in parenthesis.

"off late" - a misprint for "of late",

Re: Some questions

Hoa Thai — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:43:36 GMT

Belly wrote:
And for Hoa Thai, what are the differences between using - and , ?

Hi Belly,

You had a problem with a comma splice, which is a sentence in which two independent clauses are joined by a comma with no conjunction.

Often at the end of a well-formed sentence, we provide a period (full stop) for pausing. However, to signal our readers that the following words still carry some residual thought, we must provide a punctuation mark that is neither the comma nor the full stop - the hyphen does the trick.

Re: clause problem

Grammar Geek — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:43:01 GMT

The writer exlicitly states he/she is talking about two things afterwards, so the "and to feel" is not an afterthought or a "not really included subject" subject element. I think these commas are given as guidance on how to read this passage outloud, with a longer than usual pause represented by the commas. (However, I would replace that hyphen-serving-as-dash with a colon, and giving the importance of the second part of the passage, I would have left the commas out.)