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The parts of structures are called detached if by some specific consideration of the writer one of the secondary parts of the sentence is placed so that it seems formally independent of the word it logically refers to [2, 8].

The essential quality of detached construction lies in the fact that the isolated parts represent a kind of independent whole thrust into the sentence or placed in a position which will make the phrase (or word) seem independent. But a detached phrase cannot rise to the rank of a primary member of the sentence – it always remains secondary from the semantic point of view, although structurally it possesses all the features of a primary member. This clash of the structural and semantic aspects of detached constructions produces the desired effect – forcing the reader to interpret the logical connections between the component parts of the sentence. Logical ties between them always exist in spite of the absence of syntactical indicators [40].

The structural patterns of detached constructions have not yet been classified, but the most noticeable cases are those in which an attribute or an adverbial modifier is placed not in immediate proximity to its referent, but in some other position, as in the following examples [40]:

Steyne rose up, grinding his teeth, pale, and with fury in his eyes. Sir Pitt came in first, very much flushed, and rather unsteady in his gait.

Detached adverbials being more loosely related to the modified parts of the sentence than non-detached adverbials are never obligatory. They are separated from the rest of the sentence by intonation in speaking and by commas in writing.

Detachment of adverbials may be caused by various factors, the most important of which are their meaning, the form of expression, their extension, their position in the sentence, or the speaker’s desire for emphasis. Owing to their structure and meaning, absolute constructions are nearly always detached [4]:

‘I want to go,’ he said, miserable.

Wesley saw the boat, its decks deserted.

Adverbials are detached when they are placed in an unusual position, as in the following examples:

Like him, she saw danger in it.

Randall, for all his tiresomeness and badness, had always been her Randall.

Any adverbial may be detached if the speaker wishes to emphasize its meaning:

 “He was her father,” said Frances Wilmot, gravely.

Participial phrases as adverbials also tend to be detached:

She then returned to her place, not having spoken another word.

In many cases an attribute expressed by Participle I is detached, i.e. it acquires certain independence in the sentence; the connection between the attribute and the word it modifies is loose [4].

For example:

It was the entrance to a large family vault, extending under the north aisle.

When a participial phrase is used as attribute it follows the modified noun. Its verbal character is evident from its verbal combinability and sometimes from the passive form itself. A participial phrase may be (a) non-detached or (b) detached [4]:

1. a) We went along the street leading to the seashore.

 Emma sat in the armchair facing the door.

1. b) Once a month Tommy, arriving separately, came in for a brief drink.

Participle I can form a detached semi-predicative construction, known as the absolute participial construction, which does not intersect in any of its components with the primary sentence part [6], for instance:

The weather being fine, we decided to take a walk; I won’t speak with him staring at me like that.

When a participial phrase is detached, its position is not fixed. It may occupy the initial position, the mid-position or the final position in the sentence [4]. For example:

Greatly excited, the children followed her into the garden.

Johnson, left in charge of both officers, marched about for a little while.

And people hurried by, hidden under their dreadful umbrellas.

To the Detachment can be reckoned in propositional phases used with noun, pronoun, gerund or clause. They bring new sense to the sentence and may have an influence on the context inside the sentence. Some of these propositional phrases are:

According to

Because of

By means of

Concerning

In addition to

In case of

Instead of

In spite of / despite

On account of

 

For example:

In spite of the obstacles, a number of courageous women still put their pens to the page. Read about some American authors who broke down barriers and paved the way, through the centuries, for the contemporary women writers whose works you love to read today [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

They present, according to him and his colleagues, a previously unacknowledged, alternate native history [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Detached constructions in their common forms make the written variety of language akin to the spoken variety where the relation between the component parts is effectively materialized by means of intonation. Detached construction, as it were, becomes a peculiar device bridging the norms of written and spoken language [39].

Parenthesis is often considered to be a variant of detached construction. A parenthesis offers additional information to a sentence. If a parenthesis is removed from a sentence, the sentence is still grammatically sound. In fact parenthesis sometimes embodies a considerable volume of predicativeness, thus giving the utterance an additional nuance of meaning or a tinge of emotional colouring.

The problem of differentiation between Parenthesis, Apposition and Detachment in Linguistics

It is generally recognized that Parenthesis (plural: parentheses; which comes from Greek, words meaning “alongside of” and “to place”) is an explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage with which it doesn’t necessarily have any grammatical connection [24]. However, there is a marked discrepancy of opinion concerning the problem differentiation between Parenthesis, Apposition and Detachment as they also can provide some explanation and additional information in the sentence and can be – and usually are – separated by commas. Parenthesis, if treated broadly, if a multifaceted linguistic phenomenon embracing paradigmatically and syntactically heterogeneous units, namely parenthetical verbs, adverbs, prepositional noun phrases, infinitival and participial phrases, and parenthetical clauses. This may account for the fact that the boundaries between parenthesis, on the one hand, and apposition and detachment, on the other, are often blurred.

Therefore, it appears necessary to shed some light on the aforementioned issues and scrutinize their convergent and divergent features.

Apposition

Apposition is a grammatical construction in which relationship between two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other. They are used in the same way and refer to the same person or thing. For example:

My best friend, Jane, likes swimming [25].

In the phrase “my best friend, Jane”, the name “Jane” is in apposition to “my best friend”.

Traditionally, appositions were called by their Latin name appositio, although the English form is now more commonly used. It is derived from Latin: ad (“near”) and positio (“placement”). When this device is used, the two elements are said to be in apposition [35]. But sometimes the term “in apposition” means just “the same”. Therefore, when a parenthesis is the same thing as whatever it follows, it is called “parenthesis in apposition” [46].

Examples:

Kent Oliver – the only professional jockey from Jersey – won his first race on Tuesday. In this example ‘the only professional jockey from Jersey’ is Parenthesis.

Kent Oliver is the professional jockey. This is Parenthesis in Apposition.

At midnight last night, Skip (a guard dog for Bonds Ltd in Bury) hospitalized two intruders who broke in the company yard. Here brackets used as parentheses.

Skip is the guard dog. This is parenthesis in apposition

There are some examples of sentence which can not be reconstructed in the Parenthesis in Apposition.

Jamie Buxton, who fainted in church during his wedding, apologized to his wife… In this sentence the Parenthesis is ‘who fainted in church during his wedding’. This sentence can not be rebuilt as parenthesis in apposition.

Paul, on the other hand, in considered extremely trustworthy. Here ‘on the other hand’ used as Parenthesis.

But there are cases when the construction can be both Parenthesis and Apposition, as it can easy be removed from the sentence without damaging the sense of the whole sentence:

Barry Goldwater, the junior senator from Arizona, received the Republican nomination in 1964 [35].

John and Bob, both friends of mine, are starting a band [35].There is an interactive example:

Prices in Alton, a small town only 25 minutes from London, are soaring [35].

Apposition can be restrictive or non-restrictive where the second element parenthetically modifies the first [5, 184].

In a non-restrictive appositive, the second element parenthetically modifies the first without changing its scope. Non-restrictive appositives are not crucial to the meaning of the sentence. In a restrictive appositive, the second element limits or clarifies the foregoing one in some crucial way. Geoffrey Leech in his Communicative Grammar illustrates excellent example of Restrictive and Non-restrictive Apposition:

Which Mr. Smith do you mean? Mr. Smith the architect or Mr. Smith the electrician?

I want to speak to Mr. Smith, the electrician [5, 184].

In the phrase “Mr. Smith the architect or Mr. Smith the electrician“, “the architect/the electrician” specifies to which Mr. Smith the speaker is referring and is therefore restrictive. On the other hand, “Mr. Smith, the electrician” the parenthetical “the electrician” does not narrow down the subject, but rather provides additional information about the subject, namely, “Mr. Smith“.

In English, a non-restrictive appositive must be preceded or set off by commas, while a restrictive appositive is not set off by commas [35].

Restrictive apposition is common especially when the first element defines the meaning of the second element [5, 184]:

The famous critic Paul Jones

The number three

The novel Les Misérables

My good friend Bob

This man Smith

The letter ‘A’

Not all restrictive clauses are appositives. For example, Alice in “Bill’s friend Alice …” is an appositive noun; Alice in “Bill’s friend, whose name is Alice, …” is not an appositive but, rather, the predicate of a restrictive clause. The main difference between the two is that the second explicitly states what an apposition would omit: that the friend in question is named Alice. If the meaning is clear “Bill’s friend Alice” can be used.

The same words can change from restrictive to non-restrictive (or vice versa) depending on the speaker and context. Consider the phrase “my brother Nathan”. If the speaker has more than one brother, the name Nathan is restrictive as it clarifies which brother. However, if the speaker has only one brother, then the brother’s name is parenthetical and the correct way to write it is: “my brother, Nathan, …”. If it is not known which the case is, it is safer to omit the restrictive commas: “John’s brother Nathan” is acceptable whether or not John has more brothers, unlike “John’s brother, Nathan” [35].

Sometimes the appositional relation is made explicit by an adverbial, for example, the passenger plane of the 1980s, namely the supersonic jet. Under apposition may also be included cases where the second element exemplifies the first, or is in inclusive relation to it. In such cases a connecting adverbial, such as for example, for instance, especially, particularly, in particular, notably, chiefly, mainly, is normally present [5, 184]:

Many famous men, for example de Gaulle, Churchill and Roosevelt, have visited this university [5, 184].

The children enjoyed watching the animals, particularly the monkeys [5, 184].

Examining the Apposition it is also important to mention about appositive clauses.

According to Geoffrey Leech appositive clauses are nominal clauses which have a relation to the head similar to that between two noun phrases in apposition. They can be that-clauses or to-infinitive clauses [5, 250]:

(1) The news that he was resigning his job proved to be incorrect.

(2)The police have been investigating a plot to kidnap a prominent diplomat.

The relation of apposition can be seen if noun phrase is related to a subject + be + complement construction:

(1a)The news was that he was resigning his job.

(2a)The plot is to kidnap a prominent diplomat.

That-clause is nominal clause and not a relative clause. For example:

(3) The news that was spreading proved to be incorrect.

That in (3) is relative pronoun, and could be replaced by which. It acts as the subject of the clause. But in (1) that is conjunction [5, 250].

Blokh regards that the appositive clause, in keeping with the general nature of apposition, does not simply give some sort of qualification to its antecedent, but defines or elucidates its very meaning in the context. Due to this specialization, appositive clauses refer to substantive antecedents of abstract semantics. Since the role of appositive clauses consists in bringing about contextual limitations of the meaning of the antecedent, the status of appositive clauses in the general system of attributive clauses is intermediary between restrictive and descriptive [13, 319].

In accord with the type of the governing antecedent, all the appositive clauses fall into three groups: first, appositive clauses of nounal relation; second, appositive clauses of pronominal relation; third, appositive clauses of anticipatory relation.

Appositive clauses of nounal relation are functionally nearer to restrictive attributive clauses than the rest. They can introduce information of a widely variable categorical nature, both nominal and adverbial. The categorical features of the rendered information are defined by the type of the antecedent.

The characteristic antecedents of nominal apposition are abstract nouns like fact, idea, question, plan, suggestion, news, information, etc [13, 320].

For example:

The news that Dr. Blare had refused to join the Antarctic expedition was sensational.

We are not prepared to discuss the question who will chair the next session of the Surgical Society.

The characteristic antecedents of adverbial apposition are abstract names of adverbial relations, such as time, moment, place, condition, purpose, etc [13, 320].

For example:

We saw him at the moment he was opening the door of his Cadillac.

They did it with the purpose that no one else might share the responsibility for the outcome of the venture.

Appositive clauses of pronominal relation refer to an antecedent expressed by an indefinite or demonstrative pronoun. The constructions serve as informatively limiting and attention-focusing means in contrast to the parallel non-appositive constructions [13, 320].

For instance:

I couldn’t agree with all that she was saying in her irritation. I couldn’t agree with what she was saying in her irritation. (Limitation is expressed.)

That which did strike us was the inspector’s utter ignorance of the details of the case. → What did strike us was the inspector’s utter ignorance of the details of the case. (The utterances are practically equivalent, the one with a clausal apposition being somewhat more intense in its delimitation of the desired focus of attention.)

Appositive clauses of anticipatory relation are used in constructions with the anticipatory pronoun (namely, the anticipatory it, occasionally the demonstratives this, that). There are two varieties of these constructions — subjective and objective. The subjective clausal apposition is by far the basic one, both in terms of occurrence (it affects all the notional verbs of the vocabulary, not only transitive) and functional range (it possesses a universal sentence-transforming force). Thus, the objective anticipatory apposition is always interchangeable with the subjective anticipatory apposition, but not vice versa [13, 321].

For example:

I would consider it (this) a personal offence if they didn’t accept the forwarded invitation. It would be a personal offence (to me) if they didn’t accept the forwarded invitation.

You may depend on it that the letters won’t be left unanswered. It may be depended on that the letters won’t be left unanswered.

The anticipatory appositive constructions, as is widely known, constitute one of the most peculiar typological features of English syntax. Viewed as part of the general appositive clausal system here presented, it is quite clear that the exposure of their appositive nature does not at all contradict their anticipatory interpretation, nor does it mar or diminish their “idiomatically English” property so emphatically pointed out in grammar books.

The unique role of the subjective anticipatory appositive construction, as has been stated elsewhere, consists in the fact that it is used as a universal means of rheme identification in the actual division of the sentence [13, 319-321].

The point of view that English punctuation is not stable is widely spread. But a detailed analysis can prove that in most cases the punctuation is rather fixed. However, there are some excep­tions, especially in subordinate adverbial clauses, where the punctua­tion is not always stable. Analysis of the texts has led us to several conclu­sions. By means of our research we ascertained several conclusions:

1) In the scope of our research we covered such phenomena as: the relation between independent clauses joined asyndetically, which influences the punctuation; some methods of introducing adverbial modifiers and adverbial clauses of comparison that affect the punctuation; strict discrimination between adverbial modifiers of manner and attending circumstances, which are frequently not distinguished in foreign Grammar books, but which have different punc­tuation, being unequally attached to the predicates; double modality; compound and complex introductory sentences; complicated cases of compound sentences with subordination and complex sentences with co-ordination; group-connectives; detached and attached subordinate clauses, some details on detached parts of a sentence; and others.

2) Almost all subordinate clauses tend to preserve the punc­tuation of the corresponding parts of a sentence in English; the de­gree of dependence of the subordinate clause on the principal, the syn­tactical ways of connecting both affect the punctuation in complex sentences; the punctuation in a sentence depends to a great extent on the fact whether the parts of the sentence or the subordinate clauses have a detached or attached character, and whether pauses are necessary; since the word order in an English sentence is rather fixed, certain word order changes weaken the connection between the parts of the sen­tence, and often cause alterations in intonation and, consequently, in punctuation as well; about half of the rules presented coincide with the corre­sponding rules in Russian. They mostly refer to “The Simple Sentence” and to “The Compound Sentence”. The rules that do not coincide re­fer mostly to “The Complex Sentence”.

From the comparative charts below, based on the rules of the use of punctuation marks, we can easily trace similarities in both languages that might make it easier to imply in practice.

We have established that the punctuation in the English language is a very problematic part of grammar. We have studied the written speech of native speakers and achieved the purposes.

 

Bibliography

Truss, Lynne, 2003. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Profile Books. (e-book)

I Saw Esau/ Iona and Peter Opie, 1943. (e-book)

MacKellar, Thomas (1885). The American Printer: A Manual of Typography, Containing Practical Directions for Managing all Departments of a Printing Office, As Well as Complete Instructions for Apprentices: With Several Useful Tables, Numerous Schemes for Imposing Forms in Every Variety, Hints to Authors, Etc. (Fifteenth – Revised and Enlarged ed.). Philadelphia: MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan. p. 63.

Deskbook of correct English. Michael West and P. F. Kimber. Leningrad, 1963

Notes on Punctuation, Partridge E., Oxford. (on-line recourse)

Wikipedia

The MacMillan College Handbook \ G. H. Levin, 1987. – pp. 200-257.

The Random House Handbook \ F. Crews. – 1987, pp. 345 – 464.

Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers \ L. Q. Troyka. – 2^nd ed., 1990, pp. 476 – 572.

The diploma paper sets out to explore parenthesis, a qualifying, explanatory, or appositive word, phrase, clause, or sentence that interrupts a syntactical construction without otherwise affecting it, having often a characteristic intonation and indicating in writing by commas, parentheses, or dashes [19].

The research of the Parenthesis is extremely important in English. It helps to connect the ideas and sentences, so that writing and speaking is fluent, accurate and clear. Using the Parenthesis helps the reader to maintain a coherent point of view, to sort out main ideas and important details, to reduce the risk of leaving out some really important fact or argument and to give verbal signposts to the reader showing how you are moving on [3, 10-12].

The work considers such branches of grammar as lexicology, morphology and syntax. At the lexicological level Parenthesis is analyzed semantically, the sets of Parenthetical phrases and structures examples are illustrated. At the morphological level the structural characteristics are discussed and the means of expressing Parenthesis are examined. At the syntactical level its position in the sentence and in the text is investigated.

As regards its meaning and function, Parenthesis can be of several types. It may express the speaker’s attitude to the relation between what is expressed in the sentence and reality (perhaps, maybe, certainly, of course, oh, dear me). It may connect the sentence it belongs to with the preceding or the following one (first, firstly, secondly, finally, after all, besides, by the way, on the contrary, that is, for example). It may specify that which is said in the sentence or express a comment (according to my taste, in my opinion, to tell the truth, in other words, in short, as I know, by the way).

The diploma paper presents different means of expressing Parenthesis, such as conjuncts, modal, viewpoint and comment adverbs. In the sentence they can be presented as a single word (conjunct, adverb), phrase (prepositional phase), word combination, clause (infinitive, participle), or sentence.

The present research is aimed at investigating the means of expressing Parenthesis and their functioning in publicistic style. The major research focus is on the modal, commenting and viewpoint adverbs, conjunctions, infinitival and participial clauses, which perform the function of Parenthesis.

Parenthesis has recently seen a surge in interest, as shown by the abundance of new publications on Germanic as well as on Romance languages. Various taxonomies have been proposed, but these are still far from complete. Most of the scientists rate Parenthesis as ‘”Linking words and Phrases” which are useful for writing essays. Among these researchers there are Mark Skipper [21, 76], John Eastwood [14, 366]. Geoffrey Leech calls them “Linking signals” [5, 139] and “Linking constructions” [5, 141], Michael Swan defines them as “discourse markers” [9, 172].

The textbooks on theoretical grammar provide only scanty information about Parenthesis, though it is liable to present us with a whole bundle of problems. Firstly, there are a lot of borderline cases of transition between Parenthesis, on the one hand, and Apposition and detached parts of the sentence, on the other. A number of fairly plausible viewpoints on the issue have been expressed and the objective criteria have been suggested. Nevertheless, they do not yield clear results and, a fully convincing solution to the problem has not been found yet [7; 8]. This calls for the need to provide a theoretical insight into the problem of Parenthesis in English, to consider the cases of grammatical homonymy at some length, to discuss the nature of relationships between parenthesis and its host construction it is embedded in.

Secondly, ignorance and wrong use of the Parenthesis appears to be one of the major errors notoriously common with the students. This determines the topicality of the research, its theoretical and practical value.

The object of investigation is Parenthesis. The subject of research is the means of expressing Parenthesis, including conjunctions, modal, commenting and viewpoint adverbs, infinitival and participial clauses, their functioning in the text. Such methods of investigation as structural-semantic, distributional and the elements of the quantitative analysis are used in this paper.

The aim of the diploma paper is many-fold and embraces the accomplishment of the following tasks:

• to compare the existing approaches and consolidate the insights into the theoretical treatment of Parenthesis and the adjacent structures such as Apposition and Detachment;
• to determine the salient characteristics of Parenthesis and examine the convergent and divergent features of Parenthesis, on the one hand, and Apposition and Detachment, on the other;
• to review the functions assigned to Parenthesis from a pragmatic perspective;
• to explore the functional potential of Parenthesis and to give its classification;
• to analyze the positional and structural peculiarities of Parenthesis on the sentence and textual level;
• to examine the syntactic usage of different parenthetical types.

According to the spheres of concern the work falls into an Introduction, three parts, conclusion and the list of references which together with the appendix comprise 87 pages. Part 1 deals with the analysis of the semantic, structural and positional characteristics of Parenthesis. Part 2 is concerned with the diverse means of its expression. Part 3 presents the analysis of Parenthesis as functioning in publicistic style. Most of the examples presented in this diploma paper are taken form Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), Macmillan English Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Besides, for Part 3 different articles from such newspapers as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent and The BBC News were presented.

The scientific value of the diploma paper is that the results of the investigation can be used for the course of Theoretical Grammar, for teaching the usage of Parenthesis during writing essays, speeches and stories etc., for preparation for diverse tests and exams not only for University students, but also for university applicants.

Introductory sentences and clauses are marked off by dashes, or brackets in case of weaker connection, to denote an explanatory, detached, additional character, pauses and lowered voice: “Then we thought we were going to have supper (we had dispensed with tea, so as to save time), but George said, no”.

Introductory sentences are often compound or complex sentences.

Such sentences are either enclosed in brackets, or set off by dashes, and may have marks of their own within the brackets, according to the rules of complex or compound sentences.

If an introductory sentence or clause comes at the end of the whole sentence, the full-stop is placed outside the second bracket. But in case of an independent introductory sentence which begins with a capital letter, there is a full-stop before the opening bracket to complete the previous sentence, and another full-stop before the closing bracket to complete the introductory sentence. Instead of a full-stop there may be a question mark or an exclamation mark, if necessary. For example: “At the foot of the ladder I called up to Pyle, “It’s me– Fowler”. (Even then I couldn’t bring myself to use my Christian name to him.)”

Appended introductory clauses, having a modal parenthetical meaning, are placed either in the middle, or at the end of a sentence, and are marked off by commas, or by dashes. These clauses are short, consisting, mainly, of a subject and a predicate: “Dinny Cherrell! Charwell they spelled it, he remembered”.

Direct speech is introduced by double (or single) quotation marks (also called ‘inverted commas’, or ‘quotes’), which are placed at the top of the line, the opening commas being inverted, the closing, regular. The closing commas come after a full-stop, a question mark, an exclamatory mark, or dots. If direct speech comes after the author’s words, it is introduced by a colon. Before a new paragraph there is a colon and a dash: “Gentlemen!” Hightower said. Then he said: “Men! Men!”

“He said distinctly: –

“Yes, I knew he was not a doctor”.

In interrupted direct speech both parts are included in double quotes. There is a comma before the author’s words (inside the quotes), and a comma after them. If necessary, there may be other marks instead of the commas: “It’s–it’s frightfully smart–but,” she smiled, “somehow it doesn’t quite seem you!”

In rare cases direct speech is introduced without any quotation marks. Single quotation marks are sometimes used to introduce direct speech: “I don’t mean what I-did, Ben said. I mean the piano. I mean the piano itself. It has a fine tone, especially for a little piano. A middle-aged clerk came over and said, How do you do? Hello, Ben said. This is a swell one”.

Non-direct speech, which introduces thoughts, meditations, somebody’s out-loud speaking to oneself, has usually no quotation marks. It is set off from the author’s words by a comma, or double commas if interrupted. In rare cases, there are quotation marks to introduce non-direct speech: “So, he said to himself, we did well to stop the quarrelling”.

Quotations are enclosed in quotation marks. In case of a secondary quotation (a quotation within a quotation), there are outer quotes (double) and inner quotes (single). Secondary quotations are usually found within direct speech: “He was their “little mystery”, their “big patriot”

Names of sputniks, luniks (moon rockets); books, poems, songs, plays, films, newspapers, magazines; theatres, cinemas; ships, boats, schooners; hotels, restaurants, inns, clubs, offices, etc., may be written in italics instead of being enclosed in quotes, when quoted.

Articles are italicized before such nouns if they belong to the names; if they do not, they are not.

Also, when quotes are used, articles are enclosed within them if they belong to the names; if they do not, they are placed outside the quotes: “He had been a member of the crew of the smuggling schooner Halcyon”.

Foreign and ironical words, obsolete and newly introduced words, strange or unusual words, are enclosed in quotes, double or single. Within direct speech single quotes are used to introduce such words: “It was his “think-machine” that had gone wrong”.

Words that do not belong to the text at all, such as translations or extra explanations, names of authors or newspapers, years and places of edition, phonetic transcription, etc., are enclosed in square brackets.

Titles and subtitles in books, in newspapers, and in stories, have no full-stops at the end. But there are exclamation marks in exclamatory titles; question marks, in interrogative titles; and dots, in implicative titles.

Addresses on envelopes, in newspapers, in letters, on invitation cards, etc., are punctuated in the following way. There is a comma between the addressee’s name and the initial letters denoting a title. In case of two or more titles, there should be a comma between each. If there is no title; a comma is placed between the addressee’s name and the house number. There is also a comma before the name of the district (not before the district number), and after the name of the town or city, if the name of the country follows. A full-stop is placed at the end of the address. In newspapers there may be a comma between the name of the street and the town.

Mr. Henry John Brown, M.A. 10 Wood Road London, N. W. Great Britain.

Printed by D. Young, 168 Day Street, Sydney at 21 Ross Street, Forest Lodge. (The Tribune)

Dates: there is no punctuation mark between the number of the day, the name of the month, and the year. There is a comma after the name of the day.

19 April 1991

19th April 1991

April 19th 1991

Saturday, April 19th 1991

A comma divides the day of the month from the year: May 17, 1930

You needn’t include it if you give only the month and the year: May 1930

The comma follows the year when the date appears before the end of the sentence: She was born February 14, 1934, in Boston.

She was born on 14 February 1934 in Boston

When only the month and the year are stated, commas before and after are optional: July 1934 was the month of her birth or July, 1934, was the month of her birth.

Use a comma between the day and the date: Sunday, July 20, 1969

Letters are written either with quotation marks before each paragraph and at the end of the letter, or without them. The direct address is followed by a comma: “Cork Street: Saturday.

Bless you for your letter. Come up here to lunch Monday. We must talk. – Wilfrid”.

“Dear Doctor Manson,

Mr. and Mrs. Watkins are coming to supper with me tomorrow, Sunday evening. If you have nothing better to do, would you care to come too? Half-past seven”.

Sincerely,

Christine Barlow

In Russian letters are quoted in the same way as direct speech is. The direct address is followed by an exclamation mark.

Like a compound sentence, a compound sentence including subordination may have a comma, a semicolon, a colon, or a dash between the independent clauses, which may be linked by a conjunction as well.

The punctuation of the subordinate clauses and their ways of connection with the principal clauses depend on the types of the subordinate clauses.

Compound sentences with subordination have two or more independent (co-ordinate) clauses, and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses.

(/ – primarily division; || – subdivision, secondary division). For example: “Scotty’s ideal optimism about game could always be counted on, || and though Roy was realist enough to disagree, / he liked to hear it anyway”.

In long compound sentences with subordination the dependent clauses may be coordinated in their turn, that is, the subordinate clauses are homogeneous. These may have their own subordinate clauses. So the relation is:

Co-ordination -> subordination->co-ordination->subordination.

The punctuation in such sentences remains the same as stated above: “They had what they could get, || and then, | as Nab for the twentieth time was audibly wondering | what George was up to / and Margery for the dozenth time was realizing / how splendidly he had run, | George himself reappeared beaming with satisfaction”.

In complex sentences with co-ordination the homogeneous subordinate clauses are either divided by commas, or linked by the conjunctions ‘and’, ‘or’. There are often both a comma and a conjunction to connect them.

The punctuation between the principal and the subordinate clause depends on the type of the subordinate clause: “Andrew did not know || that Christine felt lonely | and that she suffered much”.

In long complex sentences with co-ordination the homogeneous subordinate clauses may have subordination in their turn, then there may come co-ordination and subordination again.

The relation will thus be:

Subordination -> co-ordination -> subordination -> co-ordination -> subordination.

The homogeneous clauses are divided, like independent clauses, by commas, sometimes by semicolons or dashes. The punctuation of other subordinate clauses depends on the types of these clauses: “Think || what you could do, | how much you could help to spread the light–| if you were to come forward tomorrow and say | that you had become a Socialist–| that you believed that the Community should own and administer the great monopolies for the benefit of all–| so that there might be labor and freedom and joy for all–| so that no man should be exploited for the benefit of any other man”.

In complex sentences, in compound sentences with subordination, and in complex sentences with co-ordination, two (even three) conjunctions, or a conjunction and a connective word, often come together, in groups, the so-called “group-connectives”. The following groups may occur:

two subordinate conjunctions – ‘because + if’, ‘because + though’, ‘because + when’, ‘so that + if’, ‘that + as’ ‘that + even if, ‘that + if, ‘that + though’, ‘that + when’;

a coordinative and a subordinate conjunction – ‘and + as’, ‘and + as if, ‘and + as though’, ‘and + if, ‘and + though’, ‘and + that’, ‘and + because’, ‘and + when’, ‘and + that + when’, ‘and + that + if;

two coordinative conjunctions – ‘and + so’, ‘and + yet’, ‘and + still;

a conjunction and a connective adverb or pronoun – ‘and + however’, ‘and + therefore’, ‘and + what’, ‘but + nevertheless’, ‘but + hardly – when’, ‘if + what’.

If some punctuation mark is necessary – a comma, a semicolon, or a dash – it usually comes before the first conjunction; it may come between the two conjunctions, or between the conjunction and the connective word, if the subordinate clause has a detached character, and a pause is needed before this clause: “She ordered him to set the table, and as he trotted into the living-room, as he hunted through the buffet for knives and forks, he felt utterly at home”.

In Russian no punctuation mark is placed between the two conjunctions, nor between the conjunction and the connective word, if one of the components of a compound conjunction follows and so the subordinate clause cannot be omitted or shifted to another place. If these components are omitted there is a comma between the two conjunctions, or between the conjunction and the connective word. In this case the subordinate clause has a detached character.

A subject clause, like the subject of a simple sentence, is not divided by any punctuation mark from the rest of the sentence, being closely connected with it, since this clause is the subject of the whole complex sentence, and only a brief pause is needed.

Neither the place of such clause in the sentence, nor the way of its introduction, influences the punctuation. It may come at the beginning of the sentence, or, when introduced by the anticipatory ‘it’, at the end.

Subject clauses are joined to the rest of the sentence by means of the conjunction ‘that’, by the conjunctive adverbs ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘when’, ‘where’, and by the conjunctive pronouns ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘which’. For example: “It seemed utterly grotesque to him that he should be standing there facing a charge of murder”.

In rare cases there is a comma after a long subject clause to denote a pause: “Why his widow, of all women, should have come into the country, was the great interrogation”.

A predicative clause, like the predicative of a simple sentence, is not marked off by any punctuation mark from the rest of the sentence, being closely connected with it, since this clause is the predicative of the whole complex sentence, and only a brief pause is needed.

The way of introduction does not influence the punctuation. These clauses are introduced by the conjunctions ‘that’, ‘as if, ‘as though’, ‘whether’, by the conjunctive pronouns ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘which’, and by the conjunctive adverbs ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘where’. When’ introduced asyndetically, a predicative clause is marked off by a comma, or by a dash to indicate a longer pause: “The trouble with our young men is that they are still too romantic”.

The corresponding Russian subordinate clauses are marked off by commas. They are not introduced asyndetically.

Often some part of the sentence, or some clause, which should be set off by commas according to the rules of punctuation, comes between the link verb and the predicative clause, thus splitting them: “The result was that, by the time everything was ready, the tea was waiting.”

An object clause, like an object of a simple sentence, is not separated by any punctuation mark from the principal clause, being closely connected with the verb or the verbal it depends on. Almost no pause is needed before an object clause.

If the object clause precedes the principal clause, there may be a comma between them to denote a pause and emphasis.

Object clauses are often introduced asyndetically; also, by the conjunctions ‘that’, ‘if, ‘whether’, ‘lest’, by the conjunctive adverbs ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, and by the conjunctive pronouns ‘what’, ‘which’, ‘who’.

If it precedes the principal clause, there may be a dash between the two clauses following the principal clause: “I couldn’t tell who the speakers were”.

And preceding the principal clause: “What was great and strong to him, she missed”.

There may be a comma before an object clause, if the latter adds a specifying, explanatory meaning to some object of the main clause: “So you must tell me all about it, what it does and what it makes and sells”.

Restrictive (or limiting) attached attributive clauses are joined to the principal clause either asyndetically (‘contact clauses’), or by the relative pronouns ‘that’, ‘which’, ‘who (whom)’, by the relative adverbs ‘when’, ‘where’, without any punctuation mark to denote close connection, with the antecedent in the main clause. For example: “All I can say is that my whole life is changed”.

Non-restrictive (or descriptive) detached attributive clauses introduced by the relative pronouns ‘who’, ‘which’, and by the relative adverbs ‘when’, ‘where’, are normally set off by a comma or double commas to denote their detached character and the additional information concerning the antecedent in the main clause: “The governor, who was an angry man, received them with great courtesy”.

A descriptive attributive (continuative) clause modifying the whole principal clause is marked off from the “latter by a comma or double commas. Such clauses are introduced by the relative pronoun ‘which’.

Appositive attributive clauses modifying abstract nouns, such as ‘information’, ‘feeling’, ‘thought’, ‘idea’, ‘fact’, ‘notion’, ‘remark’, ‘impression’, ‘expression’, etc., are introduced by the conjunctions ‘that’, ‘whether’, normally without any punctuation mark: “Andrew had no idea whether he was doing well or badly”.

An adverbial clause of time preceding the main clause is normally set off by a comma, like a lengthy adverbial modifier of time, to denote weak dependence, rising tone, and a pause. (This is not a strict rule, some writers omit the comma.)

Adverbial clauses of time are introduced by the conjunctions ‘when’, ‘as’, ‘before’, ‘after’, ‘while’, ‘since’, ’till’, ‘until’, ‘directly’, ‘as soon as’: “When these two came to tea, there would be whispers and glances of understanding”.

When placed in the middle of the main clause, thus splitting it, and acquiring a detached character, an adverbial clause of time, is set off by double commas: “One evening, he said, after he had been struggling like that, and long after he had quit seeing people, he wrote his second novel”.

When following the main clause, an adverbial clause of time is usually not set off by any punctuation mark, occupying the regular place of an adverbial modifier of time, and being tightly attached to the principal clause: “Ah, we rarely feel the charm of our own tongue until it reaches our ears under a foreign sky”.

Like an adverbial modifier, an adverbial clause of time may have a detached character, so it is marked off by a comma, even though it follows the principal clause, which is usually pronounced with a falling tone: “The keen bite of the wind met them, as they stepped out of the cage”.

An appositive adverbial clause of time, following an adverbial modifier of time, is marked off by a comma or double commas, to denote its detached, explanatory and additional character: “Now, when he had corked the bottle, the sheriff bit off a chew of apple”.

Adverbial clauses of time introduced by the connective groups ‘hardly – when’, ‘scarcely – when’, ‘no sooner–than’, ‘barely – when’, ‘barely – before’ are never set off by any punctuation mark from the principal clauses, being very closely connected with them, the first parts of these groups belonging to the principal clauses: “No sooner had this letter arrived than her mind was at work planning a meeting”.

An adverbial clause of condition preceding the principal clause is usually set off by a comma to denote weak dependence, rising tone, and a pause. The same in case of inversion.

Adverbial clauses of condition are introduced by the conjunctions ‘if, ‘in case’, ‘unless’, ‘provided’: “Should you care for a full explanation of the action we are compelled to take, you may call any day between 11.10 and 11.40 a.m.”.

In case an adverbial clause of condition follows the main clause, there is normally no punctuation mark before the subordinate clause to denote close connection with, and absolute dependence on the principal clause: “Don’t let me detain you if you wish to see it”.

Sometimes an adverbial clause of condition has a detached character, showing faint dependence; so there is a comma, even if the subordinate clause follows the main clause, which is usually pronounced with a falling tone: “She should have cherished it, if her imagination had been caught”.

Adverbial clauses of place introduced by the conjunctions ‘where’, ‘wherever’ are, like adverbial modifiers of place, not marked off by any punctuation mark from the principal clause. For example: “Andrew began to read where, at college, he had left off”.

An adverbial clause of cause (or reason), like an adverbial modifier of cause, is generally not set off by any punctuation mark when placed after the principal clause, to indicate absolute dependence on the latter. These clauses are introduced by the conjunctions ‘because’, ‘since’, ‘as’: “She was touched by a faint feeling of guilt because she couldn’t lock it from the outside”.

An adverbial clause of cause placed at the head of the sentence is normally marked off by a comma to denote weaker dependence on the main clause, rising tone, and a pause: “Because he was writing, he, of course, neglected his job, his wife, his kids”.

An adverbial clause of cause, like an adverbial modifier of cause, may have a detached character; so it is separated by a comma from the principal clause, which is usually pronounced with a falling tone in such case: “They had had trifling disagreements, because they were both obstinate”.

An adverbial clause of purpose, like an adverbial modifier of purpose, is usually not set off by any punctuation mark from the main clause to denote its attached character. Such clauses are introduced by the conjunctions ‘that’, ‘lest’, ‘so’, ‘so that’, ‘in order that’: “He went in dread of Llewellyn and the Committee lest he should be suddenly dismissed”.

An adverbial clause of comparison introduced by the conjunctions ‘as’ – after the adverbs ‘as’, ‘not so’ in the principal clause –, ‘than’ – after the adverbs ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘better’, ‘worse’, etc. – are usually not set off by any punctuation mark to denote their close connection with the principal clause and the adverbs: “I was as obstinate as she was”.

Adverbial clauses of comparison introduced by the conjunctions ‘as if, ‘as though’ are usually not set off by any punctuation mark from the principal clauses to denote close connection with the verbs they modify. The principal clauses wouldn’t be complete without these subordinate clauses: “At breakfast next morning Christine behaved as though the whole episode were forgotten”.

Adverbial clauses of comparison introduced by the conjunctions ‘as if, ‘as though’, mostly after adverbial modifiers of manner or comparison in the principal clauses, which are usually pronounced with a falling tone, may have an explanatory, detached character; so they are marked off by a comma; in case of a longer pause, by a dash: “She was speaking with difficulty, as though she had to think hard about each word”.

Adverbial clauses of comparison introduced by the connective adverb groups ‘the more – the more’, ‘the less – the less’, ‘the sooner – the better’, ‘the further – the better’, ‘the harder – the more interesting’, etc., are mostly set off by a comma: “The more he dealt in the habits of animals, the more he knew that he was a man and needed other men”.

Adverbial clauses of result (or consequence), like adverbial modifiers of result, are not marked off by any punctuation mark, being, mostly, closely connected with adverbial modifiers of degree in the principal clause.

Adverbial clauses of result are introduced by the conjunctions ‘that’ – after the adverb of degree ‘so’, or the prepositional phrase ‘to such an extent’ – and ‘so that’ – often after the adverbs of degree ‘very’, ‘extremely’: “My appearance disturbed these charming children to such an extent that they rushed up and down the corridor in a frenzied state”.

Adverbial clauses of result are sometimes introduced asyndetically without any punctuation mark: “Denny lit a cigarette, his fingers shaking so violently he could barely hold the match”.

Adverbial clauses of concession, no matter what place they may occupy in the sentence, are always set off by a comma from the principal clause, having a detached character.

These clauses are introduced by the conjunctions ‘though’, ‘although’, ‘even if, ‘even though’; by the adverb ‘however’, by the pronouns ‘whatever’, ‘whoever’, ‘whichever’, and the connective groups ‘no matter how’, ‘no matter what’, ‘no matter who’, ‘no matter which’, ‘no matter when’, ‘no matter where’. For example: “Oh, so you divide up a brawl according to races, no matter who was right?”

In case an adverbial clause of concession is introduced asyndetically, by means of inversion, there is a comma between the two clauses, to denote rising tone of the subordinate clause, which usually precedes the main clause, and a pause: “Tired as I was, I began to run frantically home”.

An adverbial clause of attending circumstances, like the corresponding adverbial modifier, is marked off by a comma from the principal clause to denote its detached character, falling tone, and a pause. Such clause is introduced by the conjunction ‘while’: “Silently she kissed her mother, while tears fell fast”.

In case of double or several degrees of subordination, the punctuation remains exactly the same as is necessary before each type of subordinate clause: “Now he began to question if there were not some truth in what Denny said”.

The independent clauses of a compound sentence joined asyndetically are divided by a comma to denote a brief pause, falling tone, and often enumeration of closely connected actions. The copulative conjunction ‘and’ might be inserted between the clauses: “One hand went to the heart, the other outstretched toward the flag”.

In case of a longer pause and weaker connection, to denote enumeration of actions, the independent clauses of a compound sentence joined asyndetically are divided by a semicolon, especially if there is a comma, or commas, within these clauses: “The doors of the small sitting-room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom were open; the walls were distempered apple-green, the floors covered with dark-green linoleum”.

The second or third independent clause of a compound sentence may have an adversative meaning. Such clause is introduced by a comma; in case of a longer pause, by a semicolon. The adversative conjunction ‘but’ might be inserted between the clauses. For example: “He has looked at me with those eyes of his. They do not love; they threaten; they are savage as a wild tiger’s”.

The second or third independent clause of a compound sentence joined asyndetically may have a causal meaning. Such clause is mostly introduced by a colon or a dash, sometimes by a comma. The causal conjunction ‘for’ might be inserted between the clauses: “No one replied: they had probably not understood”.

There is usually a comma before the dash.

The second or third independent clause of a compound sentence joined asyndetically may have a resultative meaning, and it is introduced by a comma or a semicolon. The resultative conjunction ‘so’ might be inserted between the clauses: “The door was open; sounds came from the kitchen”.

When the second or third independent clause of a compound sentence has an explanatory meaning, it is introduced by a colon or a semicolon: “But think: we could have whole columns of newspapers devoted to us for days”.

Both parts of a disjunctive question, being independent clauses of a compound sentence joined asyndetically, are divided by a comma to denote falling tone, connection of meaning, and a short pause: “You can do that, can’t you?”

Sometimes there is a dash between the clauses to denote a longer pause: “You didn’t throw away any cocoa last time you were here – did you?”

The independent clauses of a compound sentence joined by coordinative conjunctions or adverbs are usually separated by a comma (or commas) to denote a short pause; by a semicolon, in cases where a full-stop might be put if the conjunction were omitted, to denote a longer pause and weaker connection. There is also a semicolon if there are commas within the independent clauses: “The loud pitch of John’s voice got on his nerves, besides he could feel a draught round his legs”. (copulative co-ordination); “On my rising in the morning my preparations were soon made; or, rather, there were practically no preparations to make”. (disjunctive co-ordination); “Babbit did not care to be seen talking with such a fanatic, but in all the Pullmans he could find no other acquaintance”. (adversative co-ordination); “Few people were about, for it was really cold”. “They were tardy in recognizing this, for not one of the Junta liked him”. (causal co-ordination)

In compound sentences before ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’ the comma may be omitted to denote close connection: “By nine o’clock of that evening snow lay deep in the streets and the weather had become bitter cold”.

In case of several independent clauses, when the coordinative conjunction is repeated, there is a comma before each conjunction: “The Hansons expected her to go home, and she wanted to get away, and yet she did not want to go home”.

If a compound sentence contains several clauses enumerating closely connected actions, there are usually commas between the clauses, also before the conjunction introducing the final clause. In case of weaker connection, there is a semicolon between the independent clauses. For example: “The squire raised his gun, the rowing ceased, and we leaned over to the other side to keep the balance”.

An interjection is usually followed by an exclamation mark to denote great emotion: pain, anger, astonishment, acute distress, joy or delight; or several of these feelings combined.

In case of several interjections, there is usually an exclamation mark after each. There may be a dash between two interjections. For example: “Hi! stop a minute, will you?”

In case of an exclamatory sentence, there is usually a comma after the interjection, and an exclamation mark (or a dash) at the end of the sentence: “Oh, Doctor Manson! I am relieved to find you in”.

If no great emotion is expressed, nor exclamation, but such feelings as pity, sorrow, annoyance, wish, pleasure, surprise, approval or disapproval (with ‘yes’ or ‘no’), a comma is put after the interjection: “Oh, that’s too bad”.

An interjection may consist of a group of words, so there is an exclamation mark at the end of the group: “Ah dear me!”

Direct address is divided by a comma or double commas from the sentence to denote its independent character and a pause. For example: “But you have just what you like, Minnie and Margery”.

Often some other punctuation mark comes after the direct address: an exclamation mark, a question mark, a dash, or a colon, in exclamatory or interrogative sentences, before introductory words, enumeration or explanation: “Be careful, children!”

Introductory words are mainly set off by a comma or double commas from the rest of the sentence to denote their syntactical independence, their detached character, lowered tone, and a pause.

Introductory words are:

1) modal words: actually, apparently, certainly, evidently, indeed, likely, maybe, naturally, perhaps, please, possibly, probably, really, truly.

2) adverbs having a modal or connective meaning: accordingly, besides, consequently, finally, firstly, fortunately (unfortunately), hence, however, happily (unhappily), luckily (unluckily), moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, rather, secondly, still, therefore, undoubtedly: “I will not be long, perhaps”.

Introductory modal words are often attached to modal verbs (usually with a suppositional meaning): ‘could possibly’, ‘may perhaps’, ‘must certainly’, ‘should probably, ‘might as well’, etc., these groups expressing double modality, that is, a greater degree of uncertainty, doubt, probability, near certainty, etc. In such cases the modal words are never set off by any punctuation mark, being part of a compound modal predicate: “He could possibly manage, before the surgery, these two calls”.

Introductory phrases, like modal words, are usually set off by a comma or double commas. In case of an appositive explanatory meaning, and a longer pause, there may be a dash, double dashes, or brackets.

Introductory phrases are:

1) prepositional: after all, as a matter of fact, at least, by the by, by the way, for example, in any case, in fact, in general, in short, no doubt, of course, on the contrary, on the one hand, on the other hand.

2) infinitival: so to say, to be frank, to begin with, to be on the safe side, to be sure, to cut a long story short, to say nothing of, to tell the truth.

3) participial: briefly speaking, frankly speaking, generally speaking, humanly speaking. For example: “But on the other hand, you must not talk to me as if I were a fool”.

Some of the above-mentioned words and phrases are used as emphatic words and phrases with a convincing meaning. They are stressed in the sentence, pronounced in a high pitch, and are, consequently, not marked off by any punctuation mark: “Of course you have only one son”.

Words of affirmation: ‘yes’, ‘certainly’, and words of negation: ‘no’, ‘certainly’ are usually separated from the sentence by a comma to denote falling tone and a pause: “Then don’t you people matter?” “Yes, they matter”.

When ‘yes’, ‘certainly’ or ‘no’ stand alone, or when a longer pause is needed, they are followed by a semicolon or by a full-stop; by an exclamation mark to denote an exclamatory meaning, or by a question mark to denote interrogation: “Yes?” said Amos sharply. It was a cry as much as a question”.

In fluent speech ‘yes’ or ‘no’ may be closely connected with direct address, so there is no punctuation mark between them: “Oh! no sir! I couldn’t do that,” she replied quickly”.

An object, being closely connected with the predi­cate of the sentence (or with some verbal), is not set off by any punctuation mark: “He was doing a lot of harm”.

In case of enumeration, the objects are separated from each other by commas. The same in case of a repeated object used for emphasis: “Andrew stood up, instantly surrounded by his friends, by Con, Mary, the astounded Mr. Horner, by people he had never seen before”.

When objects are introduced in pairs, joined by the conjunction ‘and’, each pair is set off by a comma or double commas: “He took out a thermos and a small spirit stove, a hair brush, a shaving set and a tin of rations”.

A detached object (mostly prepositional) is set off by a comma (or double commas, if placed in the middle of the sentence) to denote a pause: “To Lewis, Morgan was the nearest human thing to the devil”.

In case of several objects, or object groups, there may also be semicolons between them to denote a longer pause: “He was accustomed to the East, to dark eyes, languishing, to curves enticingly disguised; to sex, mystery, teeth like pearls”.

A complex object is not set off by any punctuation mark: “I heard him talking the other day at a party”.

But if the second component of a complex object contains several parts, they are divided by commas: “He knew himself to be raw, inadequately trained, quite capable of making mistakes”.

An attribute is usually closely connected with the noun, or pronoun, it modifies (both in postposition and preposition), so there is no punctuation mark between them: “The colours of my eyes were a passport”.

Homogeneous attributes, including the last one, are divided by commas. The same in case of repetition for emphasis: “The thin, dark, smallish man, with a face rather like a monkey’s, grinned”.

Non-homogeneous attributes are not separated by any punctuation mark: “She herself was seated in the green plush armchair”.

An attributive group of words (or sentence) pre­ceding the modifying noun is hyphenated: “There is a sort of Oh-what-a-wicked-world-this-is-and-how-I-wish-I-could-do-something- to-make-it-better-and-nobler expres­sion about Montmorency”.

There are no such attributive groups in Russian.

An attribute expressed by a participial phrase is usually not set off from the noun it modifies by any punctuation mark: “The bench was on a little rise sloping down the river”.

Detached attributes mostly follow the words they modify, and are set off by a comma or double commas. Such attributes often go in pairs joined by the conjunction ‘and’: “Arthur Colum, tall, ugly and with a futile violence in every movement, threw the garden towel”.

Detached attributes preceding the nouns they modify may have a causal meaning, and are set off by commas as well. They may be adjectives, participles, and participial phrases: “Lost, bewildered, irritated, Andrew raced through the files – minutes of past meetings”.

A detached attributive participial phrase following the noun it modifies is set off by a comma or double commas: “He could have sighed with relief when Doctor Bramwell, presiding at the top of the table, viewed the cleared plates”.

A complex attribute is not separated from the noun it modifies by any punctuation mark: “The sound of people moving in the corridor brought him wearily to his feet”.

An attached (close or undetached) apposition, being closely connected with the noun it modifies, and preceding it, is not separated by any punctuation mark from the noun: “I want Doctor Griffiths to come immediately”.

A detached (or loose) apposition, following the noun it modifies, is set off by a comma or double commas (sometimes by a dash): “Trusk’s wife, a woman in her late forties, was still unusually handsome”.

An adverbial modifier of time, duration, or frequency placed at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle of a sentence, is normally not separated by any punctuation mark from the principal parts, being closely connected with the verb it modifies: “One tablespoon every three hours”.

When a lengthy adverbial modifier of time opens a sentence, it becomes emphatic, and is set off by a comma to indicate rising tone and a pause: “After a long season in the backwoods, nothing had pleased Roy more than Burton’s arguments”.

In case of several adverbial modifiers of time, commas divide them. Also, in case of repetition: “I never, never, never want to look a lobar pneumonia in the face again”.

But there is a hyphen before a repeated adverbial modifier.

An appositional adverbial modifier of time, having an explanatory or specifying meaning, is set off by a comma (or double commas): “On Saturday, the tenth of October, they moved their furniture from storage”.

A detached adverbial modifier of time usually comes in the middle (or at the end) of a sentence, and splits it, so it is set off by double commas (or a comma) to denote a pause and isolation: “All they need do would be to walk round me, and, after that, take their diploma”.

An adverbial modifier of time, expressed by a participial phrase, having a detached character, is set off by a comma (or double commas), whatever place it may occupy in the sentence: “Arriving here, he made up his mind to go in, and knocking at the door, he was greeted by Mrs. Gerhardt”.

A complex adverbial modifier of time, which is expressed by a Nominative Absolute (Participle) Construction, is always set off by a comma or double commas: “The presentation concluded, the lady of title shook hands with the gentleman fishmonger”.

An adverbial modifier of place or direction, whatever place it may occupy in the sentence, is usually not separated from the principal parts by any punctuation mark, being closely connected with them: “To the right were two small rocky mounds in the heart of the lake”.

An adverbial modifier of place may have a detached character, so a comma or double commas are used to set it off from the rest of the sentence, to denote rising tone and a pause: “Outside, it was a windy April day”.

In Russian this modifier is usually not detached.

An appositional adverbial modifier of place, having an explanatory or specifying meaning, is divided by double commas from the rest of the sentence: “Above, in my mother’s bedroom, the light was also burning”.

Before enumeration of adverbial modifiers of place there is usually a dash; there are commas between the adverbial modifiers: “Since babyhood she had been abroad but three times – to Italy, to Paris, to Pyrenees”.

An adverbial modifier of manner is usually closely linked to the verb or the verbal it modifies, so it is used without any punctuation mark in the sentence: “I will listen to you patiently”.

When an adverbial modifier of manner, expressed by a gerundial phrase, opens a sentence, it is marked off by a comma: “Without saying anything to Christine, he began to look for a convenient consulting-room up West”.

In case of repetition, or in case of several adverbial modifiers of manner, there are commas between them (in spite of a conjunction): “On her part Jennie had sincerely, deeply, truly learned to love this man”.

Before a repeated adverb there is usually a hyphen.

A complex adverbial modifier of manner, like a simple one, is not set off by any punctuation mark: “I couldn’t walk down the street without somebody turning to look at her”.

A detached adverbial modifier of manner is set off by a comma or double commas to denote isolation, lowered tone, and a pause: “But there was an ugly look on his cold, hard face, which spoke, icily, of unforgiving fury”.

Detached adverbial modifiers of manner often come in pairs joined by the conjunction ‘and’, so these pairs are enclosed in double commas: “Don’t be such a donkey, Bertie,” my father muttered to himself, mildly and cheerfully, imitating my mother’s constant reproof”.

A detached adverbial modifier of manner is often expressed by a participial phrase, which is always set off by a comma or double commas: “So Kurelovitch passed his day, moving from the brink of one crisis to another”.

An adverbial modifier of purpose, which is expressed by an infinitive, or introduced by the phrase-preposition ‘in order’ with an infinitive, is not separated from the other parts of the sentence by any punctuation mark: “He was just going for a walk to stretch his legs”.

An adverbial modifier of purpose introduced by the conjunction ‘so as’ with an infinitive is separated from the predicate by a comma to denote a pause: “She would have too much of her time lying down, so as to rest the heart”.

An adverbial modifier of purpose preceding the principal parts of the sentence is usually set off by a comma, especially when it is lengthy: “To reach the lecture hall, he had to walk almost half a mile”.

Between the predicate and the adverbial modifier of purpose there may occur some detached part of the sentence, which is set off by double commas: “We could not go round, knocking up cottagers and house-holders in the middle of the night, to know if they let apartments”.

A detached adverbial modifier of purpose is set off by a comma (or double commas): “Then the Lyttusi broke away silently from the Metaxis, to leave them exposed”.

A complex adverbial modifier of purpose is not separated from the predicate by any punctuation mark: “I put on my earphones for Captain Troin to speak to me”.

An adverbial modifier of result (or consequence) is never set off from the predicate by any punctuation mark, being closely connected with it: “The process was too complex to be carried out here”.

A complex adverbial modifier of result is not set off from the predicate by any punctuation mark: “The town was not large enough for one to stay quite anonymous”.

An adverbial modifier of cause (or reason) expressed by a prepositional phrase is usually introduced without any punctuation mark, being closely connected with the predicate. The prepositions are: ‘with’, ‘for’, ‘through’, ‘because of: “I was beginning to blink with sleepiness”.

Adverbial modifiers of cause introduced by the prepositions ‘because of, ‘for’, ‘what with’, ‘what between’ may have a detached character: “Hauptwanger, because of this very resistance, determined to win her to his mood and to outwit her father at the same time”.

Several adverbial modifiers of cause are separated by commas, and set off by a comma from the principal parts of the sentence: “What between tipping the man who had brought us home, and paying for the broken skulls, and for having been out four hours and a half, it cost us a pretty considerable number of week’s pocket-money, that sail”.

An adverbial modifier of cause expressed by a participial phrase has a detached character, and is set off by a comma or double commas: “He had gone there to keep warm, being unemployed”.

A complex adverbial modifier of cause is set off by a comma or double commas, when expressed by a Nominative Absolute Participle Construction; when expressed by a gerundial (or half-gerundial) complex, it is usually not set off by any punctuation mark: “The night being hot, they carried the suit out”.

An adverbial modifier of condition in post-position introduced by the prepositional group ‘but for’ or ‘in case of is, as a rule, not separated by any punctuation mark from the other parts of the sentence, being connected with them, and needing no pause: “What luck that she had dropped her handkerchief! He would never have known her but for that”.

An adverbial modifier of condition placed at the head of the sentence is usually set off by a comma to denote rising tone and a pause.

An adverbial modifier of condition may have a detached character, so it is set off by a comma to denote falling tone and a pause: “We could have finished the Metaxists by now, but for this large war”.

An adverbial modifier of comparison referring to a verb is usually closely connected with it, and not set off by any punctuation mark. This modifier is usually introduced by the conjunctions ‘as if’, ‘as though’, and the preposition ‘like’: “She [the car] goes like a bird”.

A lot of adverbial modifiers of comparison have become set expressions, and are not set off by any punctuation mark from the verbs or adjectives they are compared with. These modifiers are mostly introduced by the conjunction ‘as’: “Our Else was still as stone”.

An adverbial modifier of comparison following an adjective (or adverb) in the comparative degree is not separated from it by any punctuation mark. This modifier is introduced by the conjunction ‘than’: “I could understand it no more than the gossip of the birds”.

An adverbial modifier of comparison following an adjective (or an adverb) in the positive degree, and introduced by the connective groups ‘as … as’, ‘not so … as’, is not set off by any punctuation mark: “Why, it’s as simple as falling off a log”.

An adverbial modifier of comparison has – often a detached character, so it is set off by a comma or double commas to denote a pause. This modifier is introduced by the conjunctions ‘as if’, ‘as though’ and the preposition ‘like’: “All of a sudden they fled, as though in panic. I find it interesting, like a detective story”.

In case of a longer pause the detached character of an adverbial modifier of comparison may be marked by a dash: “Oh, they come and go – like the snow”.

An adverbial modifier of attending circumstances is normally set off by a comma or double commas, as it has a detached, independent character. It is usually expressed by a Nominative Absolute (Participle) Construction, or by the Absolute Construction introduced by the preposition ‘with’. It is a complex adverbial modifier: “The squire and Dr. Livesey sat, pipe in hand, on either side of a bright fire”.

An adverbial modifier of degree is so closely connected with the adjective, adverb, or verb it modifies that it is never separated from it by any punctuation mark: “The evening train from Cleveland was very late”.

Adverbial modifiers of concession introduced by the prepositions ‘notwithstanding’, ‘despite’ and the prepositional group ‘in spite of’ are set off by a comma from the principal parts of the sentence: “We started, certainly, but in spite of the hot sun and the staring daylight, the pirates no longer ran separate and shouting through the wood”.

Adverbial modifiers of exclusion (or substitution) introduced by the prepositions ‘except’, ‘save’, ‘but’, ‘instead of, are not set off by any punctuation mark, if they are closely connected with the words they restrict or specify: “By ten o’clock all but four of the eighteen hundred citizens of the town were in bed”.

When an adverbial modifier of exclusion has a detached character, it is set off by a comma, or enclosed in double commas: “Really, save for an occasional visit to the office, he seemed to spend a great deal of his time there”.