I'm wondering what type of phrase the first two phrases in the following sentence are called. Partly by hard fighting, partly by diplomatic skill, they enlarged their dominations to the east and rose to royal rank with the pocession of Sicily.

It's interesting to see that you people don't think I should use a comma (or colon) before 'says'. I have noticed that most authors use a comma after a form of said. Maybe this is only an American thing?

Is the following sentence correctly punctuated? Or should I use a period after 'dirtball'? But her hate for her father becomes unmistakable when she says: “He is a dirtball,” and later adding, “I hate him so much!” How about: But her hate

Since I hear that you are not supposed to capitalize the first word of quote that precedes the word ‘that’, can you do what the following example demonstrates? Original sentence: “The Chicken tasted like death.” Possible quoted

If I want to end a quote before its period, am I required to use an ellipses (three or four dots)? e.g., Mike had a different outlook on the situation: "I like chicken..."

Behind only the Yankees, the Red Sox are the most hated team in baseball, which can largely be accredited to their high payroll and obnoxious fans.

I'm not mixing anything up. Some authors use 'that' so that their work isn't bogged down by commas among other reasons. It's a choice of style.

e.g. Tommy said that "The flow of traffic was ridiculous!"

When you end a sentence with a quote that quotes a quote, does the single quote (') go first or last? e.g. "He said, 'She is sexy.'" I have seen it done both ways!

You only have one father, right? In that case, you should use the comma.