Which would~

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Ex:Which would you rather be, a rich ugly man or a poor beautiful woman?Q: I am wondering why a comma is allowed there. Shouldn't it be a colon instead? What is the grammatical reasoning/construction that allows the comma to be there?Thanks in advance.

Ozzourti · Accepted Answer

Yes, you could definitely use a colon instead since you provide a set/list of alternatives to choose from. I can't really explain why you could use a comma as well but I think it's the simplest punctuation mark you can put there as one is certainly required.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

vcoltsShouldn't it be a colon instead?

Yes.

Use a colon after an independent clause when it is followed by a list, a quotation, appositive, or other idea directly related to the independent clause. (See the rules for commas, semicolons, colons, etc. here:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/566/01/ )

Ozzourti · Answer

AlpheccaStarsYes. Use a colon after an independent clause when it is followed by a list, a quotation, appositive, or other idea directly related to the independent clause. (See the rules for commas, semicolons, colons, etc. here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/566/01/ )

I would also use a colon but do you think that using a comma is not acceptable? I guess I've seen it enough times in sentences like this to conclude it is used. And how about using a dash?
Which would you rather be – a rich ugly man or a poor beautiful woman?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

It gets down into the nitty-gritty of style guides. Publications and organizations accept a certain style guide, such as the Chicago Manual of Style. Here is a reference with some on-line style guides.

http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/Top-Ten-Online-Style-Guides.htm

Here is the style guide for "The Economist" a respected news magazine, http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction
Here is one for a prestigious British university: http://www.ox.ac.uk/public_affairs/services_and_resources/style_guide/index.html
The European Union has an English language style guide.

The purpose of a style guide is to make sure that all the articles in the publication (or issued by the organization) adhere to the same standard, down to the placement of commas, the use of abbreviations and spelling. If you are submitting an article to be published, use the appropriate style guide. If you don't the editor will make the necessary corrections.

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