One of the most common punctuation errors in high school is the comma before the “what”, “how” and in other words in the constructions that are attached with them. This is because some authors of school textbooks refer to all constructions with these words in comparative terms.
In fact, “how” can act as a union or particle. And such a design is not always a comparative turnover. In some cases, it is a circumstance.
The design acts as:
- Predicted: The whole world as an exciting adventure .
- Definitions or applications: Crocodile, as a rare animal, is listed in the Red Book .
- A comparative turn or circumstances: Life seethed like a waterfall of passions .
- Introductory design: I decided to change my shirt or shirt, as my mother would say .
- Accessory part: Living in the countryside is as difficult as describing the smell of freshly cut grass in words .
The difference in comparative speed and other combinations
A comma before “how” is placed in the following cases:
1) If the combination means exclusively likening, that is, it means “like” and no longer has any other meanings. Such a design is called a comparative turn, and in the proposal it is a circumstance. For example: Vasily, as a hero, defended his friend. But it is necessary to pay attention to such a moment that the comparative turnover is not distinguished by commas if it is in the middle of the sentence. In this case, the part of the sentence to which this construction belongs is emphasized. For example: At the ball, Anna, in love as a passionate girl, looked into the eyes of her chosen one. In this sentence, the comparative turnover is not separated from the “in love” by a comma only because these words have a semantic connection. If there is a comma before the word “how” , then it will turn out “looked like a passionate lioness” , and the sentence has a completely different meaning.
2) If the combination is used together with the union “and”. This construction is also called comparative turnover and appears in the sentence as a circumstance: Peter treated me, like everyone in the class, well.
Applications
In order to prevent another mistake, you need to decide which member of the proposal is the combination of interest to us, with what words it is associated:
1) In the case when the words “so,” “that,” “such,” “such,” and so many others are used before the combination. Such constructions are applications, and in the proposal they are defined. For example: Movies such as horror or thrillers, he usually did not watch.
2) The combination matters causality. Usually it is an application, and in the sentence acts as a definition. For example: The doctor, as a good specialist, paid a lot of attention to sick patients . This proposal shows the reason for the combination of "good specialist . " The doctor paid a lot of attention to sick patients, because he was a good specialist. But do not confuse the application with a comparative turnover. Comparative turnover is the assimilation of one subject to another. And an application is when an object is called in a completely different way .
3) The Union is part of the expression "nothing else"; "None other . " For example: This event is nothing more than a pre-planned action. The construction given in this sentence is a nominal compound predicate. And we see that this member of the sentence is highlighted with a comma.
Introductory Constructions
In some sentences, combinations are not members of a sentence, but are introductory words. They must be highlighted with commas on both sides.
1) The union is combined with the following words: “now”, “now”, “before”, “always”, “usually”, “exclusion”, “rule”, “on purpose” and others. These combinations act as introductory words that are not any members of the sentence. For example: They, as if on purpose, were not in a hurry to go home.
2) The Union is part of the introductory proposal. For example: As Katerina correctly noted, the road was especially difficult. This sentence is simple, despite the presence of two grammatical foundations. It’s just complicated by the introductory design. In this case, the construction in which there is a given union is an introductory sentence. The narrator calls the source of the information. The combination is highlighted with commas.
Comparative turnover and partial supply clause
Before deciding whether a comma is needed before the “how,” you need to understand exactly what the difference is between a comparative turnover and an incomplete subordinate clause. It can be seen in the following example: Nowhere have I felt as good as at home . In this case, the second part is an incomplete subordinate clause. Also, do not confuse the relative part with the subordinate component, which is a one-part sentence: To write stories is as difficult as to describe the sound of music in words. The second part is a one-part impersonal subordinate clause.
Communication with the predicate
There are many examples where the comma before the “how” is not set:
1) The combination is part of the predicate: Time flew very fast, a day like one hour. The comparative particle is part of the predicate and is emphasized with it.
2) The word has a semantic connection with the predicate: The meeting flew by in an instant that I did not have time to come to my senses. In this case, the comma before the “how” is not put, because the whole combination with it is a predicate, and the word itself is a comparative particle. Without it, the predicate would lose its true meaning. This award was like a gift from above . This combination also acts as a predicate, because without it the sentence completely loses its meaning. And the comma before the “how” is precisely why it is not set.
Persistent expressions
The comma “before ” is not put before the union if it is part of a stable expression. There are a great many such examples. After the meeting, we gained confidence in tomorrow, because everything went like clockwork . In this case, the combination is part of the compound predicate, which in this sentence is expressed by phraseological unit. Life needs to be valued and cherished like the apple of an eye. The combination is also part of the predicate, which is a persistent expression. That is why the use of various punctuation marks is unacceptable here.
A few more features of the use of punctuation marks ...
To determine correctly, before the “how” you need a comma or not, you need to pay attention to some more nuances. Does the word “not” stand before this word , or such words: “simply”, “exactly”, “exactly”, “completely” or “almost” . If they are used, then you do not need to put a comma. In this case, such a design will be called a comparative turnover, and the proposal will be a circumstance. For example: Nikolai always behaved with dignity, he acted just like a real man. If the combination means "in the role" , then the comma is also not put: He spoke at the meeting as a mathematics teacher. In this proposal, it is understood that the person acted as a teacher of mathematics. In fact, it may not be such.
Thus, we see that there are quite a few nuances in the use of a comma. Particular attention should be paid to them, and then serious errors can be easily and simply avoided.