Mari
Punctuation in English Hi! I'm not sure in using right punctuation in English. The matter is that in Russian we use much more commas, but I was always warned not to use the same rules of punctuation in English. Here are the examples - ought I to use commas here or not? 1) "For example, you can send me a letter or a fax, if you need to", - my colleague said. 2) When you can visit her, please, do it, because she feels really bad, and you can cheer her on, a bit, at least. I wrote the sentences, using the same punctuation as if I wrote these ones in Russian. So the question is - should I use commas in compound and complex sentences, direct speech, after and before 'of cause', 'surely', 'for instance' etc. Thanks in advance
Nov 26, 2016 4:06 PM
Answers · 3
Thank you a lot. Both answers helps. And I knew nothing about 'run-on' sentence - thanks!
November 27, 2016
Hi Mari, yes you should use commas in compound and complex sentences, direct speech, after and before 'of course', 'surely', 'for instance' etc. Some say that commas should never come before "and", but it just depends. I think it's also ok to put a comma before "and" but it's not essential. Commas are really important in English. Leaving them out or putting them in the wrong place, changes the meaning of the sentence. Hope this helps. Sinead
November 26, 2016
1) "For example, you can send me a letter or a fax if you need to", - my colleague said. 2) When you can visit her, please do. She feels really bad, and at least you can cheer her on a bit. I changed the 2nd sentence because it was a "run on" sentence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-on_sentence
November 26, 2016
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