Punctuating Subordinate Clauses

Punctuating Subordinate Clauses Punctuating Subordinate Clauses Punctuating Subordinate Clauses By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, omission of a comma between a main clause and a subordinate clause muddles the meaning. Discussion after each example describes the complication, and a revision demonstrates how to eliminate ambiguity. 1. The candidate’s supporters and protesters championing his rival violently confronted each other in the city’s downtown district leading to multiple arrests. The district did not lead to multiple arrests; the confrontation did. Separating the subordinate clause â€Å"leading to multiple arrests† from the main clause with a comma clarifies the relationship between cause and effect: â€Å"The candidate’s supporters and protesters championing his rival violently confronted each other in the city’s downtown district, leading to multiple arrests.† 2. The event did not turn violent as some media reports indicated. â€Å"As some media reports indicated† is a subordinate clause to â€Å"The event did not turn violent,† so punctuation between the two segments of the sentence is required: â€Å"The event did not turn violent, as some media reports indicated.† (Without it, the sentence might be misread â€Å"The event did not turn as violent as some media reports indicated.†) 3. Who will work in the transition management office charged with executing the transition? This sentence reads as if the transition management is one of two or more such departments, one of which has the stated task. But â€Å"charged with executing the transition† is a subordinate clause referring to the who of the subject, and inserting â€Å"which is† at the head of that clause makes the transition smoother: â€Å"Who will work in the transition management office, which is charged with executing the transition?† 4. The company has been our consulting partner of choice for the last four years having supported numerous projects during that time. The phrase that begins with having is a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses must be set off from main clauses with a comma: â€Å"The company has been our consulting partner of choice for the last four years, having supported numerous projects during that time.† The following revision alters the emphasis somewhat but reads more smoothly: â€Å"The company, which has been our consulting partner of choice for the last four years, has supported numerous projects during that time.† Another option is â€Å"The company has been our consulting partner of choice for the last four years, and it has supported numerous projects during that time.† 5. They steal diamonds and bags of cash only to send them raining down from the sky. Many writers refrain from inserting punctuation before a subordinate clause beginning with only, but this omission invites ambiguity- did they steal diamonds and bags of cash only, and not anything else?- so, for clarity, include it: â€Å"They steal diamonds and bags of cash, only to send them raining down from the sky.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business Letter7 Patterns of Sentence StructureWord Count and Book Length

a va - Informal How Are You in French

a va - Informal How Are You in French Now that we have studied  the formal ways of saying how are you in French, lets look at the informal ways. a va - How are you / how is it going? The Magical French word!   Ãƒâ€¡a va (pronounced sa va, since the cedilla makes the C pronounced as an S) is truly the magical word of the French language. Why? Because it never changes. You can use a va to ask how are you to one person: Ça va Camille ?Oui, à §a va bien, merci. Et toi ? Whether you are using tu or vous doesnt matter: Ça va madame Chevalier ?Oui, à §a va bien, merci. Et vous ? You can use a vato ask how are you to several people: Ça va bien vous deux ? (How are you both?)Ça va, à §a va, merci. Et toi ? (Fine, fine, and you?) You can even use a va to talk about other people: Et vos enfants, à §a va ? (and your kids, are they OK?)Oui, à §a va bien, merci. Not just people, you can usea va foreverything really! Votre travail, à §a va ? (how is your work?)La santà © de votre mà ¨re, à §a va ? (how is your mothers health?) How cool is that a va - Informal but very common French for how are you Granted,  Ãƒ §a va is not the most formal French. But its so practical that its been used a lot in French lately, and has really made its way in almost all situations: among friends and family, of course, but also at the office, with acquaintances... Its only in the most formal of situations that it may not be appropriate. I wouldnt say to the Queen of England bonjour Votre Majestà ©, à §a va ?...   Ok, now that weve seen how to say  how are you in formal French, and learned about à §a va, lets see how you answer how are you subtlely in French. I post exclusive mini lessons, tips, pictures and more daily on my Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages - so press the links below - talk to you there! https://www.facebook.com/frenchtoday https://twitter.com/frenchToday https://www.pinterest.com/frenchtoday/ https://www.instagram.com/realfrenchtoday/