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Daithy Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Punctuation question
This is extracted from Wikipedia:
Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day, are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
I think the use of comma before "are" is really strange. I would have written it with either one of these:
Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
or
Other units of time, the minute, hour and day are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
Even the comma before "but" is questionable, but it adds there a nice little pause though.
Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day, are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
I think the use of comma before "are" is really strange. I would have written it with either one of these:
Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
or
Other units of time, the minute, hour and day are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
Even the comma before "but" is questionable, but it adds there a nice little pause though.
Top answer
Daithy: I think the use of comma before "are" is really strange. Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day, are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it. Not at all.
- Daithy: I think the use of comma before "are" is really strange.
- Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day, are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
- Not at all.
- The NP-coordination the minute, hour, and day is in supplementary apposition to the subject other units of time .
- A simpler example of this is seen in St.
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5 Answers
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Other units of time, the minute, hour, and day, are accepted for use with the modern metric system, but are not part of it.
Daithy:I think the use of comma before "are" is really strange.
Not at all. The NP-coordination the minute, hour, and day is in supplementary apposition to the subject other units of time. A simpler exam
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Yeah, I see. Very good. What is "NP-coordination" by the way? Also, with regards to "but," isn't there a rule of thumb with coordination conjunctions to omit the comma when the clause following the conjunction does not have a subject in the clause?
For example: Tom is a very hard-working man but lazy on his off-days. Tom is a very hard-working man, but he is lazy on his off-days.
For example: Tom is a very hard-working man but lazy on his off-days. Tom is a very hard-working man, but he is lazy on his off-days.
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DaithyWhat is "NP-coordination" by the way?A coordination of noun phrases (NPs).
Daithya rule of thumbForget that. Just use your own judgment. As you said, the comma adds a nice little pause.
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DaithyYeah, I see. Very good. What is "NP-coordination" by the way? Also, with regards to "but," isn't there a rule of thumb with coordination conjunctions to omit the comma when the clause following the conjunction does not have a subject in the clause?For example: Tom is a very hard-working man but lazy on his off-days. Tom is a very hard-working man, but he is lazy on
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