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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Commas before a direct question

Hello everyone,

Question. Is a comma before a direct question necessary? Is the following question correctly construction? "The question on everyone's mind is, What shall we do?" If not, what's the rule of thumb here?

Hoping to know your informed opinion. Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

The question on everyone's mind is what shall we do. That's how it is. If you don't like that, you have to recast.

— Enoon

  • The question on everyone's mind is what shall we do.
  • That's how it is.
  • If you don't like that, you have to recast.
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9 Answers
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The question on everyone's mind is what shall we do.

That's how it is. If you don't like that, you have to recast.
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Thanks for the reply enoon, but does this mean the original sentence is incorrect?
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Anonymouswhat's the rule of thumb here?
I think that you will find that it depends on the editor (or professor), with all of these in use:

The question on everyone's mind is, "What shall we do?"
The question on everyone's mind is "What shall we do?"
The question on everyone's mind is what shall we do.
The question
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Thanks a lot, Mister Micawber. Which of the four do you prefer?Emotion: smile
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Mister MicawberThe question on everyone's mind is, "What shall we do?" The question on everyone's mind is "What shall we do?" The question on everyone's mind is what shall we do.The question on everyone's mind: what shall we do?
I just knew that the one I use in my language – The question is, what shall we do? – wouldn't be on the list.
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Henry74The question is, what shall we do?
Oh, let's put that one there, too.

Frankly, I don't know which one I'd use.
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Mister MicawberOh, let's put that one there, too.
Yay! Emotion: dance
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Thanks everyone for being helpful :-)
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