Is this a case of comma splice? Hello guys. Here's the sentence I'm having trouble figuring out whether a comma is acceptable or not: "My name is Gabriel, I am 17 years old, and I live in São Paulo, Brazil." I know that all clauses in this sentence are independent. The problem is that I am also enumerating aspects of myself. How do I solve that? I suppose I could use semicolons; however, I think it would be slightly awkward in this case. What do you guys think? Cheers, Gabriel

Can you kindly explain me this grammar structure? (I wouldn't have otherwise had) Hello, Last week, I was watching a vocabulary video on Youtube, and one of the examples had a fancy grammar structure that I've never seen. Here it is: "My father encouraged me to study languages, and this has opened up certain avenues for friendship I would not have otherwise had." I completely understand the meaning of the last clause; however, I would've written without the final "had", which is incorrect according to the author of the video. Can someone help me out? :) Best, Gabriel

Is this sentence clear? Hello, I am making an essay, and I have some questions about the following sentence which I have written: "In these classes we were not allowed to speak any Portuguese at all; if someone persisted on speaking it, he or she was expelled from class." 1- Could I replace "he or she" to "they"? 2- Could I delete the word "speaking" in "if someone persisted on speaking it"? In these classes we were not allowed to speak any Portuguese at all; if someone persisted on it, they were expelled from class. It sounds more natural to me. What do you think? Would you make any other modification? Cheers, Gabriel