1

It makes you consider the difference between driving down that road in a car, versus riding down that road on a bicycle.

(Is the comma here accurate?) What would be the main clause and the term for this type of sentence? 'The difference between/contrast type''.

  • It's not which path you choose, it's how you'll reach your destination that matters.

Why is this usage not considered a comma splice?

Improve this question
3
  • Sentences that start off by saying A is not B frequently continue by saying that A is in fact C, and there's a specific intonation curve that joins the sentence. That intonation curve is different from the full stop intonation that the semicolon uses, and is in fact one of the non-full-stop intonations that the comma is used to indicate. Since a comma splice is a comma used instead of a full stop (period or semicolon), and this is not an example of full stop, so it's not a comma splice.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jul 18, 2018 at 21:22
  • As a native BrE speaker I have my doubts about "the difference between... versus..." construction however punctuated. I would expect "between X and Y". If I wanted to use "versus" I can't see why I would put a comma before it, as in "Did you see the England versus Croatia game?" not "... the England, versus Croatia game?"
    – JeremyC
    Commented Jul 18, 2018 at 21:49
  • It makes me, for one, consider the difference between that construction and anything in natural English or, come to that, translation. If your sole interest is the comma, the car-and-bicycle example doesn’t need one, and neither does it suffer from the one you cited. In your path-destination passage my own view is that the comma could at least as well be a colon, but neither would work nearly as well as a semi-colon.
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Jul 20, 2018 at 20:28

0

Reset to default

You must log in to answer this question.

Browse other questions tagged .