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

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: Compounds with "non": hyphen or no hyphen?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:48:28 GMT

I'm afraid that in British English the rule *is* different. We do indeed tend to use hyphens after the prefix "non-" (which avoids the possibility of mispronouncing words such as "nonnative" ["non-native" in BrE]).

As regards other prefixes, "pre-" and "co-" still sometimes take a hyphen (particularly where the second part of the word starts with a vowel and could lead to an erroneous pronunciation, e.g. pre-empt, co-opted). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "micro-organism" is also the preferred form, for similar reasons.

comma and

exciter — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:29:41 GMT

Hello,

I have some question about the use of dash (or hyphen?).

1. If I need to indicate a sentence in a sentence so that the main clause gets more clear to the reader, than I can put the sub clause between two dahses.

Am I right?

What is then the difference of using two commas in between the sub clause is placed?

2. I sometimes encounter that some authors use one "dash" just in the begining of the sub clause.

How many dashes should one use? One in the begining, or one in the begining and another at the end?

3. Should there be any space between the dash and the first letter of the sub clause?

-the car is green-

- the car is green -

I would appreciate if you could answer these questions one by one.

And moreover, I would appreciate if you could provide more information about the dash use, if I have missed something above.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

exciter

Re: how to write this

Believer — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:58:47 GMT

Thank you, Mr. M.

In the case of 'rust remover', it seems proper to write as such but can you give me some example two nouns linked/connected with a hyphen would be appropriate? What criteria, if there are any that can be laid out, are there for the purpose of making what I think is such a subtle choice properly?

a pencil sharpner -- OK, sounds correct and a typical dictionary would have it in its entries.

Let us say I invented a pencil that can also be used as an eraser.

a pencil eraser -- Now, it would seem awkward to write without a hyphen. Also, I think a typical dictionary wouldn't have it and it seems better to write "a pencil-eraser" with a hyphen.

What should I look for in making a correct decision in regard to this kind of things?

Sorry but is it correct to say, "A typical dictionary wouldn't have it" and not "It would not be in a typical dictionary"? When I think of the word "have", I have a strong image (or preconceived idea) of someone having possession of something and I am not too sure of the appropriateness of the expression "A typical dictionary would have it."

Re: Please help me correcting my covering letter

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:47:28 GMT

Hi Whl626!

Thanks a lot for your help. Just a few questions...

Whl626 wrote:

As I will be graduating from the University of Applied Sciences in October â ***,

I must confess that the Xs are a little bit confusing. The word after the hyphen is the city where my university is located in â so it's a part of the name. I think it's not a good idea to separate these parts?!?

Whl626 wrote:

Besides having four years of training in the University, I also have some experience in Bayer Schering Pharma AG in the Production Logistic and Project Management department.

Bayer Schering Pharma AG is the company name... is âinâ the right preposition? In my opinion it must be âatâ, but to take the correct preposition is always hard for Germans ;-)

Regards,

Markus

Re: Old-fashioned

Paulio — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:37:57 GMT

Mary is an old-fashioned girl.'-perfect

May I know the meaning of 'hyphen'?

hyphen is a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text

Best regards.

Re: need help with corrections and modifications in my CoverLetter ...thank

Feebs11 — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:03:00 GMT

Eejar1 wrote:

Hi!!!!

Please help me in checking my covering letter too. I graduated with Masters in Electrical Engineering from FachHoch Schule,

Furtwangen this February. Now I am looking for a job in the industry. There is a Job fair in this month and following is a

cover letter I drafted to send with my unsolicited application to the companies.

Please let me know the corrections and where can I improve. All your comments will be very helpful. Thank you.

**** Covering Letter ****

Dear Mr. ***,

I am writing to inquire about future placement possibilities with YYYYY. I learned of your firm

while going through the list of the organisations that will participate in the career fair----.

Based on my research on your website [what I found on your website], I believe there would be a good fit between my skills and

interests and your needs.

I have completed my Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the FachHoch Schule, Furtwangen.

The coursework has supplied me with a good understanding of Computer Engineering concepts and

likewise given me a comprehensive exposure to disciplines like Coding Theory, Computer Networks,

Digital Signal Processing, Multimedia Technology, Software Engineering, Telecommunications. My

reserach interests are primely focused on Mobile Communication and Embedded Systems which

supplemented me [ it is not clear what you mean -perhaps "augmented my work" or "complemented my work"] in doing my thesis in Mobile Multimedia and later followed by publishing a

conference paper. I am well versed with programming in C and C++, having undertaken several

projects in the same. Enclosed is my curriculum vitae [no hyphen] which further outlines my qualifications.

While working towards my Masterâs degree, I have had a variety of student jobs and research

positions. The industry assignments have truly been a truly rewarding experience [plural assignments=plural experiences]. Studying

for a degree and working have made it necessary for me to learn how to prioritize tasks and

have instilled in me the need to remain flexible. I have had to be highly organised in order to

meet deadlines both at school and work. Along with, I also I have also developed an appreciation for team

ability, thanks to the senior and fellow colleagues in my previous endeavours. In addition to my

technical experience, I have excellent communication skills, having given several presentations

and organised symposiums at the University.

With my strong academic base, starting a challenging career in a premier organization like

yours, with focus on innovative research and development, is a natural and corner stone of[not good phrasing. "Would be a natural corenstone for"]  my

professional aspirations. I am certainly willing to explore this further and would very much

appreciate the opportunity to have a discussion with you in this regard. Thank you for your

consideration. I look forward to talking with you. [Passable. But probably better to say "I hope to hear from you in the near future and will look forward to talking with you."

Yourâs [not a possessive] sincerely

Re: American Identity

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:33:46 GMT

I have several friends from Spain, and I get a sense that they don't understand the idea of ethnicity... hence why I decided to post a reply to this thread. To them, I am only American, but I consider myself Thai-american. I am a child of Thai immigrants, so for me, this hyphenation not only describes my nationality but also my ethnic background.

I have noticed that the people I have spoken to who seem to have a problem with the issue of 'living on the hyphen' tend to come from a family that has long had their roots in that country, so the idea of ethnicity and nationality become one.

Me considering myself Thai-american in no way says that I don't want total assimilation, and for anybody to say that who isn't of a similar background can't really speak on the issue. At any rate, the American identity is different to every person, period.

And in regards to the idea of patriotism, I think people in any country can show the same amount of enthusiasm about their nation. To me, it gets a little pointless when people make generalizations, no matter how eloquently they are put.

Re: dashes---causing problems or solving them?

Clonc — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 09:04:00 GMT

Forgive me, but what do you mean by a âdash.â All the examples here show two hyphens. These are not dashes.

There are three types of dashes, namely Hyphens, Em Dashes and En Dashes

The hyphen is the shortest of the three and is used most commonly to combine words (compounds such as "well-being" and "advanced-level," for example) On typewriter and computer keyboards, the hyphen appears on the bottom half of the key located on the top row between the "0" and the equals mark (=).

The em dash

The em dash is the mark of punctuation most of us think of when we hear the term "dash" in regard to a sentence. It is significantly longer than the hyphen. We use the em dash to create a strong break in the structure of a sentence. Dashes can be used in pairs like parenthesesâthat is, to enclose a word, or a phrase, or a clauseâor they can be used alone to detach one end of a sentence from the main body. Dashes are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex or in one that has a number of commas within it.

When we confuse the em dash with the hyphen, we make a sentence virtually impossible to read. Notice the sentence containing dashes in the preceding paragraph. If a hyphen is used in place of each dash, it would seem as though we had hyphenated two pairs of words in the sentence: "parentheses-that" and "clause-or," neither pair of which makes any sense.

The en dash

The en dash is slightly longer than the hyphen but not as long as the em dash. (It is, in fact, the width of a typesetter's letter "N," whereas the em dash is the width of the letter "M"âthus their names.) The en dash means, quite simply, "through." We use it most commonly to indicate inclusive dates and numbers: July 9âAugust 17; pp. 37â59.

Many people were not even aware of the distinction between the en dash and the em dash until the advent of word processors, when software programs enabled us to use marks of punctuation that once had been available only to professional printers.

Typing the En Dash and Em Dash

Our typewriter and computer keyboards lack individual keys that display either of the dashes. (The symbol above the hyphen is an underline, not a dash.) Before word processing, we had to type an em dash by typing two hyphens. Now, many word processing software programs will automatically turn those two hyphens into an em dash (if we correctly leave NO space before or after them).

We can also choose en and em dashes from a menu of symbols that do not appear on the keyboard. In Microsoft Word, for example, we can pull down the "Insert" window, click on "Symbol," and go to the "normal text" window. The en and em dashes appear on the bottom row.

In any software program that handles text, the em dash can be typed on an enhanced keyboard as Alt + 0151âthat is, hold down the "alternate" key and type, using the numerical pad on the right side of the keyboard, the numbers 0151. The en dash can be typed as Alt + 0150.

TEST YOURSELF

Can you spot any errors in the use of the hyphen, the en dash, or the em dash in the following sentences?

1. The instructions were written on pages 33-47.

2. The conference will be held June 30 - July 2 in New York.

3. Juan had tried begging, bribing, and even demanding cooperation from his staff-all of whom were swamped with other work-before he gave up and wrote the report himself.

4. No one - not even the president of the company - realized the company would have to declare itself bankrupt so quickly.

ANSWERS

1. The instructions were written on pages 33â47. (Use an en dash, not a hyphen, to indicate inclusive page numbers.)

2. The conference will be held June 30âJuly 2 in New York. (Use an en dash, not a hyphen, to indicate inclusive dates. Do not space before or after dashes.)

3. Juan tried begging, bribing, and even demanding cooperation from his staffâall of whom were swamped with other workâbefore he gave up and wrote the report himself. (Use em dashes, not hyphens, to indicate a break in thought.)

4. No oneânot even the president of the companyârealized the company would have to declare itself bankrupt so quickly. (Use em dashes, not hyphens, to show a break in thought. Do not space before or after dashes.)

Re: Correct Usage of First Come, First Served

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 01:17:27 GMT

Hi. My daughter (grade 7) recently took a grammar test on hyphens. One rule regards two-word adjective phrases. The two-word phrase, when used as an adjective, requires a hyphen. Here is her example: "A big, brown dog" Big and brown are separate adjectives. "A one-time fee" One and time are related adjectives. There is not a "one" fee or a "time" fee, but a "one-time" fee. The same would go for first-come and first-served, if they are used as adjectives.