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

Re: be it ...

manomi — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:39:06 GMT

It seems quite normatl that a sentence extracted from a long paragraph is difficult to understand. Sorry for this confusion.

There should be no comma after "people who are able" because the object of the verbe "require" is "people".

For your clarification, in the sentence, the word "they" before "increasingly" refers to "universities" and the "people" university staff.

Is it clear now?

Re: A question about commas

Clive — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:52:46 GMT

Hi again,

This is where I got the idea from:

A comma before the final and, or, or nor in a list of more than two things is called a serial comma or an Oxford comma: Yes. Search the Forum for 'Oxford comma', and you'll get lots of discussion.

We had milk, biscuits, and cream.
It is called the Oxford comma because the style guide of the Oxford University Press is one of its prominent advocates.
Although the Oxford comma is not always used, it should be applied to avoid ambiguity. Omitting the Oxford comma changes the meaning of a sentence, and unless the author is aware of the possible meaning the comma should be included rather than omitted.

I spoke to the boys, Sam and Tom. â The boys refers to Sam and Tom.
I spoke to the boys, Sam, and Tom. â The boys, Sam, and Tom are separate units; thus, four or more people were spoken to in all.
I spoke to x, y and z. This sentence is stating that y and z are what comprise x. I wouldn't say that it always means this. It depends on the 'content words' in the sentence. eg If I say 'I bought apples, pears and oranges', do you think that anyone is going to think that pears and oranges comprise apples? Compare that to a sentence like 'He was friends with two American Presidents, Kennedy and Nixon'. Here, it's true that a comma after 'Kennedy' would completely change the meaning.

I spoke to x, y, and z. This sentence is stating that x, y, and z were all spoken to and that they are different entities. " Similarly, consider 'I spoke to Tom, Dick and Harry'. This clearly identifies three people.

Your example was In 1995, the player won events such as Dormund, Linares, and Corus. Even without the comma, I would take this to refer to three separate events. I suggest that would be the normal interpretation. If I intended to convey to the reader the idea that Dormund consists of two parts called Linares and Corus, I wouldn't simply rely on 'no comma after Linares' to convey that idea. Such a construction, using three proper names, would be unusual.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: please correct my answers

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:19:31 GMT

These are wrong (some just need commas):

NSW University is an open university, where everyone is welcomed.
We need a leader whom we can count on.
Donât trust anyone who is a stranger.
The room was filled with flowers which were given for Jen.
Mr. Peterson, whom we met last night, is a famous lawyer.

correct?

Re: please correct my answers

Mister Micawber — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:34:57 GMT

.
These are wrong (some just need commas):

NSW University is an open university where everyone is welcomed.
We need a leader whom has a unique character.
Donât trust anyone who you have just met.
The room was filled with flowers which were ordered by Jen.
Mr. Peterson, whom lives in our neighborhood, is a famous lawyer.

Re: A question about commas

Akavall — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:33:16 GMT

Clive,

This is where I got the idea from:

A comma before the final and, or, or nor in a list of more than two things is called a serial comma or an Oxford comma:

We had milk, biscuits, and cream.
It is called the Oxford comma because the style guide of the Oxford University Press is one of its prominent advocates.
Although the Oxford comma is not always used, it should be applied to avoid ambiguity. Omitting the Oxford comma changes the meaning of a sentence, and unless the author is aware of the possible meaning the comma should be included rather than omitted.
- I spoke to the boys, Sam and Tom. â The boys refers to Sam and Tom.
- I spoke to the boys, Sam, and Tom. â The boys, Sam, and Tom are separate units; thus, four or more people were spoken to in all.
- I spoke to x, y and z. This sentence is stating that y and z are what comprise x.
- I spoke to x, y, and z. This sentence is stating that x, y, and z were all spoken to and that they are different entities. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma_(punctuation)

Are the examples in the two bolded lines different from mine? What am I missing?

Re: please check my paragraph

Clive — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:32:45 GMT

Hi,

The first thing I notice is that you have very big problems with run-on sentences. That means you are joining sentences just by using a comma. Thats not correct grammar. You shouldn't do that. Please try to go through and split your writing up into shorter sentences. I've corrected the first few lines for you as an example, in red.

After that, we can look at other errors, if you want to.

Clive.

check out my paragraph lots of erros rite..???Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to his dad Barak Hussein Obama black (Muslim) and his mom Kenya Ann Dunham (white) from Wichita, Kansas. T hey meet in a school in Hawaii there high school year. Barack had a very rough childhood. His parents divorced when he was only two years old. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro (also a Muslim.) When Obama turned 6 his family relocated to Indonesia. There he went to a Muslims school then transferred to a catholic school. In this city is where he started having teenage problems.Obama had a drug problem his dad was a smoker he was persuaded to smoke but he didnât thatâs what his first book was about. Obama has also written a lot of books he writes about a lot of things like humor and social contact with other people. Heâd attend the university of Barack has served on the boards of several civic and non-profit organizations. He is now married to a women named Michelle he also has two children that he loves very much Now Obama is a grown man, he is running in a presidential election to be president of the Untied States he has a very good chance of winning. He has won a lot of states his competition is Hilary Clinton who is also a nominee for president they are both democratic. Although Obama had a rough child hood he has grown to be a great man who wants to make change. He struggled a lot but over came his problems.

10 Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online

Paultx — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:26:37 GMT

Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online

Whether you are currently writing professionally or are looking to break into the field, formal writing courses can help you to hone your skills. If you don't have the money or the time for campus-based courses, there are plenty of universities offering free writing courses online.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit.edu)

MIT offers dozens of free writing courses online through its MIT OpenCourseWare initiative. Course topics include everything from writing fiction, poems and essays to analyzing all forms of literature. Lecture notes, videos, suggested reading lists and more will help you to become the writer you've always wanted to be. No registration is required.

2. Utah State University (usu.edu)

Utah State University's Department of English publishes three free courses devoted to the art of writing through the school's OpenCourseWare program. The courses are extensive and may take up to 16 weeks to complete if you study at the average pace. No registration is required.

3. Open University (open.ac.uk)

The UK's largest academic institution, Open University, offers a number of different writing courses through their OpenLearn website. The free curriculum includes both undergraduate and graduate level courses that are available to everyone regardless of country of origin. No registration is required.

4. University of Utah (utah.edu)

The University of Utah's English Department offers free courses to self-learners around the world. Currently, there are only two free writing courses. Both offer strong preparation in their topic and are built for beginners. No registration is required.

5. Western Governors University (wgu.edu)

Western Governors University has made free course materials available through an open content license. There are several free writing courses courtesy of the university's Liberal Arts Department. All courses are split into convenient self-study modules. No registration is required.

6. Purdue University (owl.english.purdue.edu)

Purdue University brought their writing lab to life online in 1994 to offer a writing resource to students no matter where they were located. Online Writing Lab (OWL) materials are now free to everyone regardless of location or student status. The OWL site offers writing instruction, grammar and usage information, individualized help from tutors and much more. No registration is required.

7. Steven Barnes' UCLA Writing Course (lifewrite.com)

9-Week Introduction to Screenwriting Course

Best selling author and screenwriter Steven Barnes offers a free version on his website of the writing class he has been teaching for many years at UCLA. The course offers in-depth instruction on writing, which is why Barnes suggests completing each part of the nine-week course one week at a time. Nevertheless, the course can be downloaded all at once. No registration is required.

8. News University (newsu.org)

News University has a solid e-learning program designed to providing training to journalists. Most of the courses offered at News U are free, especially those that are self-directed. Courses cover everything from writing and editing to reporting and ethics. News U also offers a newsletter, a blog and other great resources. Registration is required, but the course is free for everyone.

9. E-Zine University (ezineuniversity.com)

E-Zine University offers quite a few courses written by Internet publisher Kate Schultz and visiting professors. Although the courses offered at E-Zine University are designed mainly for web writers and e-zine writers, they would be helpful to almost any scribe. Courses are very short and don't take much time to complete. No registration is required.

10. Wikiversity (wikiversity.org)

Wikiversity is an active learning project that encourages people to create and benefit from online courses and tutorials. There are currently several different writing courses that can be found at Wikiversity. Although these courses vary in length and content, there's something for everyone. No registration is required.

Re: nonrestrictive material within nonrestrictive clauses

Clive — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:59:49 GMT

Hi,

When nonrestrictive elements are in nonrestrictive clauses, how are they to be punctuated?

e.g. Jon McCoy, an English Professor at Cleveland State University, north of Columbus, was awarded...

Is the punctuation above fine, or should the commas around 'north of Columbus' be omitted?

It seems fine to me.

Clive

nonrestrictive material within nonrestrictive clauses

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:31:14 GMT

When nonrestrictive elements are in nonrestrictive clauses, how are they to be punctuated?

e.g. Jon McCoy, an English Professor at Cleveland State University, north of Coloumbus, was awarded...

Is the punctuation above fine, or should the commas around 'north of Columbus' be omitted?

Re: then

Yoong Liat — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:35:26 GMT

Mister Micawber wrote:

No commas-- these sentences have compound verbs.

I think there is a difference between BrE and AmE in regard to the punctuation of the sentences.

He went to the park, then went to his friends'
'He passed his exams and then went to university'

He looked at her, then turned away.
He studied medicine at Cambridge and then trained at Guy's Hospital in London.
(Times-Chambers Essential English Dictionary)