To think that someone a year younger than me –merely fourteen years of age—had already done so much for their parents, I could not help but feel a little selfish and spoiled.
Did i use the dashes right? if not, how should i change it?
2007-11-11 11:41:23 · 7 answers · asked by 2 days after my B day :) 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Commas instead of dashes. You only use dashes in Morse code, or in a hyphenated word. They can`t take the place of commas.
2007-11-11 11:46:13 · answer #1 · answered by *~STEVIE~* *~B~* 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can't use dashes in this sentence. It should be, To think that someone a year younger than me, merely fourteen years of age, had already done so much for their parents, I could not help but feel a little selfish and spoiled.
You will have to try something different. Sorry.
2007-11-11 11:51:46 · answer #2 · answered by Just Want To B Me 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The dashes themselves are fine, but I would write "a mere fourteen" rather than "merely fourteen". It would be more correct to use "his" or "her" rather than "their" parents, especially since presumably you know which it is (since it's only one person). I don't like "to think" as much as "thinking" at the beginning, because you're thinking that WHILE you're feeling selfish.
2007-11-11 11:55:47 · answer #3 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The people who are telling you you can't use dashes here must have really rigid teachers. Dashes are fine if you want to stop the reader more strongly than commas would do.
"Younger than me" is grammatically incorrect. If you want to write formal English, use "younger than I am". The way you have it works for informal language.
2007-11-11 11:57:08 · answer #4 · answered by Lisa B 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Commas or dashes could work. Also, "younger than me" should be "younger than I" ("am" is understood), "their" is plural and cannot be used to refer to "someone," which is singular; use her (or his if you're referring to a male), and if you use that comma between your two independent clauses, you end up with a comma splice.
2007-11-11 12:14:22 · answer #5 · answered by Bee Bee 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, I think you used them correctly. You could also use these ( )
Did you write that sentence? If you did, good job I loved the sentence!
2007-11-11 11:52:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
use his or her because their does not agree with the subject(because it is singular and their is plural)
2007-11-11 12:08:21 · answer #7 · answered by Ryan W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋