Unanswered Questions
312 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
3
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answers
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Commas in an introductory phrase for both a time shift and a new setting
So let’s say I’ve got an introductory phrase that introduces both a new setting and a new shift in time, sort of like a “scene change” phrase. For example, let’s say those two elements are “later” for ...
- 6,415
3
votes
3
answers
203
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What grammar rule is this? (Commas)
a detective club consisting of teens specializing in solving mysteries → each teen is great at solving mysteries
a detective club consisting of teens, specializing in solving
mysteries → the detective ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
0
answers
76
views
Name for the comma in "Jim kept walking, past the streetlight."
I want to explain to a student why "Jim kept walking past the streetlight" conjures up an image of someone repeatedly walking past the streetlight, and that if the student merely wants to ...
- 8,704
2
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0
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114
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Should I Use a Comma or a Semicolon at the End of a Series of Complex Introductory Phrases or Dependent Clauses?
In my writing, I begin several sentences with a series of two or three -- or more -- adverbial (or prepositional) phrases (or dependent clauses), some of which contain commas. Seeking clarity, in ...
- 21
2
votes
0
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67
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Coordinating conjunction right before a subordinate clause
How should the following sentence be formatted?
The beagles lost the game, but, because of their excellent attempt, they won our hearts.
The beagles lost the game, but because of their excellent ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
0
answers
298
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Is "per person per comment" preferable to "per person, per comment"?
A piece of legislation can read either "Each Senator is allotted seven minutes per person per comment" or "Each Senator is allotted seven minutes per person, per comment". Are both congruent with ...
- 138k
2
votes
0
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56
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Should comma in front of colon be omitted?
Should the comma in the sentence below be omitted?
A comes in two forms, depending on how often they do B:
X
Y
.
- 121
2
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0
answers
622
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Comma between subject and predicate (when predicate is noun clause ending in verb)
Here are a few quotes that may or may not be faithful to their authors, in which the subject is a noun clause ending in a verb followed by a comma:
"What can be shown, cannot be said."
"What gets ...
- 269
2
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0
answers
1k
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Is a comma needed to offset an expansion clause?
Which of the following is most grammatically correct?
In Boston, and other cities above a certain size, public transit is paid for with an RFID card.
In Boston and other cities above a certain size, ...
- 3,584
2
votes
0
answers
298
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Comma Separating Ordinary Prepositional Phrase Following Object
I was playing a board-game last night with my friends and stumbled on this sentence in the rule book:
Each Mine Region your Dwarves occupy is worth 1 bonus Victory Coin, at
the end of your turn.
I ...
- 121
2
votes
0
answers
3k
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Replacing "and" with comma
EB size and structure is known to influence differentiation potential, and the microwell system provides a robust, efficient method of producing EBs of any size or shape.
I've seen many sentences in ...
NVZ♦
- 22.7k
2
votes
0
answers
2k
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"Oxford" comma with adjectives
Suppose you have some coordinate adjectives modifying a noun. E.g.
"the cold, tired, hungry dog."
You could rewrite this as
"the cold and tired and hungry dog"
but would these
...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
124
views
What is the best way to say and use commas in "Missing items in, or damages to, your room"?
If there are missing items in, or damages to, your room at the start of the year, you may incur a fine.
My question is about whether or not there is a grammatical term or rule for what I'm trying to ...
- 23.6k
2
votes
1
answer
193
views
Commas - yes or no? "Everwhere from..." list
Trying to figure out if this statement needs more (or less) commas:
My position as a flight attendant has taken me everywhere from hiking
in Nepal, to swimming with dolphins in Jamaica, to eating ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
158
views
Should I use a semicolon or a comma after a semicolon-separated list?
I have a list of items separated by semicolons, because the items themselves contain commas. If this were a comma-separated list, I would offset it from the rest of the sentence with a comma, but I'm ...
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