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Amused Medusa Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Can someone check my punctuation.

Hi,

My instructor disagrees with my choice of a comma instead of a semicolon. Could you take a look at the following sentance and check my punctuation? Thanks!Emotion: big smile

Radiant eliminated half their workforce, conserved their cash, hired a new development team and 18 months later introduced a technology with three times the cooling power.
  

Top answer

Hi Amused Medusa. Which comma did your instructor think should be a semicolon?

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  • Hi Amused Medusa.
  • Which comma did your instructor think should be a semicolon?
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16 Answers
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Hi Amused Medusa. Which comma did your instructor think should be a semicolon?
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I'd say that commas were fine.

If you wanted a longer pause, a semi-colon would be ok; but it might seem a little mannered.

MrP
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Wait a minute, though. Is your instructor a big chap? Fairly muscular? Works out most evenings?

Uh huh. Thought so. Make it a semi-colon. I don't want any trouble...
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I don't think you need a semicolon. I wouldn't replace either comma with one. It sounds like you are listing what the Radiant company did, so I think your choice of commas is correct.
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Wait a minute, though. Is your instructor a big chap? Fairly muscular? Works out most evenings?

And I'll bet he wears a "Ducks but Guts" shirt!
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Well, if Medusa wasn't amused before, s/he is now.

By the way, welcome to English Forums, Amused Medusa. I like the commas so much that I would like to have just one more, after team.


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Mister MicawberWell, if Medusa wasn't amused before, s/he is now.
I agree with you there!! Emotion: smile
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For me...definitely, after the first two commas, a third one after 'team'.
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I'm not really sure why it is optional though. Do you know why?

I've lost track of all the opinions stated in this thread, including my own, but I would not say 'optional' (in spite of Betty Azar, whoever she may be), but rather that it is dependent on the clarity of the statement with or without the comma.
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"Handbook for Writers" by Jane Flick and Celia Millward:
Use commas to separate three or more items in a series.
St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch, lived in Cantantinople, and died in Armenia.

Although some writers omit the comma before the conjunction and final item in a series, it is safest to use a comma here because its omission often leads to a
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