8
votes
"Me knowing that he was... " Is "me" the subject?
The 'sentence' you asked about has no overall subject. It’s an example of artistic license where the rules of grammar get broken, not due to grammatical incompetence, but for some literary reason, ...
- 12.9k
7
votes
"Us Americans" or "We Americans"?
To address the points that @FumbleFingers raises in his bounty:
Merriam-Webster Unabridged offers these observations in its definition of the pronominal us (albeit not without some nose-holding, and ...
- 40.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Appositive with no definite article
Certain phrases that function like titles can be used without the definite article in certain contexts. See Araucaria's answer to Why “be king”, not “be a king”?
This usage is most commonly ...
- 81.9k
5
votes
"Me knowing that he was... " Is "me" the subject?
Note that I've expanded the quote to include some more context to make it clear that Faulkner is quoting someone relating an incident. Faulkner is reproducing the patterns of somewhat-convoluted ...
- 44.7k
5
votes
"Us Americans" or "We Americans"?
I agree with the rule of thumb described elsewhere which recommends using "we Americans" or "us Americans" depending on whether the context calls for the subject or object pronoun. ...
- 17.9k
5
votes
An introductory appositive phrase?
A non-defining renaming appositive (†and that is the default reading here, even though there were obviously two grandfathers) is a parenthetical, and of the five types of offsetting punctuation ...
- 83.4k
4
votes
Accepted
How to list people with a short explanation
The current punctuation is certainly wrong because his girlfriend is undistinguishable from the other items in the enumeration. One solution is to join Bob and Christine:
Andy, Bob with his ...
- 385
4
votes
Accepted
Does the appositive in this sentence need to be set off with commas?
Commas are used to set off an appositive when the appositive can only refer to a specific item. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 5:21,123; 6:22-24)
Examples:
Mary's son, Jesus, is thought by many to be ...
- 7,126
4
votes
What does the concept of "apposition" mean precisely?
In one of the other answers to the question in the title @herisson says "as far as I can see there is not in fact a unanimous consensus among linguists on the definition of terms like "...
- 33.1k
4
votes
Why is there no article before "key" in "key amongst them being ..."?
Key here is an adjective not a noun, meaning important or crucial in achieving something.
Example: "When it comes to learning a new language, practice is key"
- 51
4
votes
Accepted
Do Temporal Adjuncts Function as External Adjuncts in a Noun Phrase, or Is This Another Grammatical Construct?
Tinker Hatfield, today a legend of the Nike design team, put all his efforts into redesigning the iconic Jordan sneaker.
There is not enough, syntactically, for me to be certain about this, but I ...
- 47.3k
3
votes
Accepted
In this sentence, should there be a comma after "at the table"?
Typing on his laptop is a (non-simple, non-attributive) participial phrase, which is usually separated from the rest of its clause by means of commas. I don't believe this is 100% compulsory, but it ...
3
votes
How to differentiate appositive clause from a relative clause?
Compare:
Jupiter, which revolves around the Sun once every 11.86 Earth years, has a prominent red spot.
And
Jupiter, which is the largest planet in the solar system, has a prominent red spot.
...
- 419
3
votes
Abounding, abound, in abundance
"Which have been in abundance in Europe" is an adjective clause, not an appositive.
It makes sense in your sentence, but is a little verbose. I always prefer to abound over to be in abundance, so I ...
- 2,076
3
votes
Combining m-dash and comma
Your sentence starts with a parallel series of four actions ("hopped off," "took off," "ran into," and "started swimming towards") that the triathlete (or whatever) performs. But then it adds a couple ...
- 163k
3
votes
using comma within the appositive
Yes, it's correct.
However, some people could think it was confusing. Stylistically, you can always use different punctuation to indicate the appositive if the commas concern you:
The factory ...
- 38k
3
votes
Is the noun modifier "among them a portable anti-tank rocket and a wheel-mounted recoilless rifle" an appositive or absolute phrase?
According to Huddleston & Pullum (2002), it is a verbless clause acting as a supplement (pp. 1265-1268, 1359-1360); essentially it's similar to that in your previous question, but we don't have a ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
"Us Americans" or "We Americans"?
If you would normally put "us" in the sentence, say "us Americans."
If you would normally put "we" in the sentence, say "we Americans."
Examples (recent quotes ...
- 21.5k
2
votes
A good attitude, that's what counts. --- Good attitude is an appositive?
As John Lawler states in the comments:
This is called "Left-Dislocation", and moves the subject to the beginning of the sentence, in a constituent of its own, followed by the rest of the ...
2
votes
Discontinuous noun phrase and apposition involving object complements
This was a fun one - but be warned my stab of an answer is about as precise as a nine-pound hammer and a rubber nail...(the last time I actually did any vertical analysis was when I was half my ...
- 286
2
votes
Accepted
"among them N, N, N"
If you look at the usage in context of the whole paragraph, it looks like the author used "among them, N, N, and N" as a style choice. The author is listing several items within different categories: ...
- 286
2
votes
Are the commas here correct? "...a vaccine was finally discovered by an American scientist, Jonas Salk, in 1955..."
Jonas Salk is in apposition. Commas are correct here, preferred by me to the alternatives, dashes or parentheses.
2
votes
Are the commas here correct? "...a vaccine was finally discovered by an American scientist, Jonas Salk, in 1955..."
It has nothing to do with names. In this case, it just happens that there is a name between the commas.
The real reason and purpose is that there is a parenthetical part in the sentence. The ...
- 37.4k
2
votes
Are the commas here correct? "...a vaccine was finally discovered by an American scientist, Jonas Salk, in 1955..."
Like Peter Shor said, because it's badly written.
It's definitely distracting to have a needless appositive phrase just before another needful one, with the date hanging confusedly between them. That ...
- 10.3k
2
votes
Why is it "BTC wallet's password" instead of "the password of a BTC wallet"?
Because it's terser
Modern English prizes brevity and clarity in expression. There's no reason to elongate the phrase into the password of the BTC wallet of the company and several reasons not to.
...
- 10.3k
2
votes
What punctuation should I use?
Because this is ambiguous in writing — albeit not in speech due to intonation:
?Hester needs to be more grateful and focus on her baby, Pearl, and her sewing.
You should therefore resolve your ...
- 135k
2
votes
Commas surrounding a name
The commas indicate an appositive: an elucidation: “James, the baker”, as opposed to an exonym. See also epergesis: Interposing an apposition, often in order to clarify what has just been stated. "I ...
- 1,503
2
votes
Accepted
What is it called when an interjection (aside) is insert into a sentence?
Interject means to insert between other elements; interpose.
An interjection, therefore, is a word, phrase, or sound said as an aside to express emotions such as: disgust, joy, surprise, etc. ...
- 50k
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