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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

On followed by by

1) It was an attack on the people (em dash) by the people.
Can we use em dash in sentences like these?

2) Where to use the adverb 'precisely', 'certainly' in this line: But that precisely/certainly was Mark's rule. Is this correct?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

1-- You use an m-dash there if it is informal writing and you wish to emphasize 'by the people'. 2-- The adverbs are OK where you have put them. Or they can go after 'rule'.

— Mister Micawber

  • 1-- You use an m-dash there if it is informal writing and you wish to emphasize 'by the people'.
  • 2-- The adverbs are OK where you have put them.
  • Or they can go after 'rule'.
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3 Answers
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1-- You use an m-dash there if it is informal writing and you wish to emphasize 'by the people'.
2-- The adverbs are OK where you have put them. Or they can go after 'rule'.
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Thanks. Without an em dash, do we simply write: ... and by the people. Should 'and' replace em dash? Or, must it be a comma?
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Certainly not a comma. No other punctuation mark serves this purpose, actually, so none is appropriate. Simply:

It was an attack on the people by the people.
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