Main dash or comma. A(,) the main thing

eriksol: Sergey, hello! I'm not entirely sure about the correct punctuation in this sentence. I would like to know your opinion.

“Gorin didn’t like to reflect, but apparently(,) the stars have not aligned correctly lately: he has become nervous and twitchy, although he has a career as a successful lawyer, a house, a car, wealth, and most importantly(,) his pride and love - his son Stas( ,) in the end had to make him happy.”

Thanks in advance!
Best regards, Eric.

Correct (in terms of punctuation): Gorin did not like to reflect, but, apparently, the stars have been aligned wrong lately: he has become nervous and twitchy, although the career of a successful lawyer, house, car, wealth, and most importantly, his pride and love - his son Stas [eventually] were supposed to make him happy.

Introductory word apparently(meaning “probably”) is isolated on both sides. Adverb does not require commas apparently(meaning “noticeably”), which is now outdated and found mainly in classical literature. See, for example, “The Queen of Spades” by A. S. Pushkin:

Hermann opened a seven. Everyone gasped. Chekalinsky was apparently embarrassed. He counted out ninety-four thousand and handed it to Hermann.

The comma after Stas can only refer to the turnover in the end, the identification of which depends on the meaning, which in this context is not entirely obvious. This phrase is an introductory combination and is isolated on both sides if it expresses impatience, irritation of the speaker (which is unlikely) or indicates a related statement as a final, summarizing one: they say, who is who, and the son must certainly please dad (but a similar meaning already clearly passed on and most importantly).

Commas are not needed if the revolution is in the end acts as a member of a sentence with the meaning “after all, finally”: he said goodbye for a long time and finally left. But such an interpretation is also doubtful, because the author emphasizes that the hero’s concern contradicts his external well-being, which is designed to give happiness in the first place, and not on a residual basis. Thus, the meaning of the phrase remains vague, and we invite you to decide for yourself whether it needs to be isolated and used at all, based on your creative intent.

There are other semantic inaccuracies in the sentence. Let's say verb reflect means “to analyze one’s feelings and experiences,” and a nervous and twitchy person usually has no time for that. Instead of “career of a successful lawyer” it is better to write successful career as a lawyer, because a successful lawyer is not a profession. Elements of the sweet life like Houses And cars themselves indicate a good income, so the word prosperity looks redundant when compared to them.

Finally, the structure jumps around a bit: he didn't like to reflect But...he became nervous Although... It turns out two independent oppositions, although in both cases we are talking about the same thing. It is advisable to rearrange the sentence so that the reader does not lose the thread of the story. For example:

Apparently, the stars have been aligned differently lately: the usually balanced Gorin has become nervous and twitchy, although a successful career as a lawyer, a house, a car, and most importantly, his pride and love - his son Stas - should definitely have made him happy.

You often read news and large serious materials from reputable, respected publications on the Internet and catch yourself thinking: who is the author of these illiterate lines, where did they study, who taught them to use written Russian so ineptly. In addition to , a mistake in which, unfortunately, even specialist philologists make, many errors in the field of syntax and punctuation began to be found in the texts of would-be journalists.

Simply put, the question of where to put a comma, whether it is needed here or not, and if it is needed, then why, causes enormous difficulties for most writers. One gets the impression that they did not study this section of the Russian language either at school or at university, and they put punctuation marks where there is a pause in the language - this is where they strive to “stick” their “hook”. But in language, not everything is so simple - it has its own rules. MIR 24 decided to recall some of the punctuation features of the Russian language.

Punctuation refers to the system of punctuation marks in a written language, the rules for their placement in written speech, as well as the section of grammar that studies these rules. Punctuation makes the syntactic and intonation structure of speech clear, highlighting individual sentences and members of sentences. This greatly facilitates oral reproduction of what has been written.

(along with the colon and dash) is the most complex punctuation mark. In order to understand whether a given sentence contains a comma, you need to remember a few simple rules. In writing, this sign is used to highlight and isolate participial and participial phrases, definitions, isolations, addresses, interjections, interjections, clarifications and, of course, introductory words.

Also, a comma is used to separate between direct and indirect speech, between parts of a complex, complex and compound sentence, and homogeneous members of a sentence.

This punctuation mark is used either singly or in pairs. Single commas serve to divide a whole sentence into parts, separating these parts by marking their boundaries. For example, in a complex sentence it is necessary to separate two simple parts, and in a simple sentence - homogeneous members of the sentence that are used in listing. Paired commas mark off an independent part of a sentence, marking boundaries on both sides. On both sides, participial and adverbial phrases, introductory words, and addresses in the middle of a sentence are most often distinguished. To understand where commas are placed, remember a few rules.

The main thing is the meaning

The most important thing is to understand the meaning of the sentence to understand the meaning of the sentence. One of the functions of punctuation marks is to convey correct semantics. If a comma is placed in the wrong place, the meaning is instantly distorted and a comic effect appears. For example: “Yesterday I entertained my sister, who was sick, playing the guitar.”

To highlight an independent part of a sentence, you need to read the sentence without this part. If the meaning of the sentence is clear, then the removed part is independent. As a rule, commas are always used to highlight adverbial phrases, introductory sentences and words. For example: “The other day it became known that a friend of mine, returning from vacation, forgot her phone in the train car.” If we remove the participial phrase from this sentence, its meaning will hardly change: “The other day it became known that a friend of mine forgot her phone in the train car.”

However, there are cases when the gerund adjoins the predicate and in its meaning becomes similar to an adverb. In such cases, single participles are not separated by commas. “Why, sir, are you crying? Live your life laughing” (A.S. Griboyedov). If the gerund participle is removed from this sentence, it will become incomprehensible.

Insidious treatment

Addresses are always separated by commas in sentences. If it is in the middle or end of a sentence, it is not very easy to identify. For example: Tell me, boy, how far is it to the city? You are wrong, wife, when you say that Lionel Messi is not a football genius. Well, haven’t you noticed, sister, that the clock hanging on the wall has stopped?”

Let's compare

In almost all cases, a comma is used when talking about comparative phrases. It is easy to find in a sentence, mainly due to conjunctions as if, exactly, as, as if, as, rather than than, etc. However, there are exceptions. Comparative phrases are not highlighted if they are phraseological units. For example: It was as if he had disappeared into the ground. It rains cats and dogs and so on.

Between homogeneous members

A comma is placed between homogeneous terms, but not always. A comma is necessary for conjunctions such as a, yes, but, but, however. Also, a comma is needed between homogeneous members that are connected by repeating conjunctions (and ... and, or ... or, not that ... not that, either ... or). There is no need to put a comma between homogeneous members that are connected by single conjunctions yes, and, either, or. In addition, repeating conjunctions before homogeneous members of the sentence will help determine where commas are placed.

Difficulties arise when homogeneous and heterogeneous definitions come across. Between homogeneous definitions, a comma is necessary. For example: interesting, fascinating book. For heterogeneous definitions, there is no need to use a comma: interesting philosophical novel. The word “interesting” expresses the impression in this phrase, and “philosophical” means that the novel belongs to a certain genre.

Boundaries of simple sentences

In complex sentences, a comma is placed before coordinating conjunctions. These are unions like and, yes, or, either, yes and. The main thing here is to correctly determine where one simple sentence ends and another begins. To do this, you need to find the grammatical basis in each of them (subjects and predicates) or divide a complex sentence according to its meaning.

Defined word in participial phrase

A comma is placed in sentences with a participial phrase, but also not always. The main thing here is to remember that participles are isolated only if they appear after the word they define. The word being defined is the one from which the question is asked to the participial phrase. For example: The bus standing at the bus stop broke down. If this does not happen, a comma is not needed: The bus standing at the stop has broken down.

A comma is always placed before contrastive conjunctions - but, yeah, uh.

Oh those interjections

Affirmative, interrogative, negative words, as well as interjections, require commas. There is always a comma after the interjection: “Competent speech, alas, is a rarity these days”. But not everything is so simple here. The interjection must be distinguished from particles such as oh, ah, well– they are used for reinforcement, as well as particles O, used when addressing. “What are you like!”, “Oh, close your pale legs!” (V. Brusov).

Here, of course, everything is very schematic and brief - Russian punctuation is much more complex and richer. But even these tips, I hope, will help you write correctly and put commas where they are justified by the rules, and not use them where they are not needed. I wish you success in mastering the “great and mighty” and remind you:

How to pronounce, speak and write correctly - the New Season program will test your knowledge and teach you on the air of the MIR TV channel from September 3. The program will air on button 18 on Sundays at 7:20.

Every week, TV viewers will be able to learn new and interesting facts about the “great and mighty.” The program will continue to be hosted by the charismatic Sergei Fedorov, who promises to fill the program not only with intelligence, but also with sparkling humor.

Ivan Rakovich

What is the most important thing in life? Some can answer this question at the age of 20, as Benjamin Franklin did (at the age of 20, he thought about what kind of person he wanted to become and made a list of 13 virtues that he had strived for all his life and achieved a lot).

But most people realize WHAT really was the most important thing in their lives at the very end of their lives. What do people regret at the end of their lives? Australian nurse Broni Ver thought about this. She worked all her life in a hospice, in a department where hopeless patients spend their last days. She talked a lot with them, they said what they regret and what they now consider the most important in life. Bronya Ver owns the book “The 5 Main Regrets of Dying People.”

I think it’s no coincidence that the vast majority of people at the end of their lives named these 5 things as the most important in life. Most likely, they are the main thing in life that we don’t have enough time for.

The 5 main regrets of people at the end of life from the book of Australian nurse Bornie Ver

1. It’s a pity that I didn’t have the courage to stay true to myself and live the way I wanted, to follow my dreams and my calling

We often follow society's ideas and stereotypes. Our environment convinces us that we need to live like everyone else. We betray our dreams, bury our talents.

And only at the end of life does a person realize that it was stupid to listen to others. You had to live your life. Someone dreamed of being a doctor and this was his calling. But everyone around said that to get this profession you need a lot of money. You are from a poor family, so you must work together with your father, become an assistant in his business. And someone wanted to become an artist...

2. It’s a pity that I worked too much and didn’t spend enough time with my family.

Recently, people have begun to pay more and more attention to this problem. A movement appeared in Europe, America, and Australia. And more and more people follow it. People have realized that they can always earn more money. But no one can give them back their time. They make a lot of money working for big companies 12 hours a day, but they don't have time to even spend that money spending time with their family.

As a result, people start looking for jobs where they earn less money, but at the same time work half a day. Some are switching to remote work or becoming... Freeing up time for life! They can now pick up the child from school themselves, play with him in the park, and so on. They have time to live, to live a leisurely life (slow life).

3. It’s a pity that I was embarrassed to openly express my feelings towards others

In society, it is customary to behave with restraint towards other people. Expressing your feelings is considered weakness. Overly emotional people who constantly express joy and delight are considered, to put it mildly, strange.

But at the end of their lives, people regret that they adhered to this order of society, this stereotype. They regret that they didn’t tell their loved ones enough about their love and tender feelings. I think we all miss that. It is no coincidence that World Hug Day appeared. Look how children, with their consciousness still open, love to hug. And express your love to others.

4. I wish I had spent more time with my friends.

The older we get, the less time we have for friends. We work hard and achieve our goals. And many forget the friends of childhood and youth, justifying this by the fact that they no longer fit into the high level of people in their circle. But then everyone invariably regrets it.

5. I wish I had allowed myself to live a simpler life and just be happy.

We often tell ourselves that I will be happy when I get rid of loneliness or get a new job or build a house or when I have children or when I earn a lot of money and so on. By doing this, we allow ourselves to be happy only when we achieve something. But nothing prevents us from being happy already at this moment, without any conditions, from feeling inner joy and harmony, love for ourselves, for the world and for our family.

We often don't notice how much we have and therefore cannot be happy with what we have. And we dream of getting something else. But having received it, we understand that this also does not bring us joy and we begin to want more. And so on ad infinitum. We need to appreciate what we have.

What is the most important thing in life?

Notice that no one summed up their life by saying that it was important that they worked as a sales manager or had a distinguished career in sales. Apparently Career is not the most important thing in our life.

Everyone regretted that they spent little time with friends and family. This means that the main and important thing in life is not the result, not achievements, but the process, the path itself and life itself!

It's also important to be yourself do not betray your dreams, realize your gifts and talents, !

Still important appreciate what you have, be happy in every moment of life. Don't regret the past and don't be afraid of the future. Conclude yourself, as Dale Carnegie said, .

This turns out to be what is important in a person’s life!

I wish everyone to enjoy life, live in the moment and moment, appreciate your loved ones and tell them about it more often!

We believe that learning is one of the things that affects a person’s self-esteem, and (,) most importantly, knowledge is not subject to inflation. Is there a need for a comma after a and why?

The specified comma is not needed. You will find a detailed explanation in the “Punctuation Guide” (item “Introductory word and conjunction”).

Good afternoon, Please tell me in the sentence “The main thing when looking for holes is not to bump into a needle.” Is there a comma after the word “holes” and why? Thank you.

Russian help desk response

There is no reason to use a comma: The main thing is not to stumble upon a needle while searching for holes.

Hello. There is the following sentence that needs punctuation. ...working efficiently, quickly and (,) most importantly (,) - reliably. Tell me which spelling is correct.

Russian help desk response

Commas are needed, dashes are not required: . ..working efficiently, quickly and, most importantly, reliably.

Hello! Please tell me how to correctly place punctuation marks in the sentence “Our teachers explain everything very simply and, most importantly, in an accessible way”? I separated the introductory words with commas, but I'm not sure if that's correct.

Russian help desk response

Your version of punctuation is correct.

Good afternoon Can you tell me if the punctuation marks are correct? “It should be simple, cover a significant portion of the risks and, most importantly, be cheap” Thank you!

Russian help desk response

Punctuation marks are placed correctly.

Hello, Gramota. Can you tell me if the punctuation in the following sentence is correct? Analyze which tasks are easy for you, what you like to do, and most importantly, why, whether there are any questions about the work.

Russian help desk response

Correctly: Analyze what tasks are easy for you, what you like to do and, most importantly, why, whether there are any questions about the work.

This question has been discussed many times, but I have never found a clear answer. On "Gramote.ru" you address those who asked a question with "You" with a capital letter. Other sources write that the pronoun “you” is always and everywhere written with a small letter, but in personal correspondence with a respected person, writing “You” with a capital letter is appropriate and acceptable, but not necessary. How is that correct?

Russian help desk response

Pronoun You written with a capital letter when politely addressing one person in personal letters, as well as in official documents (applications, memos, etc.). There is no obligation here: the final decision with which letter to write this pronoun always remains with the author of the text. The main thing to remember: you can’t write You capitalized when addressing many people. This is already a spelling mistake.

When answering questions, we traditionally contact the author of the question at You with a capital letter, although the responses from the Help Desk are not personal letters or official documents. But here the point is in the peculiarities of the service: everyone can read the answer, but at the same time we answer one person - the one who asked the question. In a sense, this is an open personal letter accessible to everyone.

Dear Certificate! Tell me, is it written correctly, and most importantly, why is it so correct? "Both women had strong character, were smart, well educated."

Russian help desk response

Correct here: educated. Educated – short participle, cf.: these words are formed using the same suffix(they were formed). Educated – short adjective from educated"educated and knowledgeable."

Good afternoon Please tell me which is more correct: turner or turner. In their homework, the children came across the words TURNER and FITTER, which had to be put into the I.p. form. plural We made turners and mechanics, according to the dictionary presented on this site. We've been crossed out. The teacher recently improved her qualifications, and at these courses they strictly said that now the correct form is with the ending Y. Please help us resolve the dispute. And most importantly, teach children the correct use of words. Thanks in advance

Russian help desk response

Both forms of im.p. pl. h are correct.

Spelling dictionary

then curry, -I, pl.-i, -ey and -i, -e th

Large explanatory dictionary

THAT KAR,-I; pl. turner, -e and then kari, -ey; m. Worker, specialist in processing metal, wood, etc. by turning. T. for metal.T. on wood. Turner-miller.

Hello. Is the punctuation correct: “The main thing is that there is a feeling”?

Russian help desk response

The punctuation is correct.

Hello. Should I put a comma after “and” in “and most importantly”? We find ways to pull a person out of the process of self-destruction, and, most importantly, we show him...

Russian help desk response

A comma is needed before the most important and not needed before And: We find ways to pull a person out of the process of self-destruction and, most importantly, show him...

In all the literate texts that I saw, interjections with “elongated” (I don’t know the official term) vowels were written with a hyphen, for example “no-ee-et,” but more and more often I see the spelling “nooo,” that is, without hyphens. Is this writing acceptable? And most importantly, is there any authoritative source where this rule is enshrined?

Russian help desk response

Right: noooo, writing without hyphens violates the written norm. To convey pronunciation by syllable for different purposes, to convey the drawn-out sound of vowels, rolling r and other pronunciation features, a hyphen is used. See: Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation. Complete academic reference book / Ed. V.V. Lopatina. M., 2006. § 113.

Hello! Tell me if the punctuation marks are placed correctly. 1. There are many plans, the main thing is to have enough strength. 2. Maybe you should wait, or even better, do everything yourself? 3. Direct your thoughts in the right direction: think about how you can improve your well-being, outline an action plan and start working. (Are there homogeneous members or an explanatory member?) 4. It is fashionable to make a wish map: cut out images from magazines, stick them on sheets of paper and hang them up. Are the words: diving and golf clubs spelled correctly? Thank you.

Russian help desk response

1. Correct: There are many plans, the main thing is – to have enough strength. 2. True. 3. True. 4. True.

You wrote correctly: diving and golf clubs.

Tell me, please, what are the reasons for the compilers of spelling dictionaries? Please suggest suitable literature.

Russian help desk response

It is difficult to answer your question within the Help Desk. You can read a separate lecture on the principles of compiling spelling dictionaries. If we talk, for example, about the criteria for including a new variant in the dictionary, then these are what Maria Leonidovna Kalenchuk, deputy director of the Institute of Russian Language named after. V. V. Vinogradov RAS, one of the authors of the “Big Orthoepic Dictionary of the Russian Language” (M., 2012). First, the option must be accepted in the speech of educated people. Second, the option must be widespread. And thirdly - and this is perhaps the most important thing - the option must comply with the internal laws of the language and be consecrated by the cultural and historical tradition.

Which is correct: Reduce the number of cesarean sections without worsening perinatal outcomes or Reduce the number of cesarean sections without worsening perinatal outcomes And, most importantly, why?

Russian help desk response

Since noun Exodus is used in this case not in an abstract, but in a concrete meaning (in the plural form, can form combinations with cardinal numerals), then the accusative case form is preferred: ...without worsening perinatal outcomes.

Our life is filled with many good and bad moments, but what is the most important thing in a person's life, few people know and guess. A person spends his whole life looking for happiness and tranquility, but few people still find it. Every day, we rush to work or study, living a monotonous life, and most importantly, we don’t want to change anything in our lives, although we constantly complain about fate and blame it for everything.

Psychologists have studied this issue, and today, in this article, they will provide you with effective and necessary information so that you understand what value of life and what is the most important thing about it.

Decide for yourself what is most important to you in life

For some reason, we are looking for an answer to a question that we ourselves can answer, since, most the most important thing in life human, laid down and invented by ourselves. A person decides for himself what is most important to him and what is not. It makes no sense to listen to others on this topic, since everyone will have a different answer and opinion about it. We choose the value of life for ourselves, so decide for yourself what is most important to you in life. You can make a list of everything that you consider valuable in your life. Make such a list, and then select from it only one item, the most important for you. Then, in this way, we will answer our own question, and it will be the most correct one.

What do modern people need?

If the question concerns not only you personally, but also all people, and you want to understand what is most important in a person’s life, then you should start studying people. The best option is to understand what is needed now, then you will understand what is most important. It’s not hard to guess that today most people don’t have enough money, and this is a problem that makes them value money and give it so much importance that it becomes the most important thing in a person’s life. Of course, not only money, but also health, fame, success. The modern generation loves entertainment and pleasure, therefore, for now, for them, there is no special attribute of what is most important in life. For family people, health and money come first, but in fact, it makes no sense to say that this is the most important thing in the life of a man and a woman. We have other values, but we do not pay any attention to them and therefore suffer in the search for pleasure.

The most important thing in life is happiness

How much we hear the word happiness, when they wish it to each other, when they talk about it, when they strive for it all their lives. In fact happiness there is, but mostly people just strive for it all their lives, but never achieve it. This is due to the fact that we ourselves create happiness for ourselves, and we ourselves put up barriers, saying why we can be happy. For example, if a person thinks that he needs a lot of money to be happy, then he will be unhappy until he receives this money, and when he receives it, he will be happy for only a few days. Because a person will set himself a different goal for happiness. And this pursuit of happiness, for most people, continues forever. But to be happy, you don’t need to rush anywhere, since we are all already happy, happiness is within us. Relax and tell yourself that you are happy now and will remain so for the rest of your life. Then you will protect yourself and your health from the meaningless pursuit of happiness.

The most important thing in life is family and children

Almost every family will say what is most important in their life , these are their children and family. But in fact, this value is not eternal, for the reason that children grow up and will soon live separately, creating their own families. And also, because 80% of families get divorced within 2-3 years, which indicates the age given values. It turns out that only 20% of families have what is considered the most important thing in a person’s life. Maybe, indeed, for some, family and children, the most important happiness in life, is their choice, since we choose for ourselves what we value most.

The most important thing is to find your purpose

Each person, without exception, was sent into this world for a reason; each has his own mission and purpose, which must be fulfilled during life. But as you can see for yourself, most people live not only without purpose, but even without goals. People almost every day do the same thing, like programmed robots, go to work to feed their family and solve problems in it. This continues throughout life, and a person, having not found his purpose, begins to fear death, since he did not live the life he needed. Remember, life does not give a second chance, so find yourself in life, and appreciate it if you find it, as only a few can do this today. We are, in fact, busy with the wrong things that are important for the world, life and people; you yourself will understand your purpose, as you will find incredible happiness and joy from what you do. After all, basically, purpose is associated with a favorite activity, work or hobby.

The most important thing is to leave an eternal memory behind.

We know many famous people who did what brought them joy and after their death, their memory remains eternal. Therefore, if you want to live your life not in vain and with meaning, you need to do what brings you joy, and thereby helps people who will keep an eternal memory of you. Stop trivializing, finally start looking for yourself and your favorite business, this is much more fun and cheerful than going to a job you don’t like, for the sake of money and survival. We live in the modern age of technology, and not in ancient times, where survival was more valued in the material world. Remember that only you yourself can determine what is most important to you in life and what you want to achieve. Take action for you too, everything in life will work out, the main thing is to stop doing what does not bring joy or happiness and then your life will gain meaning and you will be remembered forever, like many people who did this.