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when to put a comma before 'which', in plain English... ...

Posted By: () on 2009-06-05
In Reply to: comma before which? - Loves To Type

Some nonessential clauses begin with who, whom, which or that and include a verb.
Put a comma before those.

Example: The house, which is a very old house, is situated on 45-92 Grand Street.

Consider the commas as 'hooks.' The clause 'which is a very old house' could be 'unhooked' and dropped out of the sentence because it is not necessary to identify where the house is situated. It is merely extra information and not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence.

In all other cases do NOT put a comma.
Acc to my experience there are more cases that do NOT require a comma before 'which.' Also, the trend nowadays is to minimize the usage of commas and hyphens.




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when to put a comma before 'which', in plain English... ...
Some nonessential clauses begin with who, whom, which or that and include a verb.
Put a comma before those.

Example: The house, which is a very old house, is situated on 45-92 Grand Street.

Consider the commas as 'hooks.' The clause 'which is a very old house' could be 'unhooked' and dropped out of the sentence because it is not necessary to identify where the house is situated. It is merely extra information and not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence.

In all other cases do NOT put a comma.
Acc to my experience there are more cases that do NOT require a comma before 'which.' Also, the trend nowadays is to minimize the usage of commas and hyphens.


Replace semicolon with comma, remove comma
.
of course they speak english, with an accent but they speak British-English quite well.
And I can't speak Indian so I guess they have an edge don't they?
I say no comma...sm
I seem to recall learning that no comma was necessary when the 2 adjectives described different things. Since pleasant describes her personality and elderly describes general age, no comma necessary. If it said "A pleasant, jovial lady" then you'd use the commas since both describe personality. I think it's easiest to do as someone said above and ask yourself if you would or could put an "and" between them, or if you feel a pause is necessary in the sentence to separate thoughts. Although you possibly could put an "and" there, most people wouldn't say "pleasant and elderly" and I don't feel a pause is warranted there, so I think it's fine without it.
comma
In #2, it's because "multiple slcerosis cannot be exluded" is a whole sentence. Not sure about the first one.
comma before which?
Could someone please clarify for me when I need to use a comma before which? I looked it up in BOS but I need someone to explain it to me in plain English. Also, does anyone know if there is a feature in AutoCorrect to change 1 space between sentences into 2? TIA!
no comma after domed,
nm
WAS and Dr. Smith's, (comma)
just my 2 cents, but I think it's right.
comma usage
QA is correct; the commas do belong there, and it would be wrong to omit them. The first comma is a series of adjectives; the other comma is to separate two conjoined sentences.
I would put a comma but definitely not a semicolon.

Omit comma in your example.

Response to comma
Bless you. .I thought I was missing a "mandatory" BOS style change or something.  Thank you so much!!!
do you have a comma key on your keyboard?......nm
nm
I agree - comma if it's informal nd first name is used
and colon if they use the last name. (Dear Dr. Martin: or Dear John,). That's what I've always been told.
a comma doesn't belong there!
im glad you haven't done it after!!! :)
My best one says inverted comma for quotation marks.
x
Can some explain the grammar rule for comma use in --sm

in the following sentences?


1.  Stable, broad-based posterior disc bulge effacing the ventral aspect of the thecal sac with resultant mild to moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.  Stable associated mild facet arthropathy.  --comma after small


2.  This is felt to most likely represent nonspecific demyelination, and multiple sclerosis cannot be excluded.  --comma after and


Was counted off for these by QA as 'necessary commas' but do not know why.


very bad syntax and is your keyboard missing the comma key?...m
nm
I'd lose the comma after the male and replace with "who is".
Otherwise, the sentence is fragmented.  Do you have carte blanche to edit for clarity and style purposes?
Now THAT'S just plain scary!!!!

Yes, but sometimes they are just plain lazy sm
I have a couple of MT friends. I make about twice what they do, but I "work" roughly the same hours they do. They do a lot of whining about wishing they made what I made. When the work is there to be done, they tell me about the work piled up, but how they don't feel motivated. By the time they get motivated, the work is gone. Then it is whining about finding a new job, but when contacted, they can't get motivated to test and one is always wanting me to look over her tests to see if I think she will pass (I saw that her work was very poor indeed) and I have only done it once, which was enough.

Working at home is not for everyone. It takes a lot to park your buns in front of the computer when the dishes are in the sink and the laundry is piled up, or the kids, DH or whomever wants your time. It is SO EASY to not work. I get distracted by the housework, especially today because my daughter was home from college this weekend and every single coffee cup and bowl are dirty! I did her laundry, not mine over the weekend...so I feel distracted.

The OP is right. Use the answering machine or voicemail, don't answer the door (I never do) and get down to it. If you are like me and the housework drives you nuts, you can do what I do. I type 3 reports and go do a short, under 5-minute task, and sit back down. I find I can get the kitchen 90% clean in a day by doing this and I catch up my laundry this way too. Then I can focus because I like a really clean house to support me when I am working. It is a support because I don't think about it when it is clean.

My last rant is about those $tupid TV ads about working at home as an MT. Gimme a break! It is NOT like that.
I am against a union. It is plain what they have done sm
On the upside, they are great for looking out for the interests of the worker. They are responsible for helping to pull this country out of poverty post WWII, and for helping to implement laws which protect the health and safety of the worker.

In more recent times, they are pushed companies offshore. Automobile workers...they build so many of them out of the country. The plants and companies that don't employee union workers are prospering! They are cars they make are more affordable and they are SELLING THEM while the Big Three are asking for our money in the form of a bale out!

Closer to home, the Kroger outlets in Colorado, where I lived for many years, is union. Safeway is about half and half and the rest are nonunion. The end result has been job cuts at Kroger in every single department and cutting of hours for everyone. They have closed stores too. Their largest competitors are those who are nonunion and Walmart where workers are paid less than a living wage. The union has helped to push Walmart into the grocery equation.

Because we don't have leverage, we have no way to unionize and I am not in favor of it. If you want to make a difference in this industry, let us mount a campaign with our representatives to make it illegal to shift the transcription of medical offshore, or at very least to tax the beejeebers out the practice. THAT would protect our jobs. Because, quite frankly, there are not enough qualified MTs in the US to the work available...wages will have to go up, as will benefits, as companies vie for the best MTs.
Plain rude

It seems to be a matter of manners and training.  It's just as inconsiderate and rude for this doctor to change his/her mind halfway through a dictation as it is to change your order at McD's halfway through the line.  IMHO, customer service has gotten out of hand in both industries, expecting smiles in return for just plain rudeness.  Maybe if MTs and the order processors at McD's were allowed to be more honest with the poorly-trained customers, there would be some changes.  Otherwise, these customers think its okay to act this way.


 


 


a beautiful man! plain and simple.
and a great actor.
A lot of those Guru projects seem just plain
xx
That is PLAIN OLD WRONG. Other MTs can write their own, just like you did. SM
Why the h*ll would you want to give your own "inventions" away? Let them DO THEIR OWN.
I don't return....plain and simple....and if someone ask about their
When you do not return...that's where it hurts the business. They NEED our business in order to stay afloat!!
I like plain ol' Dell or Logitech.
I need a keyboard with a light touch, but I also like one that is clicky, if you know what I mean by that.
TiredMT and just plain tired -

more pay - so it doesn't take so many hours.  You may be a bit late - nice try to the both of you.  YKW (you know who)


No excuses need. He's an alcoholic, plain and
simple. Don't like it now. Never have. Don't have to stay, can make it on my own. I've done it before and could do it again. However, I choose to stay. I'm not giving up on him. He's an alcoholic and I'm a teetotaler. Don't like drinking, never have, never will. Love him, always have, always will.
and just plain out right dealing with folks!
x
Actually, they just changed it recently to plain
x
Plain and simple answer: No.

That is ridiculously low pay. Even if you are the fastest Transcriptionist in the world and you work 16 hours a day, you still would barely be able to make ends meet. Do you really want to live like that?


If you can do this job part-time so that you will have the experience to put on your resume, go for it. But constantly be on the lookout for something that pays better and when you find it, grab it.


You people are just plain E-less! hahahahaha!

 






 


Plain and simple burnout.

I used to carry two pagers for two hospitals all by myself, 24/7.  They went off maybe a couple of times a month.  The chore of being on-call is now shared with a few other people but now the after-hour pages come in nonstop and I don't know why.  Me thinks some deal was made to keep an account or something but I really am just pulling that answer out of my tuckas.  It's gotta be costing the hospitals a mint to have us at their beck and call like that....either that or they got a really sweet deal. 


The other issue is it used to be a much more laid back environment.  You logged on, did your work, and you were left alone.  You kept an eye out for stats yourself and took care of them, because you are there because you are responsible. 


Now you log on, strike up this thing called Instant Messenger, and sit there at your desk working your alloted shift but can't get up because you must be present if you get an IM for a stat...even though you are already on it because it's your job to be.  Want to take a break?  Yeah, sure, once you finish up this stat.  Oh wait, I've got another one here that needs to be done super duper stat....you know what I'm talkin' about too, lurkers.


Ya know the movie, Office Space?  I'm always referring to it with this company.  You know the scene with the TPS reports, where the fella has 4 bosses telling him the same darned thing even though you already know your job?  That's what I'm dealing with and, yeah, I've been reduced to the mumbling dude who worries about his stapler.


I don't blame my bosses at all, but the micromanaging thing is out of control and I have no idea why it has come to be, because it wasn't like this before.  The days of a happier Hayseed with high line counts and company pride are long gone.  I don't know who works there anymore as the folks I knew have all left, and that's made an impact as well.  Ask for new scenery because of burnout, and all you get is a strokin', nothing more. 


 


You can make it as plain or fancy as you like

From "Mary Smith, Inc." to "Transcription International" or whatever....


 


Just plain sick and tired
All I can say is I am just plain sick and tired of MT work with no chance of leaving for many years. Sick of burping, farting, snuffling, mush mouthed ignorant jerks who pass for doctors. Honestly, as stupid as they sound, I have no clue how they got through high school, let alone medical school. Working for peanuts and getting nowhere. The good days at this job are fewer and fewer anymore! The companies are making it harder and harder to make a living at this.
The plain and simple truth is
if we push, they will shove, and they will shove us right out of our jobs. Down the line sure it might help someone when they get tired of outsourcing, but we would all be out of jobs before then. I for one cannot afford that.

We can get mad, yell, scream, stomp our feet and demand better pay, then start looking for another job. We have no leverage and we are only one piece of the puzzle, not to mention the most dispensable piece.
I feel left out! Nobody picked on my errant comma that shoulda been a semi colon.
x
that was just plain ugly, sorry I read that post (NM)
xx
I just speak plain ole Texas vernacular....sm
And I don't wanna hear one mean word about it. When I was transcribing, I typed in classical, perfectly grammatical American English, but now I post (and talk) just like I please. :D :D
Are you PT, 3rd shift, negligent to your children, or just plain dillusional? SM
I worked FT with a newborn and had a hospital surgical account. My top priority was to see that all of the preoperative H&Ps were transcribed by 7:00 a.m. I never knew if I would be waking up to 14 or 40, so I would start my day already sleep deprived at 4:00 a.m.

One of my all time worst work at home memories was when I was on my last stat report around 6:50 a.m. and I could hear my little angle crying because was hungry and of course wanted her bottle. I just sat there for a few seconds and tried to determine which of the two top priorities in my life I should take care of. Could I run to the baby and put my job in jeopardy or sit there and pretend not to hear her. I was a new mom by the way. So what I did was try to stay focused, riddled with guilt, then proceeded to transcribe the rest of the report through so many tears, I could hardly see my monitor. THAT was THE worst day of my at-home transcription career.

I don't care what anyone says, without the structured setting of an office environment, working at home is very hard. Just ask yourself how many people, family, friends, or otherwise have called you during your workday that wouldn't dare call you in an office OUTSIDE the home.

My goofy sister called me from her job when I was employee status and had the nerve to ask me to round up her horse that had gotten out and put it up. I told her I would have to clock out just the same as she would. Needless to say, the horse enjoyed a day of freedom.

My daughter is 11 now so my life as an MT is 1000 easier. However, when she was ages 1 to 4, in order to keep her home with me working FT, would have been cruel, negligent, and not to mention dangerous. So I found a wonderful private setter to keep her for 3 to 4 hours a day and she actually loved the interaction with the other two children. In fact, they are all still close friends to this day.

Point is...you cannot be structured in a nonstructured environment. This is why flexibility is SO important.
Should I chalk your post up to just plain old ignorance, the fact that you can't read or SM
are you just plain stupid!
Samtel does this all the time. Pretty sure she/he is foreign because of the plain stupidity in it a
x
on a diet...hamburger plain, unsweetened applesauce, tomato juice...yum NOT!
but it's working....yippee!  So much for the tastebuds!
I agree, I too doubt it was PayPal, someone hacked your account , plain and simple - sm
It can be done, especially if you ever responded to any spam emails. I had my debit card hacked at BJs, someone broke into the main frame and stole thousands of credit cards #, etc. They spent about $800 at Wal-Mart, PetsMart and for gas, bounced stuff in our checking account, etc. Since it was a VISA debit card, I had the money back in 24 hours after I filled out the fraud forms at the back. --but no one every physically stole my card or even had my PIN #. I am sure savvy computer hackers can do it , OR someone there at PayPal hacked and sold off a list---but I highly doubt they deliberately withdrew funds. I would have found out from the company that did the charge ***PAYPAL - THE XYX Co." where the mystery item shipped....doubt it was to your address.....That happened to me with a credit card, tons of stuff that I supposedly bought $800 of stuff from Victoria's Secret made its way to NY, not PA where I was living--interesting. Again was refunded promptly. PayPal may have been lax at how they handled it granted, but I am sure with a bit more persistance and going through the right channels you would have had it resolved a bit more promptly and to your satisfaction.
so find a different profession where you'll make more money - plain and simple. nm
x
Belly button rings just look plain nasty on older woman, trying to act young.
s
Totally up to your client as to a plain underline, a bracketed space, blank w/the time on the
s
English Ivy all over
It's in our back yard, couldn't stop it from growing if we tried. It wraps around our mailbox, which is actually very pretty.... it doesn't even die during our winters here. But it is woody, unless you get some of the ends farthest away from the dirt. Look closely and you'll see small roots sticking out from the stalk. You can either put those directly in dirt, put in water, or rooting hormone helps it take off faster. We're in the south and that stuff grows everywhere. I would give it away gladly just to cut a lot of it away. Good luck!
English
is NOT the official language. There is no official language. True, the majority speak English as their first language but it is not OUR language yet.