kinjiGC wrote:
I have some follow up questions about the following sentence:
Mariana believes that
altruism exists even in today’s day and age —
that people can help others without any selfish motives is not an idea that is too unrealistic to exist in a society that thrives on rewarding individualism.
1) The sentence after the hyphen modifies "altruism" but also the author adds more information. So "altruism" need not be close to the hyphen as possible. One of the rule which comes to my mind was usage of Noun+Noun modifier. It is very versatile in the application because it can modify any part of the sentence and also modify the whole preceding phrase. Can you please confirm if same is the case with hyphen usage.
2) The reason why I am asking you is because, in
OG 13 Question # 138 - Correct Option
"Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and
red supermarket cousins—
they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand."
The noun is closest to the hyphen.
OG 13 Question # 98 - Correct Option.
"Ranked as one of the most important of Europe's young playwrights, Franz Xaver Kroetz has written 40 plays;
his works—
translated into more than 30 languages—are produced more often than those of any other contemporary German dramatist.
The noun is closest to the hyphen.
Dear Kinjal,
Since you have cited your analysis for the mentioned two official questions to raise a query about the example sentence, let me address your analysis first:
Your analysis:in
OG 13 Question # 138 - Correct Option
"Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand."
The noun is closest to the hyphen.
My comments:Per your analysis, the portion between the two dashes — they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises— modifies red supermarket cousins. My question is does this modification make logical sense? If we take this modification in to consideration, we are effectively saying that the comparatively appealing, red supermarket cousins are:
1. green and striped
2. and have plenty of bumps and bruises
Please reconsider the structure of the sentence, keeping in mind the logical meaning that the author wants to convey. I am sure you’ll be able to see the role dash plays in this sentence and the example sentence then.
Your analysis:OG 13 Question # 98 - Correct Option.
"Ranked as one of the most important of Europe's young playwrights, Franz Xaver Kroetz has written 40 plays; his works—translated into more than 30 languages—are produced more often than those of any other contemporary German dramatist.
The noun is closest to the hyphen.
My comments:In the above sentence, the purpose of the author is indeed to modify “his works” and this is the precise reason that the author has inserted the modifier here. There is nothing else before the dash here (taking in to account only the portion after the semi-colon). So, the point about the noun being closest to the dash is not relevant in this case.
In all, as pointed to you in my earlier post, the idea behind using the dash is the same: separating parts of a sentence while adding more information.
Hope the above discussion helps!
Regards,
Neeti.