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  1. marcusl

    marcusl New Member

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    He did this, then he did that

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by marcusl, Oct 25, 2009.

    If I write:

    He did this, then he did that.

    Microsoft Word always says it should be:

    He did this and then he did that.

    Is the first one grammatically wrong? Cheers.
     
    marcusl, Oct 25, 2009
    #1
  2. Mister Micawber

    Mister Micawber Member

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    Yes, the punctuation is inappropriate. Without the conjunction, a (gasp!) semicolon is called for, not a comma. Microsoft's alternative is also punctuationally fine.
     
    Mister Micawber, Oct 25, 2009
    #2
  3. architectus

    architectus Banned

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    But remember you can do:

    He did this, then that.

    He opened the mailbox then grabbed the mail.
     
    architectus, Oct 25, 2009
    #3
  4. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    yes... repeating the 'he' is not mandatory... and not that wise, writing-wise...
     
    mammamaia, Oct 25, 2009
    #4
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