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JJDouglas Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
"Whether...or..." construction with longer phrases
Is the following clear? Something about the sentence doesn't sit right with me even though, technically speaking, I think the sentence is correct.
"Whether your business consists of just you, your tools, and a van or you operate a large-scale, nationwide plastering empire with many employees, we will be able to help."
I think it's because the two options either side of the "or" are both quite long and have their own internal punctuation. Would a comma after "van", thus separating the two ideas, make it read better?
"Whether your business consists of just you, your tools, and a van or you operate a large-scale, nationwide plastering empire with many employees, we will be able to help."
I think it's because the two options either side of the "or" are both quite long and have their own internal punctuation. Would a comma after "van", thus separating the two ideas, make it read better?
Top answer
Yes. I would personally omit the serial comma after "tools" too.
- Yes.
- I would personally omit the serial comma after "tools" too.
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OK, got it. Thank you.
Is there any specific rule here, or do you just separate the two options presented by the "whether...or..." construction whenever they get too wordy?
Is there any specific rule here, or do you just separate the two options presented by the "whether...or..." construction whenever they get too wordy?
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JJDouglasIs there any specific rule here, or do you just separate the two options presented by the "whether...or..." construction whenever they get too wordy?Yes, pretty much that ... when you have long phrases, or phrases with internal punctuation or internal "and"s and "ors", a comma helps the reader.
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