Sentence 1

pontios

pontios

Well-known member
Good morning.

I would appreciate some help again, please. :confused:
Which of the following versions gets the nod ?
(I've entitled this "Sentence 1", as I'll be posting and querying other sentences in the future, from time to time).

1. It was the first time since he had arrived in Brazil, that he felt (..this?/so?) positive.

2. It was the first time since arriving in Brazil, that he felt (..this?/so?) positive.

3. It was the first time since his arrival in Brazil, that he felt so positive.

4. He felt positive for the first time, since arriving in Brazil.

5. For the first time, since arriving in Brazil, he felt positive.

Any other suggestions ? Should I add "this" or "so" to the sentence ?
How's my punctuation, by the way ? I almost decided to leave out the comma in 1-4, above and to only use one comma, after "Brazil", for version 5.
 
pontios

pontios

Well-known member
Maybe I should have provided the previous sentence ?
He left Periklis' Tavern with a spring in his step and a renewed sense of purpose.
 
Themis†

Themis†

¥
1. He left Periklis' Tavern with a spring in his step and a renewed sense of purpose. He had never felt so positive since his arrival in Brazil.
2. He left Periklis' Tavern with a spring in his step and a renewed sense of purpose. He felt positive, for the first time since his arrival in Brazil.

I would not consider these two versions as identical.
 
bernardina

bernardina

Moderator
I d' go for Themis's first suggestion. And the second one from your list, but without the comma, as Pal said.
 
pontios

pontios

Well-known member
Thank you one and all for your prompt assistance and Themi for coming up with another version of the sentence !

It is also interesting to compare the following two versions -

a. He felt positive, for the first time since his arrival in Brazil ... Themis' rendition.
b. He felt positive for the first time, since his arrival in Brazil ... which was the direction I was taking it.

"b" has a very different feel - but is my version "b" a valid way of stating the sentence ; or, should it only be stated as in version
"a" ?

Also, can version "b" be stated without the comma, or indeed should it be stated without the comma, and, if it can, does it alter the sense once again ?
 
nickel

nickel

Administrator
Staff member
Re #7, there are only to way to punctuate this:
He felt positive for the first time since his arrival in Brazil. (This is the normal way.)
He felt positive, for the first time since his arrival in Brazil. (Which contains this little pause that Themis has added, as if what follows were an afterthought. Not really necessary here, but still valid punctuation-wise.)

He felt positive for the first time, since his arrival in Brazil. (The comma position is just wrong. "for the first time since" must be kept together.)
 
J

Jacquelineditor

New member
Either leave out the commas OR use two in 1-3 . Put one after "positive" in 4. Only one in 5.

It [or, This] was the first time, since his arrival in Brazil, that he felt so positive.
He felt positive, for the first time since arriving in Brazil.
For the first time since his arrival in Brazil, he felt positive.
 
pontios

pontios

Well-known member
Jacquelineditor said:
Either leave out the commas OR use two in 1-3 . Put one after "positive" in 4. Only one in 5.

It [or, This] was the first time, since his arrival in Brazil, that he felt so positive.
He felt positive, for the first time since arriving in Brazil.
For the first time since his arrival in Brazil, he felt positive.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jacqueline. Thank you, everyone.
I'll eventually get it ; I've never had to think about punctuation until now.
So my punctuation was both intuitive and instinctive ; unfortunately, I guess my instincts weren't up to scratch and my intuition was out of whack.
.. and thanks, nickel ! :inno:
 
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