Search results for 'tag:Question marks tag:Clauses' matching tags 'Question marks' and 'Clauses'

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?

Re: It's not without reason

Avangi — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:44:09 GMT

2 & 3 seem okay. 3 needs a question mark.

#1 may be technically correct, but it's difficult to read. We ( I ) expect something like, "It's not for nothing that he asked you to come there and give a speech."

Perhaps if you said, " - - he asked you to come there, and then he gave you a lot of money."

We already have two subject-verb pairs in the second clause before the "and." I think it's natural to expect the "and" to go with the second subject.

I already regret getting into the structure of this dog. I supose "you" is an indirect object, but it still sounds like he's going to ask you to do multiple things.

Re: subject of subordinate clause

Clive — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 22:28:21 GMT

Hi,

I have been trying to obtain a firm grasp of how to distinguish what can be deleted and what can't be deleted in a situation like the one below, What are you thinking about deleting?

John who took my pen is here. -- Would you say since 'who' is the subject of the subordinate clause 'who took my pen', Yes 'wjho' has to be there? Yes How would you know 'who' is the subject? Try dividing the sentence into clauses and then consider each one separately.

main clause John is here. 'John' is the subject.

subordinate clause who took my pen The pronoun 'who' is the 'person' that performed the action.

Looks to be a subject but can't be sure, to me.

John who is wearing my jacket is here. -- Here, would you say 'who' is not a subject of the subordinate clause 'who is wearing my jacket'? 'Who' is is the subject. It's the same situation a the one above. Why do you think it is any different? How would you know?

Please note also that 'who is wearing my jacket' is not a question, so you don't need a question mark.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: A FEW QUESTIONS

Tanit — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:55:26 GMT

Hi,

So many questions in one post only!!! I'm answering only some of them.

Newguest wrote:
Does the phrase I'm thinking of going to Vienna mean the same as I'm planning ~~on going~~ to go ..?

Roughly the same meaning. However, a plan is something more definite than a thought. If I am planning a trip, I might have decided when I want to leave, where I am going to stay etc.

Newguest wrote:

Oh yes, of course, I was forgetting: Luke's birthday is on Sunday. WHY "I WAS FORGETTING"? Why not "I forgot"? (by the way: shall I put the question mark before the quotation mark or after it?)

Because you didn't forget! A past continuous form is sometimes used to indicate that an action in the past was interrupted at a certain point in time. So, think of it as "I was forgetting that Luke's birthday is on Sunday, but luckily I didn't forget" or as "I was forgetting to tell you that Luke's birthday is on Sunday, but it came to my mind when ..."

As for the question mark, it must come after the quotation mark in both your questions (it comes before the second speech mark when the quotation contains a question).

Newguest wrote:

I know that I can omit the pronouns in this sentence: The man who/that I met last week....

However I don't know why I cannot omit the pronouns in this sentence: The man who/that met me....

In your first example, you can leave out who/that because it's the object of the relative clause. You cannot leave it out in the second one because it's the subject.

Newguest wrote:

Could you tell me what the difference in meaning is between these two sentences: (shall I put a question mark at the end of this sentence?)

a) My sister who lives in London is a lawyer.

b) My sister, who lives in London, is a lawyer.

In sentence a (defining relative clause) you have more than one sister. The relative clause specifies which sister you are referring to (the one who lives in London, not the one who lives in Cambridge).
In your sentence b (non-defining relative clause), you have only one sister, and you're adding a bit of extra information (i.e. the fact that she lives in London).

Re: incomplete quotes

Tanit — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 10:06:16 GMT

Hi,
Since it's a matter of style, you can find different opinions. Here are only two.
The first one tells you not to add any ellipsis points; the second one suggests using four dots: three to indicate the ellipsis, plus a period.
Just choose

SOURCE 1, based on the Chigago Manual of Style

... if the original text reads: âManâs capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little has been triedâ (Thoreau 1979, 11), it may be edited to read:

Original punctuation deleted. The punctuation in the original, if any, is retained in the quote. âManâs capacities have never been measured; . . . so little has been triedâ (Thoreau 1979, 11).

Original punctuation retained. âIf other punctuation occurs immediately before a word that is preceded by ellipsis points, that punctuation mark is placed before the word, with the usual intervening spaceâ (Turabian 1996, 80). âManâs capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do . . . , so little has been triedâ (Thoreau 1979, 11). The phrase âby any precedentsâ has been omitted, but the comma after the phrase is retained.

End of a sentence deleted. When the quoted material ends in a complete sentence as edited it is not necessary to add ellipsis points even if the sentence continues in the original. âManâs capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedentsâ (Thoreau 1993, 11).

SOURCE 2

A three-dot ellipsis indicates that you are omitting something from a sentence that continues after the ellipsis.

He writes, â The wise collector should probably just bite the bullet â¦ and acquire both paintings.â
The phrase âor mortgage the houseâ has been omitted from this quotation.

Use four dots if you are omitting the last part of a quoted sentence that ends in a period but what remains is still a complete thought. The first dot comes immediately after the sentence and has no space before it. It functions as a period. The following three dots are spaced and indicate that material has been omitted. If the original sentence ended in a question mark or exclamation point, substitute that mark for the first dot.

The author advises, â In analyzing nonverbal signals, look at the total pattern of behavior rather than just one symbolâ¦.â
The phrase âbefore making a decision,â which ended the sentence, has been omitted from this quotation.

You can also use the four-dot ellipsis whenever your quotation skips material and then goes on to a new sentence. But make sure that your four-dot ellipsis has an independent clause on each side of it.

Re: confuse

Doll — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:44:54 GMT

Because it is not a question. If you want to ask a question you should use the axuilary verb, is here, in the beginnig of the sentence. If it is a wh question ,begining with when, why , which etc., axuliary verb comes after them. Or you replace the question words like ( I don't know the exact terminology) how old, how many etc., first then replace the axuilary verb.

How old ( question word as I name it) + is ( axuilary verb) + the rest of the sentece+ question mark "?"

How old + is + she + ?

However, you can turn this sentence into a noun clause . For example: I don't know how old she is. In this sentence you don't use a question mark at the end of the sentence because this is not a question. You just declare that you don't know her age. If you look carefully, you can see that I put "is" at the end of the sentece.

Re: Rheumatic

Doll — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:46:31 GMT

Dear Rotter,

First let me make you an explanation. A clause is a question, statement or command. So, a clause which can stand by itself is called "main clause." In your example, the main clause should be the group of words which ask the question.

Is it correct to say he/she is rheumatic? Here, "Is it correct to say" asks the question. The other thing, I mean, "he/she is rheumatic is a subordinate clause which explains the main clause. To decide whether you should use question mark or not, 1- find the main clause 2- identy the subordinate clause or clause, just to make sure 3- put your question mark.

Here is another example for you: Do you really see me ₁ , even though I am hiding ₂? As you see, number 1 aks the question but number 2 doesn't have such function. Number one is a main clause so you should put a question mark at the end of the sentence.

Why did you leave the room? This is a main clause itself. It asks the question directly.As you see, nothing modifies it.

Re: Rheumatic

Rotter — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:31:41 GMT

Doll
You didn't interrupt anybody here. Everybody is free to reply.
So the question mark is necessary.

You want me to look at the clauses of the sentence.

If a person is suffering from rheumaitsm --> The subordinate clause

is it correct to say he/she is rheumatic? --> The main clause
[ I hope I am correct.]

3. When you get your salary, will you buy a new hard drive?
4. When you get your salary, will you buy a new hard drive.
[ So the fourth sentence is incorrect.]
Please tell me if I am wrong.

Re: Rheumatic

Doll — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:45:17 GMT

I am interrupting.

Is it incorrect to say he/she is a asthmatic? You should use question mark because it is a question. The underlined part is important and axuilary verb "is" is in the first place. Why do you think it is so? Because to form a question you use the axuilary verb in the beginnning of the sentence.
If you feel confused italize the sentence you want to ask like this: Is it incorrect to say he/she is a asthmatic?

One more thing: Study clauses in the sentences.

Re: Questions - direct and indirect. I need help ...

Cool Breeze — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:04:56 GMT

Nah wrote:
Please tell if these questions are correct, if not then please correct them.
1. I'd like to know if it can support DVDs.
2.I'd like to know what it can support.
3. Can it support DVDs?
4. Does it supports DVDs?

And do i have to put the "?" into end of indirect questions?
Thank you, i appreciate your answers!

Welcome to the forums, Nah. DVD's with the apostrophe is a little old-fashioned and controversial. Since DVD is short for 'digital versatile disc', it should be capitalized.

You need a question mark only if the main clause is a direct question:
I'd like to know what we must do.
Does anyone know what we must do?

Cheers
CB