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

Re: Commas in compound sentences where the second clause has an implied subject

Clive — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:14:03 GMT

Hi,

No commas are needed here. These are not compound sentences. They are just compound verbs ~~a single subject performing multiple actions. You can tell because the second half is not an independent clause~~it can't stand on its own. It's no different than if you had:

The doctor finished and removed. <<< This is a very odd, unclear and unnatural sentence. 'Removed' requires an object.
The shapes refused and became.<<< Again, this is a very odd, unclear and unnatural sentence. Is it intended to have some kind of meaning?
She could taste but could not feel.

You would need a second subject for them to be compound. Then a comma is required:Apparently, you disagree with some of the opinions expressed earlier in the thread that commas are optional but not necessary in cases like these.

The doctor finished, and he removed.
The shapes refused, and they became.
She could taste, but she could not feel.

See how in this second case, the two clauses can stand alone:

The doctor finished. He removed.
The shapes refused. They became.
She could taste. She could not feel.

This is not true for the first case. You would end up with fragments.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Commas in compound sentences where the second clause has an implied subject

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:55:25 GMT

Re: Filipinisms/Filipinoisms? Ring a bell?

Mister Micawber — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:07:37 GMT

.
I would consider this exercise damagingly prescriptive; most are neither uniquely Filipino nor wrong. However (and my comments refer to AmE/BrE):

1. Free subscription of... (Free subscription toâ¦) - prepo issue-- AmE/BrE uses the collocation subscribe to.
2. Can I speak withâ¦? (May I speak withâ¦) - To sound more polite/ask permission?-- Both OK. 'Can' is more casual but just as common.
3. Come again? (I'm sorry I didn't get quite get that / Excuse me? / I'm sorry would you please say that again?) - English trainers discourage agents to use this because they say that it could mean 'cum again')-- The English trainers are nuts. Come again is common and casual. Your examples in parentheses are overly formal for most situations.
4. It's for free! (It's free. / It's free of charge. / We're sending it to you for free.) - Filipinos have been used to saying 'It's for free'. How do I say that it should be avoided? What makes it wrong?-- Nothing makes it wrong; it's fine.
5. Hold your line/For awhileâ¦ (Would you mind if I put you on hold for a second? / Please hold) - hold your line is absurd. any comment? what about for awhile?-- I agree that 'Hold your line' is not natural in AmE/BrE. 'Please hold' or 'Could you hold, please' is the usual.
6. Open/ close the light/computer (Turn on/off the light/TV/computer) - how do I explain this? it sounds like opening/closing the tv for repair.- This seems to be a direct translation from Spanish? Tagalog? At least, it is the same error that Japanese make.
7. Do you mind waiting? Yes, I'll wait. (No, not at all. / No, I don't mind at all.) - YES is the issue. wrong response. any other feedback?-- 'Yes' is logically wrong but common when the tag ( e.g. 'I'll wait') is also present; speakers seldom have the opportunity to stop and think about the 'Do you mind?' form, and this includes native AmE/BrE speakers.
8. Anything? (Is there anything I can do for you? / How may I help you?) - fragmented, seems vague?-- Yes, it seems vague and fragmentary out of context.
9. I'll ask her an apology. (I'll apologize to her. / I should make an apology.) - this sounds illogical?-- Not a natural AmE/BrE formation.
10. We take lunch. (We eat lunch. / We have lunch (every Sunday).)-- 'Take' seems to be an occasional replacement in this context in many Englishes. It is not an egregious variation.
11. We accept repairs. (This shop repairs cars/cellphones, etc.)-- Seems fine to me.
12. We accept painting jobs. (This shop does painting jobs.)- Quite common.
13. Tuck out (Untuck)- Odd.
14. He was salvaged. (He was assassinated.)-- A new meaning for the word for me, and it is not in the dictionary. Perhaps some confusion with 'savaged'?
15. She delivered her baby yesterday. (She had her baby yesterday. / Dr. Smith delivered her baby.)-- This is fine. From the dictionary-- 'to give birth to: She delivered twins at 4 a.m. '
16. Xerox (Photocopy)-- Very common in AmE at least. Among my generation, 'to xerox' is perhaps more usual than 'to photocopy'.
17. Oppositor (Opposition member)-- A new word for me. Not a bad formation, but perhaps difficult to understand by foreigners.
18. Hand carry (Carry - on luggage)-- A new word, but reasonable.
19. It's traffic today. (Traffic is heavy.) -- It seems vague and fragmentary
20. Senatoriable (Senatorial candidate) -- Odder than #17
21. At around 2pm (At about 2pm) - around is Am? about is Brit?- Very common in AmE; it also appears with this meaning in the Cambridge dictionary.
22. I failed in Accent training. (I failed accent training.)-- A common expression, though I prefer your alternative.
23. We were under Mr. Johnson. (Mr. Johnson was our teacher.) - Filipinos are used to saying 'That student is under my class' so this filipinism has started.-- In context, 'We were under Mr. Johnson' sounds fine, while 'That student is under my class' does not.
24. My brother is taking up law. (My brother is taking law. / My brother is studying law.) -- 'Take up' is common, but means the overall intention, not just the matriculation.
25. Where are you studying? (Where do you go to school? / What school do you go to?)- 'Where are you studying' is fine.
26. Pass by my office before you go. (Drop by my office before you go.) - Brit/Am phrasal?-- Not AmE, at least. 'Stop by' or 'Drop by'.
27. We have one participant only. (We only have one participant.) - should they say 'only one participant'?-- The 'only' can go in several places; at the end is one of those places.
28. I talked to her already. (I already talked to her.) - I need help on adverb order. This confuses all Filipinos and me too. Where should adverbs be placed?- Adverbs are relatively variable in their placement. In this case, both are all OK. More interesting is that AmE uses simple past more consistently with 'yet' and 'already' than does BrE, which prefers the perfect aspect.
29. Will you be at the office at 7am? Actually. (Will you be at the office at 7am? Yes.)-- Not AmE/BrE
30. Actually, I like Jennifer Aniston. (I like Jennifer Aniston.) - Actually/basically has become Filipinos expressions.-- I wouldn't say that it is unique to Filipinos; many AmE speakers develop the habit in various contexts. Too much is too much, however.
31. As per Paul, all request forms should be signed by him. (As per Paul's instructions, all request forms should be signed by him.)-- This is common bizspeak throughout the English-speaking world.
32. Wanted: Sewer (Wanted: Tailor or seamstress)-- Yes, it is certainly open to misinterpretation! But 'seamstress' is sexist.
33. Take home (Take it home / To go. / For take out)-- 'Take home food' seems like a regional variant of 'take out food'.
34. I felt kind of tired. (I felt rather tired.)-- 'Kind of' is very common in informal AmE.
35. As to the projectâ¦ (About the projectâ¦)-- A common formality in most Englishes.
36. Thank you for that/this one. (Thank you for the information. / Thank you.) - I need to send this in a few minutes and I still couldn't think of an explanation. Phrasing sounds awkward to me. But besides getting straight to the point, why did 'for that/this one' make it wrong?-- 'One' is wrongly used; 'information' is uncountable.
37. I do love playing basketball/volleyball. (I love playing basketball/volleyball.) - this may sound right depending on the flow of the conversation, right? e.g. you don't love playing... No, I do...-- You are correct. This is called the emphatic 'do'.
38. Currently, I live in Quezon City right now. (Currently, I live in Quezon City. / I live in Quezon City.) - redundant - now and currently.- Yes, redundant.
39. Actually, I like Microsoft, Symantec and Adobe (I like Microsoft Symantec and Adobe)-- The comma is necessary if Microsoft and Symantec are different softwares.
40. As per Mon, all request forms should be signed by him. (As per Paul's instructions, all request forms should be signed by him.)-- This is the same as #31, and OK.
41. I do apologize (I apologize.)-- This is fine indeed. It is the same as #37, and is more polite than your bracketed alternative.
.

Re: 1)How can we correct the sentence:

Mister Micawber — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:25:12 GMT

The answer was e. But I have never seen a "because" after comma-- A comma can appear after because if the clause is less restrictive.

2) The meaning of his words was even more elusive in his own country than either Europe or Latin America ( the underscore is a wrong phrase)

Can we replace the underscored phrase with "either in Europe or Latin Am" or " in either Europe or Latin Am"?-- I'd use the latter, but something is fishy about your underlining.

3) On my preparing for exam, I came up with this sentence:

Spot the error:

Kelly is proud of her own abilities to mediate disputes more than any of her other strength. No error

The answer was C ( as the book says) but here is its explanation:

"Does the subordinate clause fit within the context of the sentenc? ( A) uses the correct verb tense and the verb agrees w/ subject Kelly. (B) shows the correct feminine sing. pronoun, referring to Kelly (C) shows the correct infi. form of the verb mediate.

So what is the answer??-- There are a lot of errors in what you typed. D is wrong.

4) here is part of a math question I couldn't find out why:

Which is the graph of y= -(x-2)2 (2 outside the bracket means square)?

Graphs drawn below.

And here was the solution:

If f(x) = -x2 , the given equation, y= -(x-2)2, represents f(x-2)

How come they got the last line?-- I have no idea. This is a grammar forum.

1)How can we correct the sentence:

Belly — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:19:06 GMT

1)How can we correct the sentence:

When the eggs hatch, the young turtles go off to take care of themselves, being that female turtles do not nurture their young

a) add "on the other hand" at the beginning

b) insert " as a result" at the bginning"

c) change the comma to semicolon

d) change "hatch" to "hatched"

e) change "being that"-> "because"

The answer was e. But I have never seen a "because" after comma

2) The meaning of his words was even more elusive in his own country than either Europe or Latin America ( the underscore is a wrong phrase)

Can we replace the underscored phrase with "either in Europe or Latin Am" or " in either Europe or Latin Am"?

3) On my preparing for exam, I came up with this sentence:

Spot the error:

Kelly is proud of her own abilities to mediate disputes more than any of her other strength. No error

The answer was C ( as the book says) but here is its explanation:

So what is the answer??

4) here is part of a math question I couldn't find out why:

Which is the graph of y= -(x-2)2 (2 outside the bracket means square)?

Graphs drawn below.

And here was the solution:

If f(x) = -x2 , the given equation, y= -(x-2)2, represents f(x-2)

How come they got the last line?

Re: structure of a conditional sentence

lisadove — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:38:27 GMT

I don't think that's a conditional sentence. Conditionals are usually variations on "If..., (then)...".

The only problem I see with your sentence is that there should be no comma. The subject of a sentence should not be separated from the verb by a comma.

An example of a conditional with present and past in the same sentence:
"If I had bought stock in Microsoft in the 1980s, I would be rich now."
as contrasted with:
"If you buy stock in my company, you could be rich by the time you're thirty."
or:
"If I buy that expensive watch, I won't be able to pay the rent."

Re: What does that mean in this example?

Clive — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:30:00 GMT

Hi,
The thing he did with her purse, that was wicked.

Would the sentence have been incorrect if I the comma wasn't there? Yes, it would. Then 'that was wicked' would be a subordinate clause, and there would be no main clause, no main verb.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Speaking bombastically would not make you a good speaker

Dipsik — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:38:32 GMT

I reckon that thereÂ´s no need to use conditional in the first sentence, but thatÂ´s just my personal feeling...
Next, IÂ´d say " to imprint your words on/onto", just as the author suggests, since this verb (imprint) means that you have an influence on something or someone.

Re: arbitrary comma placement?

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:39:43 GMT

Thank you. Do you consider this to be consisted of two independent clauses. As long as they have a subject and a verb and possibly an object or a complement, do you think they are a clause?

Joe came home and he met Jane.

Re: I MADE AN EXERCISE BUT I'M NOT SURE WITH ANSWERS, CAN ANYONE CHECK IT?

Philip — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:22:13 GMT

This is quite an assignment, and you have made a great attempt. I'll try to make corrections, assuming I understand the instructions.

5: some would prefer "the summit of which", avoiding the human element of 'whose'

6: [this one has me baffled!]

8: I recommended [that] he do the task.

10: comma after 'letter'

12: crying only because

13: [I cannot come up with a conditional sentence using 'but for' here]

I don't know what your native language is, but I suspect you may have a verb [It. fare; Sp. hacer; Fr. faire) that is the equivalent of many expressions in English that use do or make. In this case, we do an exercise, while the teacher has made the exercise.