Is the sentence correctly punctuated?

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Can I say "He has slackened in his studies."?

With regard to punctuation of the above sentence, is it correct to insert a full stop after 'studies' when there is a question mark at the end of the sentence?

Thanks.

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Are you asking someone if you can say or write that about another person? (He has slackened in his studies.)

If so, yes, keep the period at the end of the sentence.

PS - Slack is not a good verb., except to say "slack off."
"He has neglected his studies" might be considered.

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@PUNKEY,

Thanks, Punkey.

Can I say "He has slackened in his studies."?
With regard to punctuation of the above sentence, is it correct to insert a full stop after 'studies' when there is a question mark at the end of the sentence?

To elaborate, what I want to know is whether the punctuation of the above bold sentence is correct. Should it be?

1. Can I say "He has slackened in his studies."? (a full stop and a question mark)
2. Can I say "He has slackened in his studies"? (no full stop, only a question mark)

1 Reply

@tanguatlay,

Can I say "He has slackened in his studies."? (a full stop and a question mark)

"He has slackened in his studies." is a sentence. Sentences end with full stops.
The writer is asking a question about the sentence. Questions end with question marks.

Can I say this about him? He has slackened in his studies.

Joe(punctuation is fun)Nation Cool

1 Reply

@tanguatlay,

tanguatlay wrote:

Can I say "He has slackened in his studies."?

You can (correctly) write or type it, but since you appear to be asking about the period before the closing quote then "say" is not the appropriate verb.

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

tanguatlay wrote:

Can I say "He has slackened in his studies."?

You can (correctly) write or type it, but since you appear to be asking about the period before the closing quote then "say" is not the appropriate verb.

Thanks, Contrex, for pointing out the error. I cannot agree with you more.

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@Joe Nation,

Joe Nation wrote:

Can I say this about him? He has slackened in his studies. Joe(punctuation is fun)Nation

Thanks, Joe.

About the sentence in bold which you wrote, I believe you mean the word 'slackened' is not the correct verb in the sentence. If my deduction is right, how would you rephrase the sentence?

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@tanguatlay,

Could somebody please help? Thanks.

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@tanguatlay,

No full stop required. I would say it is wrong.

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@tanguatlay,

Quote:

I believe you mean the word 'slackened' is not the correct verb in the sentence. If my deduction is right, how would you rephrase the sentence?

I believe you mean to convey that he has been slacking. That is the more conventional phrase; although your meaning is clear, "slackened" is not commonly used in this way.

1 Reply

@McTag,

Thanks, McTag.

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@tanguatlay,

He's been neglecting his studies.

Joe(That's been said about me many times.)Nation

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Is the sentence correctly punctuated?

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