Search results for 'tag:Commas tag:Nouns' matching tags 'Commas' and 'Nouns'

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: Food / foods

Clive — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:36:43 GMT

Hi,

I read the following sentences in a book. I don't understand why the first sentence use 'food' instead of 'foods' . The second sentence shows that food is a countable noun. 'Food' can be both countable and non-countable, and we often don't much care about making a distinction or speaking consistently.

Also as a side question, why there is no comma before 'and', in #1sentence, even though it is acting as a conjunction between two indpendent clauses.? Until I read posts here by some other students of English who mentioned this so-called 'rule', I had never heard of it. You'll read lots of sentences that do not use a comma before 'and'. I'd say that some factors that influence comma use are the length of the sentence and the complexity of its structure.

1. Go to a mall food court and make a list of food that is good for your health.

2. They try to avoid foods that are high in fat or sugar.

Best wishes, Clive

Food / foods

Musicgold — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:24:30 GMT

Hi,

I read the following sentences in a book. I don't understand why the first setence use 'food' instead of 'foods' . The second sentence shows that food is a countable noun.
Also as a side question, why there is no comma before 'and', in #1sentence, even though it is acting as a conjunction between two indpendent clauses.?

1. Go to a mall food court and make a list of food that is good for your health.

2. They try to avoid foods that are high in fat or sugar.

Thanks,

MG.

Re: or /nor

Tanit — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:58:19 GMT

Hi

May I quote an excerpt from M. Swan, 2005, Practical English Usage, 3rd edition. OUP. (para. 370.5 "Two negative ideas: not ... or / not ... nor") I posted some months ago in another thread?

Swan

When not refers to two or more verbs, nouns, adjectives etc, we usually join them with or.
...
However, we can use not after a pause, to separate and emphasise a second verb, adjective etc.
Our main need is not food, nor money. It is education. (More emphatic than ... food or money.)
She didn't phone that day, nor the next day. (More emphatic than ... or the next day.)
Note that neither cannot be used in this way.

In the other thread, I think I learnt that:
1. neither ... nor ... / not ... or ... are more common in everyday speech -- more "natural"
2. not ... nor ... (possibly with a comma before "nor") emphasises the second part, so it can be used as a stylistic (formal? rhetoric?) device.
I assume this could explain the number of hits returned by G.Books. Would you agree?

Re: Paragraph Suggestions

Mister Micawber — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:10:14 GMT

Its versatility assists me adeptly in studies.-- The computer assists, not the versatility; 'adept' is for people.

And wrought mean shaped, so why its wrong here ? -- It is the wrong tense.

connected is wrong word? -- The verb should be passive in aspect.

wavy mean twisted cables , thats not sutibale as well? -- 'Wavy' is for hair; it is a pleasant image, unlike 'twisted'.

central is lined because i used capital C? -- 'Unit' is a singular countable noun, and the sentence is a comma splice (you need a conjunction).

shelf of the table please do explain why its wrong as well. -- Tables don't normally have shelves; desks may. Also, objects would have to go on a shelf, not at it.

Re: Your help is much appreciate............

Mr Wordy — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:47:11 GMT

[Your capitalisation is a bit random in places. The changes I suggested in this respect are an attempt to make it more consistent, with the headings capitalised (in a standard style) and the individual points not capitalised unless proper nouns.]

Sales Targets Per Month

Wisma shop : RM 30,000

Labuan ferry terminal: RM 12,000

Training Schedule for Yean Chung:

v One Week in Kota Kinabalu (KK) Training [add space before "(KK)"]

Day 1

â¢ Visit all KK outlets and the KK office.

Day 2

â¢ Observation of training ~~as a~~ of promoter in airport outlet.

Day 3

â¢ Training in shopping mall outlets (Wisma Merdeka shop and booth).

Day 4- Day 5

â¢ Visit Labuan outlets.

Day 6

â¢ Summary and conclusion of training and the way to promote the Diamoney product.

â¢ Return to ~~headquarter~~ headquarters.

Member Card

1. Continue or renew existing Dj member card. [What you've written here is an instruction to a person to continue or renew their card. DId you mean that? Or did you mean something like "Customers can (or should be encouraged to) renew their cards"? Or something else?]

2. Promoters have the authority to give free membership to customers.

3. Dj members can redeem accumulated purchase points for selected products (free gifts).

4. Hari raya offer :

a. First item 30% discount and second item 50% discount.

b. ~~Total customers spend~~ Customers who spend RM 500 or more will be given a free Green Pua.

5. Year end sale :

a. 50% discount on every item and a mystery gift for customers spending RM 300 or more. [Add space after "RM" for consistency with elsewhere]

b. Christmas sale: 25% (net purchase RM 300) plus 25% discount. ?? [It still isn't very clear to me what this means. One possibility is: "Christmas sale: 25% discount, plus further 25% off for customers spending RM 300 or more".]

Diamoney Jewellery Input, ~~new material of~~ ~~product, new strategic~~ -- New Products, New Strategies

1. Company can consider selling 9k white gold chain.

2. Link with airport taxi.

3. Promote local souvenirs to tourists to ~~attract~~ encourage them to come to Borneo.

4. ~~For~~ Those who come to the airport by taxi can bring their taxi bills to claim ~~the~~ a souvenir or gift ~~with~~ at a special price (RM 48). [Move full stop]

5. All the taxi drivers can join as Diamoney dealers and earn extra income.

6. Taxi drivers can have Diamoney brochure (e.g. 8 special designs) to promote to the tourists.

7. Taxi drivers can earn minimum RM 5 for each item ~~from~~ that their passengers purchase.

8. Total commission will be paid to the dealers on the 15th of every month (same as our promoters).

Local Trip:

1. Pulau Redang

2. Penang

3. Kuching

Oversea Trip:

1. Bali Island, Jarkata

2. Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand [add comma]

3. Korea

4. Singapore

Lahad Datu Mobile Team:

Venue : Dewan Rakyat, Lahad Datu Town [add comma]

Date : 27 June 2008 to 6 July 2008

1. ~~Sale~~ ~~Strategic - buy one~~ ~~free one~~ Sales strategy -- buy one, get one free

2. ~~Net purchase RM 150 - free earrings~~ Free earrings for customers spending RM 150 or more [I think that's probably what you mean]

3. All coloured stone earrings ~~list as~~ listed at RM 88 or RM 98.

4. ~~Some other colour stones series - buy one free two.~~ Some other coloured stone products -- buy one, get two free.

Re: Plz Correct me !

Grammar Geek — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:05:57 GMT

You can lift the part set off by commas entirely out of the sentence.

The soft curtain, hanging from a rod at the upper edge of the window, sways rhythmetically in the breeze, repeatedly brushing my chair.

The soft curtain sways rhythmetically in the breeze, repeatedly brushing my chair.

You set these entire "removable" phrases that contain the extra information off with a comma on each side.

Some of your earlier examples did NOT have a non-essential phrase set off with commas. They just had long noun phrases, a comma, and then the verb phrase.

Re: Paragraph

Grammar Geek — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:12:41 GMT

Ignore my comment about the giant. I was just trying to think of a metaphor for you. I didn't mean giant, the adjective, but giant, the noun. Your computer is a giant in its power - it's just a small size.

My light brown table supports the intelligent computer system at the opposite side of bed. This sounds like the table is on one side of the bed and the computer is on the other - clearly not right..

If a stool is "lying" it sounds like it's on its side. Just say it's resting or standing.

You do NOT seperate the subject from the verb with a comma.

Re: Grammar Suggestion

Mr Wordy — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:08:18 GMT

(Again, I should emphasise that these are just my personal views. Some of the questions have no "right" and "wrong" answers, and other people may have different opinions.)

1. Sitting at my writing desk placed right-hand side of open window, and working on my English assignment, resulted in adventurous and fascinated experience in such evening soft sunrays.

This version is much better in terms of number of adjectives and length of clauses, but there are several other things that aren't quite right. First, "placed right-hand side of open window" should be "placed at the right-hand side of the open window" (this could also be expressed in several other ways). However, you're writing a "mood" sentence here, not a surveyor's report, so saying that it's on the "right-hand side" seems an unnecessary intrusion to me. What does it matter if it's on the right or left? Who cares? So, for the first part of the sentence, I would say:

Sitting at my writing desk beside the open window, and working on my English assignment, ...

Moving on, "Sitting ... and working ... resulted in ..." is grammatically correct but weak here. This form would be great for a sentence such as "Sitting in this chair makes my back hurt", but here it's not specifically the act of sitting that resulted in the experience you describe, it's the whole ambience. So, I would start the next part of the sentence like this:

Sitting at my writing desk beside the open window, and working on my English assignment, I ...

Then you need to complete the sentence to explain what you experienced and/or how you felt. You should be able to adapt what you had originally, but I'd question the word "adventurous". Of course, in this kind of sentence you can say you felt anything you want, but I suspect that "adventurous" may not be quite what you mean.

2. Today, in these natural colors, stepping inn through my hazel gray opened window, over the blue wall, I feel much relaxed -- light as fur, the dark clouds of stress and fatigue seemingly fading away.

Here, "stepping" is the wrong verb ("streaming in" would be fine), "opened" would be better as "open", and I'd be greatly tempted to delete "hazel gray". I'd also delete the comma after "colors": the way that you've punctuated it suggests it might be you that's "stepping in". I think I'd also change the word order, to end up with something like:

Today, in these natural colors streaming over the blue wall and through my open window, I feel much relaxed -- light as fur, the dark clouds of stress and fatigue seemingly fading away.

This is not the greatest sentence ever written, but it's progressing.

It's difficult to explain why I prefer "seemingly" to "seem to be". In "I feel much relaxed -- light as fur, the dark clouds of stress and fatigue seem to be fading away." there is, to me, a "jerk" as we move from adjectival phrases ("relaxed", "light as fur") to a new substantive statement ("the dark clouds of stress and fatigue seem to be fading away"). To me, "seemingly" better fits the descriptive mood of this part of the sentence. But if you were starting a new sentence then "seem to be" would be correct: "I feel much relaxed -- light as fur. The dark clouds of stress and fatigue seem to be fading away."

Two or more adjectives can quite happily modify one noun, but the thing is not to overdo it. "His sweet soft smile" is absolutely fine, though some people would put a comma after "sweet".

Re: Abnormality of motor

Goodman — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:13:10 GMT

<<<>>>The abnormality of fan motor for computer no.1, which motor tripped as the operating temperature at 28C, has been vertified by technician.

Yes, the sentence sounded bumpy and stiff, aside from grammatical mistakes. Technical report needs to be clear and accurate. That's the reason I gave you the breakdown and the construction possibilities.
Tripping - is a terminology used sepcifically in the electrical field to mean "open circuit" by default. A motor can trip the breaker but does not trip itself. Unless it's a thermally protected motor which is not the case in personal computers. There are bigger cooling fans used in mainframe computers and large electronics which have resettable fuse or circuit breakers.
The relative clause usually requires no "comma".
Depending on the construction of the sentence, "Which" usually links the noun or pronoun to the clause. i.e. I've just moved to a new apartment which is only 10 minutes from my office.
In your constrcution, "fan motor" and "computer" were incorrectly linked to the realtive clause, in my opinion.