Punctuation Puzzle

Status
Not open for further replies.

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
In a newspaper today, I read a sentence similar to the following:

I visited Paris, France's Eiffel Tower.

Is the punctuation correct?

Thank you.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Ugh!

That screams for a rewrite.

I face a similar problem often. For legal reasons, I have to write essentially the equivalent of "Using English (UE)" whenever I mention my company the first time. People send me stuff that reads "UE's expertise in ...." and I have to figure out how to write something that's not "Using English (UE)'s expertise in..."

Anyway, same basic problem.

The Eiffel Tower of Paris, France.
 

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Ugh!

That screams for a rewrite.

I face a similar problem often. For legal reasons, I have to write essentially the equivalent of "Using English (UE)" whenever I mention my company the first time. People send me stuff that reads "UE's expertise in ...." and I have to figure out how to write something that's not "Using English (UE)'s expertise in..."

Anyway, same basic problem.

The Eiffel Tower of Paris, France.



***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Good morning, Ms. Barbara D.

Thank you so much for the informative reply.

I had read a similar sentence published in a free newspaper intended for twenty- and thirtysomethings (I am definitely not the intended demographic).

I guess the whippersnapper who wrote that line was not schooled in the finer points of English.

I admit, however, that I really like it.

(a) It's short and snappy.

(b) I guess we could treat "Paris, France" as a unit, thus deserving of the apostrophe.

(c) As you said, however, this would never do in serious, formal writing.

Thanks again for helping me to better understand my language.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
In a newspaper today, I read a sentence similar to the following:

I visited Paris, France's Eiffel Tower.

Is the punctuation correct?

Thank you.
Written and punctuated like that, it reads like Paris is France's Eiffel Tower.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top