Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kerstin]

Could you tell me about your family, if you don't mind?
Is the punctuation correct?

Thanks

[CP]

Yes, perfect.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[kerstin]

What if the sentence part of the sentence is super long?

Thanks

[CP]

You mean, how to punctuate "if you don't mind?" at the end of a very long sentence? Usually a comma will do, but you also might try a dash. That would make the clear distinction between the long, involved part of the sentence and the question at the end.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[iitimone7]

kerstin - it all depends on what the speaker is trying to say, and how he or she says it. the fact that the sentence is long has little to do with how much punctuation is in it. longer sentences generally have more punctuation than short sentences...let me show you an example.

jack, sat, on the, log. - this sentence does not need any punctuation in the middle - there is no longer a meaning to this sentence by breaking it up with comas. jack sat on the log.

jack sat on the log, while combing his hair, in the middle of the yard. in this sentence, the middle part 'while combing his hair' is simply telling the audience what he is doing while he sat on the log. in this sentence, the middle part can be deleted and the sentence still tells what jack is doing, but not as detailed. jack sat on the log in the middle of the yard. there are other reasons to use punctuation in a sentence, but this is a simple explanation to your question.

does that help? iitimone7