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Snappy Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

Where to pause in a sentence?

"Often they would invite each other over to each other’s houses on the weekend so that they could play with other kids in the neighborhood, ride their bicycles, or play basketball."

This sentence is rather long. If I want to pause when I read the sentence, are the following pauses okay?

(Each pause is expressed by a slash.)

"Often they would invite each other / over to each other’s houses on the weekend / so that they could play with other kids in the neighborhood, ride their bicycles, or play basketball."

Invite over is a phrasal verb. Therefore, is it natural to pause between over and to (i.e., Often they would invite each other over / to each other’s houses)?

  

Top answer

" "Often they would invite each other over to each other’s houses . . This is not wrong, but it's awkward.

— Clive

  • " "Often they would invite each other over to each other’s houses .
  • .
  • This is not wrong, but it's awkward.
  • More natural is to reword, eg Often they would visit each other's houses .
  • This sentence is rather long.
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3 Answers
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Often they would invite each other over to each other’s houses on the weekend so that they could play with other kids in the neighbouhood, ride their bicycles, or play basketball."


"Often they would invite each other over to each other’s houses . . .

This is not wrong, but it's awkward. More natural is to reword, eg Often they would visit each other's houses

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SnappyThis sentence is rather long.

Commas are not pauses. They are an aid to reading. If you toss in commas wherever you feel like, the reader will be distracted, thinking that there is a reason for the comma. If a sentence is too long, end it and start a new one:

"Often they would invite each other over on the weekend. That way, they could play with

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Snappy Where to pause in a sentence?

There are tons of videos online on this topic.

See https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=esl+thought+groups

CJ

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