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Differences in usage between Russian and English Russian requires the use of a comma in the following contexts, where usage in English is optional or inconsistent: (1) Between clauses linked by co-ordinating conjunctions (see 454 (2) (i) and 455–457): ля зн ет б квы, но я пок помог ю ей чит ть (Belyakova) Olya knows the letters, but for the time being I help her to read Note (a) While a comma always appears before но (except when it is the first word in a sentence), the insertion of a comma before English ‘but’ depends largely on the length of the pause required by the context, cf.

My fellow teachers Natasha Zhuravkina and Elena Kidd have been particularly helpful. I would also like to thank staff and students of Moscow State University who have studied on short courses at the University of Bath in 2008 and 2009, especially Lidiia Polubichenko, Elena Aleksandrova and Maria Guzenko. David Gillespie Bath, November 2009 Acknowledgements I wish to thank the following for advising on aspects of the book: Natalya Bogoslavskaya (University of Leeds), Sheelagh Graham (University of Strathclyde), Larissa Ryazanova (Edinburgh University), who also read the page proofs, Professor Dennis Ward (University of Edinburgh), Nijole White (University of Strathclyde); also Dr Marina Kozyreva (Moscow and Leeds Universities) for reading through a late draft and writing a helpful report.

E. and for no other reason). This effect can be intensified by distancing потом from что ( Потом мы побед м, что мы сильн е), or by the addition of лишь, т лько or other intensifying words before потом . e. e. only those cats) who have no tails are called Manx cats’. In Russian, however, both types of clause are marked off with commas. (5) To mark off parenthetical words: во-п рвых /во-втор х in the first place/in the second place доп стим let us assume наприм р for example 23–24 к жется кон чно к сожал нию мaжду пр чим м жет быть нав рное it seems of course unfortunately incidentally perhaps probably Punctuation 25 пож луйста please по-м ему in my opinion ск жем let us say с одн й, друг й on the one, the сторон other hand Он, должн быть, ушёл He must have left Нам, кон чно, уд бнее, что д ти сид т т хо (Belyakova) Of course, it’s more convenient for us if the children are sitting quietly Не спорь, пож луйста, со мной, я зн ю (Rasputin) Please don’t argue with me, I know best Он сказ л, что, к сожал нию, нам придётся идт без нег He said that unfortunately we would have to go without him (6) In comparisons: Он л зит по дер вьям, как обезь на He scrambles about in the trees like a monkey Кт -то науч л своег малыш пл вать р ньше, чем тот стал ход ть (Belyakova) Someone taught his baby to swim before he could walk Он спал беспроб дным сном, б дто ег ничт не трев жило He was sound asleep, as though without a care in the world 24 The colon.