I’m not sure which of these sentences is best: ‘There are a large number of alternative, sometimes dangerous interventions being performed on children with ASD.’ ‘There are a large number of alternative and sometimes dangerous interventions being performed on children with ASD.’ ‘There are a large number of alternative, and sometimes dangerous, interventions being performed … Read more
Commas always trip me up. I feel that I use them far too often, and I most likely do. Can anyone set my mind at ease in regards to the following sentence: Neutrogena is a family-oriented brand producing a large array of health and beauty products, such as acne wash, hair treatments, and sunscreen. The … Read more
Almost every chinese who works at an iPhone manifacture in China usually uses a china-produced phone, which is way cheaper. I just want to make sure if my understanding especially about the non-restrictive use of the relative clause in the sentence above is correct. What I understand about it is “china-produced phones are generally (or … Read more
In this sentence – Today I am starting a diet, but first I will eat all the children’s chocolate they have leftover from Easter. Is but first I will eat etc a subordinate clause that contains the restrictive clause the children’s chocolate they have left over from Easter Thank you in advance! Answer Thae description … Read more
The meaning for bassinet in Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries reads: a small bed for a baby, that looks like a basket while that in Merriam Webster Learner’s Dictionary reads: a small bed for a baby that looks like a basket and that usually has a hood or cover over one end Is the comma before “that” … Read more
When I have to decide whether a clause is restrictive/non-restrictive I typically figure out whether the information in the restrictive clause is, in my opinion, necessary. Is this correct or is the fundamental definition that the sentence would grammatically be incomplete without the restrictive clause. I saw some examples where the sentence would be complete … Read more
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. The above line is cited from the article on Mozart in Wikipedia. As all English learners learned, the non-restrictive phrase “which is (was)” or “who is (was)” must be always left. In this line, however, … Read more
The wide grip that many people use slackens the back muscles, which provide crucial support for the weight and transfers the load to the spine. Does “which” in the above sentence point to “back muscles” or “the wide grip”? Without the commas, does the meaning change? Answer ‘which’ in this sentence refers to the back … Read more
Consider the following example: To add to the confusion, every New Year’s Day a person, according to this Korean counting system, becomes a year older, regardless of his or her actual birthday. This clause is restrictive as “his or her” refers to “person”. So, then why is there a comma? Answer You can remove “, … Read more
The class was composed of thirty students, including Jonathan and Kelly. In this sentence, the prepositional phrase ‘including Jonathan and Kelly’ is a non-restrictive element in the clause structure (a supplementary adjunct). It does not modify ‘thirty students’ but provides additional information about them. Can we call this a predicative adjunct? I am familiar with … Read more
