Hi there, I've always wonder what type of punctuation to use after an introduction to a question. It seems like using a comma or a period would make sense but then the intro is not really part of the question and is also not much of a sentence. Here is an example of what I mean: "Considering the recent changes; Could you please provide an updated master schedule for the Blank project? I find a lot of times I have a short intro sentence before a question but I'm not sure which punctuation to use so I end up using a semi-colon. Or maybe I need to reword my question.
Considering the recent changes, could you please provide an updated master schedule for the Blank project?
Cogito is, of course, correct. To explain the why of it, the "intro" you have at the front of the sentense is a dependant clause that could just as easily be placed at the end of the sentence without need for punctuation to seperate it. Could you please provide an updated master schedule for the Blank project considering the recent changes? Now, it seems more natural to place that clause at the beginning of the sentence because the clause by itself doesn't seem like part of a question and makes the question mark at the end of the sentence look, well, questionable. The fact that you have snipped it off of the end and placed it at the front requires a comma and not a semi colon because that little snippet is not an independent clause (a complete sentence) in this particular case because it lacks a subject and is also not an independent clause that is in the passive voice (which would also lack a grammatical subject).
