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

Re: Correct punctuation with technical numbers and abbreviations

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:29:38 GMT

Thank you. I continued to research the issue and came across similar results. From what I think I understand the "4" and "GB" represent a compound modifier for "RAM" and generally require the hyphen. As for why I have seen MHz or GHz without a hyphen so often is it generally has been used in relation to processors, which generally are discussed as, Intel Xeon E5430 Processor (2.66 GHz, 1333 FSB) with a quad-core. The frequency is not used as a compound modifier. If is was used as, 2.66 GHz Intel Xeon E5430 Processor, then I think the hyphen would be required.

Is that correct reasoning?

Normal 0 false false false

Correct punctuation with technical numbers and abbreviations

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:47:45 GMT

I have noticed for years many variations of punctuation when you combine numbers and capacity abbreviations. I read a lot of technical stuff and I do not and I can not find (searching the web) a reference to the correct usage.
Which is correct?

4GB RAM, no space between 4 and G
4 GB RAM, space between 4 and G
4-GB RAM, hyphen between 4 and G

Is there a hard and fast rule?

Now with MHz it seems to be consistent, there is always a space between the number and the MHz. Why?

Re: punctuation

Mr Wordy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:58:51 GMT

I just spotted a couple of typos (probably), one double space, and a couple of places where I'd use commas.

I was expecting your email, Jane; I am glad to receive it. I have one question though: did you decide on your wedding date? Are you marrying the dashing fellow you were with at our high school reunion a few weeks ago? If that's him, you are a lucky girl. He looked so nice and, on top of that, he looked so gentlemanly. Please let me know the details. Bye.

Proper punctuation in emails is to be commended, and you should punctuate them just as you would any other piece of text. For dashes I often use two hyphens (--), as you have. (Not only are proper dashes a pain to enter, but I'm never entirely confident that they will be rendered correctly in whatever system the recipient is using.)

Many "-ly" words are adverbs, but "gentlemanly" is an adjective. The way you've used it is fine -- just as "he looked so handsome" is fine. What you can't say is something like "he looked at me gentlemanly" (intended to mean "in the manner of a gentleman") because this sentence needs an adverb (as in "he looked at me cautiously").

dash

Anonymous — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:22:51 GMT

Hi,

I think a guru or serveral gurus have expressed their dislike of the use of dashes in many cases. I see these types of sentences where a person would resort to the use of a dash eventhough without it will not make a difference or resort to other types of punctuation will do the job as good as it or better. Why?

Republican politicians want to solve this problem -- created by government -- by putting another layer of government ...

The sentence would be fine like these:

Republican politicians want to solve this problem that was created by government by putting another layer of government ...

Republican politicians want to solve this problem, created by government, by putting another layer of government ...

ANOTHER CASE:

Plenty of discussion recently (some of it acrimonious) sounds like people are saying that alll the other clubs are better than your putter -- and that your putter is inherently defective.

This oculd be perfectly fine if we take the dash out:

Plenty of discussion recently (some of it acrimonious) sounds like people are saying that alll the other clubs are better than your putter and that your putter is inherently defective.

Could use a dash highlight your thought on the matter and as to the forms of what comes after a hyphen is almost left open for someone -- any type of structure is possible?

ANOTHER CASE:

Some has distorted this language and set the members of the Trinity against each other -- as when the Son is described as the object ...

This could be perfectly good if a dash is removed in my opinion. WHY resort to a dash?

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.

Does this sentence sound right?

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:23:17 GMT

"Their disdain rarely failed to evoke in him a delayed sense of self-irony not at all fatal in nature."

First of all, is that sentence at all grammatically correct? Did I miss any hyphens? Punctuation?

What about the style, does it sound too literary or archaic? How would you paraphrase the sentence to convey the same meaning more stylistically? I tried to achieve a type of a surreal mood to play down the significance of the 'disdain' and imply that the subject has capacity for self-irony, and, at the same time, get a hint of indignation to speak in the background.

It's embarrassing, I feel like a beggar asking for a coin to spare. None the less, I feel like some kind of a wake-up call is a necessary step in my learning process. So, please, oh kindly people...help out a fellow linguist and tell me how badly I messed up here!

Yours truly,

Not a native speaker

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: Dear GG: comp day with off or without off

Grammar Geek — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:12:37 GMT

I understand now . We don't use " comp day / compensatory day " in case a public holiday falls on any of our regular day off , but must use " observe Christmas or the like on the working day " , right ?.

A few notes on other things. Don't leave a space before the punctuation mark. It goes right next to the letter. If you have a ? then that is the end of the sentence. Don't use a period after it.

Yes, you are correct. We do NOT use comp day for the day off when the holiday falls on a weekend.

But I see this sentence in another thread (monalisatuan )wriitten by Avangi :

Christmas falls on Saturday, which is our day off, so we are entitled to take Monday [off] as a comp day.

Is this sentence right or wrong ? I must respectfully disagree with Avangi; I have never heard comp day used like this. But perhaps he has.

By the way , I want to ask you about the sentences I received from Singapore recenly . Please tell me whether they are ok or not .( In Singapore there are many types of public holidays :Muslim holiday , Christian holiday and so on ..At that time their public holiday falls on Saturday , so they enjoyed a 3 -day weekend)

1/ Please be informed that our Support for SAP System in Vietnam is only available on Tuesday because of replacement holiday for Saturday .( from Singapore ) I have heard the phrse "replacement holiday" before. This seems okay.

2/ Singapore office will be closed on Monday Oct. 15 , This is in lieu of the public holiday , which falls on Saturday.( from Singapore) This seems fine too.

3/ Workers at State administrative agencies will be paid double the normal rate if they are required to work on holidays and are not offered compensation days-off ( My translation ) This seems okay too. In this case, they ARE working on a day off, so comp day makes sense. I'm not sure about the hyphen in days off. I would not use it.

I hope this helps.

deliberately employed fragmented sentence

Hoa Thai — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:01:06 GMT

Hi,

I am currently reading a novel, The Glass Palace â by Amitav Gosh, who is praised by highly respected sources as a finest prose and seductive writer.

Nonetheless, I found fragmented sentences in his book that trouble me even with a realization of the intentional special effects, for example: "he said in his fluent but heavily accented Burmese. "Theyâre shooting somewhere up the river. Heading in this direction." "

Could we replace the periods (the one after Burmese and another before Heading) with different punctuation marks that would retain the idea still but do away with the grammatical blemish? If so, would you replace the first period with a comma and the second with a hyphen - or each period with a comma?

-----------------------------------------

Here is another fragmented sentence: âThe scientists flooded us with their reports that we were headed for a big trouble. Which is where weâve arrived!â

Somebody shared with me that language experts would not exploit incorrect usage - the problematic sentences often come from authors who just have a poor knowledge of English and/or grammar. That could be true for the above usage - but Ghosh? What do you think?

Thanks,
Hoa Thai

Re: hanging hyphens

Mister Micawber — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:18:55 GMT

in this case I'm talking trancript, so it has to be as the person said it.

Well the person did not use any punctuation at all when they said it, Tom, so I see no reason to flout custom. The hyphen is usual there in careful writing; otherwise, it reads as 'right populations and left-handed populations'.