punctuation

Question

he said he likes cola - am i right?

my problem is, is it correct to put a question mark at the end of the sentence?

or:

if she likes cola, which one do you think she likes: coca, pepsi - tell me straight out?
is the above sentence correctly punctuated?
no - i think, but then how?

incho

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

IMO, these should be fine:

He said he likes cola - am I right?
or
He said he likes cola. Am I right (do I remember well)?

If she likes cola, which one do you think she likes: coca or pepsi? Tell me straight out.

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

cool
thx

incho

Marius Hancu · Answer

He said he likes cola -- am I right?

I think this should be a long/em dash (not a short/en dash -)

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

come again?

long dash? --
what is that?
what is the diff between long/short dashes?

incho

Marius Hancu · Answer

BarbaraPA · Answer

Hi there,

First of all, Pepsi is a proper name and should be capitalized. You may have meant Coke or Pepsi.

Anyway, a "long dash" is also called an em-dash because it's about as long as an M. You use it to indicate a break. Use them sparingly - although I do use them quite a bit informally. Like just then. Often, people will use two hyphens to show an em-dash if you don't have one on your computer, although you can use an ASCI code for them. However, many people are confused by -- and don't know what that means. Some word processing programs will automatically convert either a single hyphen or a double hyphen to an em-dash if you leave a space on either side.

A "short dash" is also called an en-dash because it's about as long as an N. This is used only to show dates or other inclusive number, as in "This class is for children aged 5-7" or "We'll travel from May 19-22."

A hyphen is this: - It's used to join words together. happy-go-lucky guy.

Clive · Answer

Hi guys,

He said he likes cola - am i right?

This seems to be a transcription of verbal speech. Why do you think it is one sentence? I'd like to suggest that it's very misleading to think of this as one sentence. It makes life a lot simpler if you just think of it as two sentences.

He said he likes cola. Am I right?

I'd also like to suggest that it's better to write a capital letter at the start of a sentence. This elementary rule of English grammar is intended to make it easy to see whether you are writing one sentence or more than one, as well as where each one starts. It seems a little selective to worry about punctuation without worrying about capital letters. They are both important.

And finally, I'd like to remind people that the pronoun 'I' is normally written as a capital. It's one of the many conventions that make life a little bit easier for the reader.

Best wishes, Clive

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

Many useful pieces of information. Thank you!
I promise I am going to write my letters using the 'caps lock' as of now.
At the end of the day, I think it is more a matter of respecting each other whether you do so or not.
However, I respected you every bit as much before as I do you now, that I capitalize. ('that I capitalize' is a nominal clause, is it not? Is the comma before 'that' justifiable?)
Your devoting your free-time helping me is all the more reason to capitalize.

One more question: if I quote sg - only a part of a sentence - do I have to put a comma at the end, or nothing, if this is the end of the original sentence?
Is there any mistakes, including punctuation, in my letter you spotted?

Inchoate

Clive · Answer

Hi again,

Many useful pieces of information. Thank you!
I promise I am going to write my letters using the 'caps lock' as of now.
At the end of the day, I think it is more a matter of respecting each other, whether you do so or not.
However, I respected you every bit as much before as I do now that I capitalize.
Your devoting your free-time to helping me is all the more reason to capitalize.

One more question: if I quote sg 'sg' means 'something'? - only a part of a sentence - do I have to put a comma at the end, or nothing, if this is the end of the original sentence?
Are there any mistakes, including punctuation, in my letter you spotted?

Are you thinking of something like this? He said 'I'm going to . . .' and then he died.

Best wishes, Clive

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

Thank you, Clive!
There is a quotation: 'I can resist everything except temptation'. He said, 'I can resist,'
I know in this case after resist the comma applies.
I quote the last part of it: 'exept temptation'. Do I have to apply a comma before ('), (or a period), by the same token as the previous sentence?
Thank you.

Inchoate

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