Then we turned onto a wide, empty and long street that seemed endless, passed the old Jewish rows and the bazaar, and the pavement immediately ended beneath us. From the push at the new turn, she swayed, and I involuntarily hugged her. She looked forward, then turned to me. We met face to face, there was no longer fear or hesitation in her eyes - slight shyness showed only in a tense smile - and then I, not realizing what I was doing, pressed my lips tightly to hers for a moment...
III
In the darkness, tall silhouettes of telegraph poles flashed along the road - finally they too disappeared, turned somewhere to the side and disappeared. The sky, which was black above the city and yet separated from its dimly lit streets, completely merged with the earth here, and we were surrounded by windy darkness. I looked back. The lights of the city also disappeared - they were scattered as if somewhere in a dark sea - and ahead only one light flickered, so lonely and distant, as if it were at the end of the world. It was an old Moldavian tavern on the high road, and from there a strong wind blew, which tangled and hurriedly rustled in the withered stalks of corn.
-Where are we going? – she asked, holding back the trembling in her voice.
But her eyes sparkled - leaning towards her, I distinguished them in the darkness - and there was a strange and at the same time happy expression in them.
The wind hurriedly rustled and ran, getting tangled in the corn, the horses quickly rushed towards it. Again we turned somewhere, and the wind immediately changed, became wetter and cooler, and rushed around us even more restlessly.
I inhaled it deeply. I wanted everything dark, blind and incomprehensible that was in that night to be even more incomprehensible and bolder. The night, which seemed like an ordinary stormy night in the city, was completely different here in the field. There was now something big and powerful in its darkness and wind, and finally, through the rustling of the weeds, some even, monotonous, majestic noise was heard.
- The sea? – she asked.
“The sea,” I said. - These are the last dachas.
And in the pale darkness, to which we looked closely, huge and gloomy silhouettes of poplars grew to our left in country gardens, descending to the sea. The rustling of wheels and the tramp of hooves in the mud, echoing from the garden fences, became more distinct for a minute, but they were soon drowned out by the approaching roar of the trees, in which the wind was rushing, and the sound of the sea. Several tightly packed houses flashed by, vaguely white in the darkness and seeming dead... Then the poplars parted, and suddenly in the passage between them there was a smell of humidity - that wind that flies to the earth from huge expanses of water and seems to be their fresh breath.
The horses stopped.
And immediately the even and majestic murmur, in which the enormous weight of the water was felt, and the disorderly hum of the trees in the restlessly slumbering gardens became more audible, and we quickly walked through the leaves and puddles, along some high alley, towards the cliffs.
IV
The sea hummed menacingly beneath them, standing out from all the noises of this anxious and sleepy night. Huge, lost in space, it lay deep below, far away whitening through the darkness with manes of foam running towards the ground. The chaotic hum of the old poplars outside the garden fence, which grew like a gloomy island on the rocky coast, was also terrifying. It was felt that late autumn night now reigned supreme in this deserted place, and the large old garden, the house packed for the winter and the open gazebos at the corners of the fence were eerie in their abandonment. One sea hummed smoothly, victoriously and, it seemed, more and more majestic in the consciousness of its strength. The damp wind knocked us off our feet on the cliff, and for a long time we were not able to get enough of its soft, penetrating freshness to the depths of our souls. Then, sliding along wet clay paths and the remains of wooden stairs, we began to descend down to the surf sparkling with foam. Stepping onto the gravel, we immediately jumped away from the wave crashing on the rocks. Black poplars rose and hummed, and beneath them, as if in response to them, the sea played with a greedy and furious surf. The high waves reaching us with the roar of cannon shots crashed onto the shore, swirled and sparkled with whole waterfalls of snow foam, dug up sand and stones and, running back, carried away tangled algae, silt and gravel, which rattled and grinded in their wet noise. And the whole air was full of fine, cool dust, everything around breathed the free freshness of the sea. The darkness grew pale, and the sea was already clearly visible into the distant space.
- And we are alone! – she said, closing her eyes.
V
We were alone. I kissed her lips, reveling in their tenderness and moisture, kissed the eyes that she offered to me, closing them with a smile, kissed her face, cold from the sea wind, and when she sat down on a stone, I knelt before her, exhausted with joy.
- And tomorrow? - she said above my head.
And I raised my head and looked into her face. Behind me the sea raged greedily, poplars towered and hummed above us...
- What tomorrow? – I repeated her question and felt my voice tremble from tears of invincible happiness. - What tomorrow?
She didn’t answer me for a long time, then she extended her hand to me, and I began to take off my glove, kissing both hand and glove and enjoying their delicate, feminine scent.
- Yes! - she said slowly, and I could see her pale and happy face closely in the starlight. – When I was a girl, I endlessly dreamed of happiness, but everything turned out to be so boring and ordinary that now this, perhaps the only happy night in my life, seems to me unlike reality and criminal. Tomorrow I will remember this night with horror, but now I don’t care... I love you,” she said tenderly, quietly and thoughtfully, as if speaking only to herself.
Rare, bluish stars flickered between the clouds above us, and the sky gradually cleared, and the poplars on the cliffs turned blacker, and the sea became increasingly separated from the distant horizons. Whether she was better than others whom I loved, I do not know, but that night she was incomparable. And when I kissed the dress on her knees, and she laughed quietly through her tears and hugged my head, I looked at her with the delight of madness, and in the thin starlight her pale, happy and tired face seemed to me the face of an immortal.
1901
New Year
“Listen,” said the wife, “I’m scared.”
It was a lunar winter midnight, we spent the night on a farm in the Tambov province, on the way to St. Petersburg from the south, and slept in the nursery, the only warm room in the whole house. Opening my eyes, I saw a light twilight filled with bluish light, a floor covered with blankets, and a white couch. Above the square window, through which one could see the bright snowy courtyard, protruded the stubble of a thatched roof, silvered with frost. It was as quiet as can only be in a field on winter nights.
“You’re sleeping,” the wife said displeasedly, “but I dozed off in the cart just now and now I can’t...
She was reclining on a large antique bed against the opposite wall. When I approached her, she spoke in a cheerful whisper:
“Listen, aren’t you angry that I woke you up?” I really felt a little scared and somehow very good. I felt that you and I were completely, completely alone here, and a purely childish fear attacked me...
She raised her head and listened.
– Do you hear how quiet it is? – she asked barely audibly.
Mentally, I looked far away at the snowy fields around us - everywhere there was the dead silence of the Russian winter night, among which the New Year was mysteriously approaching... It had been so long since I had spent the night in the village, and it had been so long since my wife and I had spoken peacefully! I kissed her eyes and hair several times with that calm love that happens only in rare moments, and she suddenly answered me with the impetuous kisses of a girl in love. Then she pressed my hand to her burning cheek for a long time.
- How good! – she said with a sigh and conviction. And, after a pause, she added: “Yes, after all, you are the only person close to me!” Do you feel that I love you?
I shook her hand.
- How did it happen? – she asked, opening her eyes. “I left without love, you and I live badly, you say that because of me you lead a vulgar and difficult existence... And, however, more and more often we feel that we need each other.” Where does it come from and why only in some minutes? Happy New Year, Kostya! – she said, trying to smile, and several warm tears fell onto my hand.
Placing her head on the pillow, she began to cry, and the tears must have been pleasant to her, because from time to time she raised her face, smiled through her tears and kissed my hand, trying to prolong them with tenderness. I stroked her hair, letting her know that I appreciated and understood these tears. I remembered the last New Year, which we, as usual, celebrated in St. Petersburg in a circle of my colleagues, I wanted to remember the year before - but could not, and again I thought what often comes to my mind: years merge into one, chaotic and monotonous, full gray days of work, mental and spiritual abilities weaken, and hopes of having your own corner, settling somewhere in the village or in the south, digging with your wife and children in the vineyards, fishing in the sea in the summer seem more and more unrealistic... I remembered how exactly one year ago, my wife, with feigned courtesy, cared and fussed about everyone who, considered our friend, celebrated New Year’s Eve with us, how she smiled at some of the young guests and offered mysteriously melancholic toasts, and how alien and unpleasant she was to me in the cramped St. Petersburg apartment...
- Well, that's enough, Olya! - I said.
“Give me a handkerchief,” she answered quietly and, like a child, took a shaky breath. - I don't cry anymore.
The moonlight fell in an airy silver stripe onto the couch and illuminated it with a strange, bright pallor. Everything else was in darkness, and the smoke of my cigarette slowly floated in it. And from the blankets on the floor, from the warm, illuminated couch - everything smelled of deep village life, the coziness of a home...
“Are you glad we came here?” – I asked.
“It’s terrible, Kostya, I’m glad, it’s terrible!” – the wife answered with impetuous sincerity. “I was thinking about this when you fell asleep.” “In my opinion,” she said with a smile, “we should get married twice.” Seriously, what a blessing it is to deliberately stand down the aisle, having lived and suffered with a person! And by all means live at home, in your own corner, somewhere away from everyone... “Born, live and die in your own home,” as Maupassant says!
She thought for a moment and put her head back on the pillow.
“Sainte-Beuve said it,” I corrected.
- It doesn’t matter, Kostya. I may be stupid, as you constantly say, but still I love you alone... Do you want to go for a walk?
- Walk? Where?
- Around the yard. I’ll put on my felt boots, your sheepskin coat... Will you fall asleep now?
Half an hour later we got dressed and, smiling, stopped at the door.
- Are you angry at me? – my wife asked, taking my hand. She looked tenderly into my eyes, and her face was unusually sweet at that moment, and she all seemed so feminine in the gray shawl with which she wrapped her head in a rustic way, and in soft felt boots that made her shorter in stature.
From the nursery we went out into the corridor, where it was dark and cold, like a cellar, and in the darkness we reached the hallway. Then we looked into the hall and living room... The creaking of the door leading to the hall was heard throughout the house, and from the darkness of the large, empty room, like two huge eyes, two high windows looked at us into the garden. The third was covered with half-broken shutters.
- Aw! – the wife shouted on the threshold.
“No need,” I said, “better look how good it is there.”
She became quiet, and we timidly entered the room. A very sparse and low garden, or rather bushes, scattered across a wide snowy clearing, was visible from the windows, and one half of it was in the shadows, lying far from the house, and the other, illuminated, clearly and gently whitened under the starry sky of a quiet winter night. The cat, unknown how it got here, suddenly jumped with a soft thud from the windowsill and flashed under our feet, flashing its golden-orange eyes. I shuddered, and my wife asked me in an anxious whisper:
“Would you be afraid here alone?”
Holding each other close, we walked across the hall into the living room, to the double glass doors to the balcony. There was still a huge couch there, on which I slept when I came to the village as a student. It seemed like just yesterday these summer days were when the whole family had dinner on the balcony... Now the living room smelled of mold and winter dampness, heavy, frozen wallpaper hung in pieces from the walls... It was painful and I didn’t want to think about the past, especially in the face of this beautiful winter night. From the living room one could see the entire garden and the snow-white plain under the starry sky - every snowdrift of pure, virgin snow, every Christmas tree among its whiteness.
“You’ll drown there without skis,” I said in response to my wife’s request to go through the garden to the threshing floor. “And it used to be that I spent whole nights in the winter on the threshing floors, in the oatmeal bins... Now the hares probably come to the balcony itself.”
Tearing off a large, clumsy piece of wallpaper hanging by the door, I threw it into the corner, and we returned to the hallway and through the large log porch into the frosty air. There I sat on the steps of the porch, lighting a cigarette, and my wife, crunching her felt boots on the snow, ran into the snowdrifts and raised her face to the pale moon, already standing low over the long black hut in which the estate watchman and our coachman from the station were sleeping.
- A month, a month, golden horns for you, and a golden treasury for me! - she spoke, spinning like a girl around the wide white yard.
Her voice rang loudly in the air and was so strange in the silence of this dead estate. Whirling around, she walked to the driver's wagon, blackened in the shadows in front of the hut, and she could be heard muttering as she walked:
- I will never guess about my betrothed! - she said, returning to the porch, out of breath and cheerfully breathing in the frosty freshness, and sat down on the steps next to me. -Are you awake, Kostya? Can I sit next to you, my dear, my golden one?
Tatiana in the wide yard
Comes out in an open dress,
The mirror points for a month,
But alone in the dark mirror
The sad moon is trembling...
A large red dog slowly approached us from behind the porch, wagging its fluffy tail with affectionate condescension, and she hugged her wide neck covered in thick fur, and the dog looked over her head with intelligent, questioning eyes and still indifferently affectionately, probably herself Without noticing it, she waved her tail. I, too, stroked this thick, cold and glossy fur, looked at the pale human face of the moon, at the long black hut, at the courtyard shining with snow and thought, encouraging myself:
“Really, is everything already lost? Who knows what this New Year will bring me?
– What’s happening in St. Petersburg now? – said the wife, raising her head and slightly pushing the dog away. – What are you thinking about, Kostya? – she asked, bringing her face, rejuvenated in the cold, closer to me. – I think that men never celebrate the New Year, and in all of Russia now everyone has been sleeping for a long time...
But I didn’t want to talk. It was already cold, frost was creeping into my clothes. To our right we could see through the gate a field shining like golden mica, and a bare vine with thin icy branches, standing far in the field, seemed like a fabulous glass tree. During the day I saw the carcass of a dead cow there, and now the dog suddenly became alert and raised its ears sharply: far along the shiny mica something small and dark ran from the vine, perhaps a fox, and in the sensitive silence a subtle, mysterious crackling lingered for a long time nast.
Listening, the wife asked:
– What if we stayed here?
I thought and answered:
-Wouldn’t you miss it?
And as soon as I said it, we both felt that we could not survive here for a year. Get away from people, never see anything but this snowy field! Let's say you can start farming... But what kind of farming can you start in these pitiful remains of an estate, on a hundred acres of land? And now there are such estates everywhere - for a hundred miles in a circle there is not a single house where anything alive could be felt! And in the villages there is hunger...
We fell asleep soundly, and in the morning, right out of bed, we had to get ready for the road. When the runners creaked behind the wall and horses drawn by a goose passed through the high snowdrifts near the window, the half-asleep wife smiled sadly, and it was felt that she was sorry to leave the warm country room...
“Here is the New Year! – I thought, looking from the creaky, frost-frosted tent into the gray field. “How will we survive these new three hundred and sixty-five days?”
But the small babble of bells confused my thoughts, and it was unpleasant to think about the future. Looking out of the wagon, I could barely make out the muddy gray-gray landscape of the estate, increasingly diminishing in the flat snowy steppe and gradually merging with the foggy distance of the frosty, foggy day. Shouting at the frost-covered horses, the driver stood and, apparently, was completely indifferent to the New Year, and to the empty field, and to his and our fate. With difficulty reaching his pocket under his heavy overcoat and short fur coat, he pulled out his pipe, and soon the winter air smelled of sulfur and fragrant shag. The smell was familiar, pleasant, and I was touched by both the memory of the farm and our temporary reconciliation with my wife, who was dozing, huddled in the corner of the cart and closing her large, frost-gray eyelashes. But, obeying an inner desire to quickly forget myself in the petty bustle and familiar surroundings, I shouted cheerfully:
- Drive, Stepan, touch it! We'll be late!
And far ahead, the foggy silhouettes of telegraph poles were already running, and the small babble of bells was so suitable for my thoughts about the incoherent and meaningless life that awaited me ahead...
1901
Dawn all night
I
At sunset it was raining, making a full and monotonous noise in the garden around the house, and the sweet freshness of wet May greenery came through the open window in the hall. Thunder rumbled over the roof, growing loudly and bursting into crackling sounds as reddish lightning flashed, and the looming clouds made it dark. Then workers arrived from the field in wet checkmen and began unharnessing the dirty plows near the barn, then they drove in the herd, which filled the entire estate with roaring and bleating. The women ran around the yard after the sheep, their skirts tucked up and their white bare feet shining on the grass; a shepherd boy in a huge hat and disheveled bast shoes chased a cow through the garden and disappeared headlong into the rain-drenched burdocks when the cow noisily rushed into the thicket... Night fell, the rain stopped, but the father, who had gone to the field in the morning, still did not return.
I was alone at home, but then I was never bored; I have not yet had time to enjoy either my role as a housewife or my freedom after high school. Brother Pasha studied in the building, Anyuta, who got married while her mother was still alive, lived in Kursk; My father and I spent my first country winter in solitude. But I was healthy and beautiful, I liked myself, I even liked it because it was easy for me to walk and run, do some housework or give some order. While working, I hummed some of my own tunes that touched me. Seeing myself in the mirror, I involuntarily smiled. And, it seems, everything suited me, although I dressed very simply.
As soon as the rain passed, I threw a shawl over my shoulders and, picking up my skirts, ran to the barn where the women were milking the cows. A few drops fell from the sky onto my open head, but the light, vague clouds that stood high above the yard were already dispersing, and a strange, pale half-light hovered in the yard, as always happens here on May nights. The freshness of wet grass came from the field, mixing with the smell of smoke from the drowning room. For a minute I looked there too - the workers, young men in fancy white shirts, were sitting around the table over a cup of stew and stood up when I appeared, and I walked up to the table and, smiling at the fact that I was running and out of breath, said:
-Where is dad? Was he in the field?
“They didn’t stay for long and left,” several voices answered me at once.
- On what? – I asked.
- On a droshky, with the master Sivers.
- Has he arrived? – I almost said, amazed by this unexpected arrival, but, catching myself in time, I just nodded my head and quickly left.
Sivers, having graduated from the Petrovsky Academy, was then serving his military service. Even as a child, I was called his bride, and then I really didn’t like him for it. But then I often thought of him as a groom; and when, leaving for the regiment in August, he came to us in a soldier’s blouse with shoulder straps and, like all volunteers, happily talked about the “literature” of the Little Russian sergeant major, I began to get used to the idea that I would be his wife. Cheerful, tanned - only the upper half of his forehead was sharply white - he was very nice to me.
“So he took a vacation,” I thought excitedly, and I was both pleased that he had come, obviously for me, and terrified. I hurried into the house to prepare dinner for my father, but when I entered the footman's room, my father was already walking around the hall, knocking his boots. And for some reason I was incredibly happy about him. His hat was pushed back on his head, his beard was disheveled, his long boots and his scalloped jacket were covered in mud, but at that moment he seemed to me the personification of male beauty and strength.
- Why are you in the dark? – I asked.
“Yes, Tata,” he answered, calling me as he did in childhood, “I’ll go to bed now and won’t have dinner.” I’m terribly tired, and besides, do you know what time it is? After all, now it’s dawn all night—dawn meets dawn, as the men say. “Is it milk,” he added absently.
I reached for the lamp, but he shook his head and, looking at the glass in the light to see if there was a fly, he began to drink milk. The nightingales were already singing in the garden, and through those three windows that were to the north-west, a distant light green sky could be seen above purple spring clouds of unclear and beautiful outlines. Everything was vague both on the ground and in the sky, everything was softened by the light twilight of the night, and everything could be seen in the half-light of the unextinguished dawn. I calmly answered my father’s questions about the housework, but when he suddenly said that Sivers would come to us tomorrow, I felt myself blushing.
- For what? – I muttered.
“To marry you,” answered the father with a forced smile. - Well, he’s a handsome, smart guy, he’ll be a good owner... We’ve already drunk you out.
“Don’t say that, Daddy,” I said, and tears welled up in my eyes.
My father looked at me for a long time, then, kissing my forehead, he went to the office door.
“The morning is wiser than the evening,” he added with a grin.
II
Sleepy flies, disturbed by our conversation, hummed quietly on the ceiling, little by little dozing off, the clock hissed and loudly and sadly crowed eleven...
“The morning is wiser than the evening,” my father’s soothing words came to my mind, and again I felt light and somehow happy-sad.
Father was already asleep, the office had been quiet for a long time, and everyone in the estate was also asleep. And there was something blissful in the silence of the night after the rain and the diligent clicking of the nightingales, something elusively beautiful floated in the distant half-light of dawn. Trying not to make any noise, I began to carefully clear the table, tiptoeing from room to room, put milk, honey and butter in the cold stove in the hallway, covered the tea set with a napkin and went into my bedroom. This did not separate me from the nightingales and the dawn.
The shutters in my room were closed, but my room was next to the living room, and through the open door, through the living room, I saw half-light in the hall, and the nightingales could be heard throughout the house. Having let my hair down, I sat on the bed for a long time, still trying to decide something, then I closed my eyes, leaned my elbows on the pillow, and suddenly fell asleep. Someone clearly said above me: “Sivers!” - I woke up with a start, and suddenly the thought of marriage ran through my whole body like sweet horror and cold...
End of free trial
Quicker
introductory word and sentence member
1. Introductory word. The same as “or rather, more precisely to say.” Identified by punctuation marks, usually commas.
I am inclined to think, citizen judge, // That the prosecutor was a loser today, // After all, I was not the attacker at all, // But I, quicker, even a victim. V. Vysotsky, I am inclined to think, citizen judge...
If the introductory word “rather” is part of a clarifying phrase, then the entire clarifying phrase is set off with commas.
And instead of a speck, another road appeared ahead, that is, not really a road, just a scratch on the earth, groove rather . V. Astafiev, This is how I want to live.
2. Member of the sentence. Does not require punctuation.
Come on quickly get your business going. P. Bazhov, Fragile twig. Uncle, he whispered, you quicker Let's go somewhere from here. There are Germans here. L. Kassil, The Story of the Absent.
@ The word “rather” does not require punctuation if the sentence implies a comparison of “rather... than”: The visitors looked more like businessmen; It all looked more like a stupid comedy. Wed: The visitors looked more like businessmen than curious onlookers; It all looked more like a stupid comedy than a real incident. For punctuation with the words “rather... than”, see the article rather... rather than / than.
@ In examples from fiction, there are cases where the introductory word “rather” is not highlighted with punctuation marks: In a sports jacket of canary or quicker parrot-colored, red stripes on the chest. V. Astafiev, Sad detective.
Dictionary-reference book on punctuation. - M.: Reference and information Internet portal GRAMOTA.RU. V. V. Svintsov, V. M. Pakhomov, I. V. Filatova. 2010 .
Synonyms:See what “rather” is in other dictionaries:
QUICKER- QUICKER. 1. compare to adj. fast and adv. soon. “Tell me quickly, what did you decide?” A. Turgenev. “Hurry up and re-harness the horses.” Nekrasov. 2. adv. used to indicate preference for something, meaning. better, preferable. “I think I would... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
quicker- faster; or rather, more correctly; quickly, lively, quickly, quickly, quickly, more accurately, more cheerfully, better, more quickly, quickly, quickly, comparatively, hurry up, or rather, turn around, one foot here and the other there, hurry up, move, give in... ... Synonym dictionary
I would rather- FAST, oh, oh; soon, soon, soon. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
quicker- (Source: “Complete accentuated paradigm according to A. A. Zaliznyak”) ... Forms of words
quicker- (colloquial) ASAP I. compare. Art. to Fast and Soon. II. introductory sl. Or rather, more precisely. I can’t believe my eyes, s., I can’t believe it. I'm not looking for compassion, s., I shouldn't be looking for it. ◁ Most likely, in the sign. introductory collocation Most likely. Most likely I will be delayed... encyclopedic Dictionary
quicker- 1. = sooner; (colloquial) compare Art. to fast and soon. 2. introductory sl. see also most likely, rather... than, rather... rather than... Dictionary of many expressions
QUICKER- before; earlier. The word with which many oaths begin. For example, a dad solemnly promises his son: “I’d rather have hair grow on my palm than you spin me on a bicycle for the second time.” Once upon a time, all sorts of… Large semi-interpretive dictionary of the Odessa language
I'd rather- see soon; in sign. particles.; decomposition Expresses the strengthening of something. expected, desired. He would sooner come! It would soon be spring! ... Dictionary of many expressions
Quicker- adv. qualities circumstances 1. Faster. Ott. trans. More precisely, more precisely. 2. Used as a comparative word in sentences with a comparative phrase, corresponding in meaning to the words: more, better, more willingly. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T.F.... ... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova
quicker- fast, compare. Art. and called... Russian spelling dictionary
Books
- Most likely, Rubinstein L.. One of the founders of Moscow conceptualism, a poet, perhaps the most famous Russian columnist of recent years, Lev Rubinstein is always the first to speak out on the most important issues.…
That’s what I’ll do today, working off my piece of cake bought for Knowledge Day.
“In addition” is ALWAYS highlighted with commas (both at the beginning and in the middle of a sentence).
“Most likely” in the meaning of “very likely, most likely” is separated by commas (Of course, it’s all because of the cognac and the steam room, otherwise he would most likely have remained silent.).
In the meaning of “quickest” - NO (This is the most likely way to get to the house.).
"Quicker". If it means “better, more willingly”, then WITHOUT commas. For example: “She would rather die than betray him.” Also WITHOUT commas, if it means “better to say.” For example: “making some remark or rather an exclamation.”
BUT! A comma is needed if this is an introductory word expressing the author’s assessment of the degree of reliability of this statement in relation to the previous one (in the meaning of “most likely” or “most likely”). For example: “He cannot be called a smart person - rather, he is on his own mind.”
“Of course”, “of course” - the word of course is NOT separated by commas at the beginning of the response, pronounced in a tone of confidence, conviction: Of course it is!
In other cases, a comma is REQUIRED.
The expressions “in general”, “in general” are SEPARATED in the meaning “in short, in a word”, then they are introductory.
“First of all” stands out as introductory in the meaning of “first of all” (First of all, he is a fairly capable person).
These words do NOT stand out in the meaning of “first, first” (First of all, you need to contact a specialist).
A comma after “a”, “but”, etc. is NOT needed: “But first of all, I want to say.”
When clarifying, the entire phrase is highlighted: “There is hope that these proposals, primarily from the Ministry of Finance, will not be accepted or will be changed.”
“at least”, “at least” - are isolated only when inverted: “This issue was discussed twice, at least.”
“in turn” - is not separated by a comma in the meaning “for its part”, “in response, when it was the turn.” And the quality of introductory ones is isolated.
“literally” - not introductory, not separated by commas
"Hence". If the meaning is “therefore, therefore, it means,” then commas are needed. For example: “So you, therefore, are our neighbors.”
BUT! If it means “therefore, as a result of this, based on the fact that,” then the comma is needed only on the left. For example: “I found a job, therefore we will have more money”; “You are angry, therefore you are wrong”; “You can’t bake a cake, so I’ll bake it.”
"Least". If it means “the least”, then without commas. For example: “At least I’ll wash the dishes”; “He made at least a dozen mistakes.”
BUT! If in the meaning of comparison with something, emotional assessment, then with a comma. For example: “At a minimum, this approach involves control,” “To do this, you need, at a minimum, to understand politics.”
“that is, if”, “especially if” - a comma is usually not needed
“That is” is not an introductory word and is not separated by commas on either side. This is a conjunction, a comma is placed before it (and if in some contexts a comma is placed after it, then for other reasons: for example, to highlight a certain isolated construction or subordinate clause that comes after it).
For example: “There are still five kilometers to the station, that is, an hour’s walk” (a comma is needed), “There are still five kilometers to the station, that is, if you walk slowly, an hour’s walk (a comma after “that is” is placed to highlight the subordinate clause "if you go slowly")
“In any case” are separated by commas as introductory ones if they are used in the meaning “at least”.
“Besides that”, “besides this”, “besides everything (other)”, “besides everything (other)” are isolated as introductory ones.
BUT! “Besides that” is a conjunction, a comma is NOT needed. For example: “In addition to not doing anything himself, he also makes claims against me.”
“Thanks to this”, “thanks to that”, “thanks to that” and “along with that” - a comma is usually not required. Segregation is optional. The presence of a comma is not an error.
“Moreover” - WITHOUT a comma.
“Especially when”, “especially since”, “especially if”, etc. — a comma is needed before “even more so.” For example: “Such arguments are hardly needed, especially since this is a false statement”, “especially if it is meant”, “rest, especially since a lot of work awaits you”, “you shouldn’t sit at home, especially if your partner invites you to the dance."
“Moreover” is highlighted with a comma only in the middle of the sentence (on the left).
“Nevertheless” - a comma is placed in the middle of the sentence (on the left). For example: “He has decided everything, however, I will try to convince him.”
BUT! If “but nevertheless”, “if nevertheless”, etc., then commas are NOT needed.
If "however" means "but", then the comma on the right side is NOT placed. (An exception is if this is an interjection. For example: “However, what a wind!”)
“In the end” - if it means “in the end”, then a comma is NOT placed.
“Really” is NOT separated by commas in the meaning of “in fact” (that is, if this is a circumstance expressed by an adverb), if it is synonymous with the adjective “valid” - “real, genuine”. For example: “Its bark itself is thin, not like oak or pine, which are really not afraid of the hot rays of the sun”; “You are really very tired.”
“Indeed” can act as an introductory and SEPARATE. The introductory word is characterized by intonation isolation - it expresses the speaker’s confidence in the truth of the reported fact. In controversial cases, the author of the text decides on the placement of punctuation marks.
“Because” - a comma is NOT needed if it is a conjunction, that is, if it can be replaced with “because”. For example: “As a child, he underwent a medical examination because he fought in Vietnam,” “maybe it’s all because I love when a person sings” (a comma is needed, because replace with “because” it is forbidden).
"Anyway". A comma is needed if the meaning is “be that as it may.” Then this is introductory. For example: “She knew that, one way or another, she would tell Anna everything.”
BUT! The adverbial expression “one way or another” (the same as “in one way or another” or “in any case”) does NOT require punctuation. For example: “War is necessary one way or another.”
Always WITHOUT commas:
Firstly
at first sight
like
it seems
for sure
similarly
More or less
literally
in addition
in the (eventual) end
in the end
as a last resort
best case scenario
Anyway
at the same time
overall
mostly
especially
in some cases
through thick and thin
subsequently
otherwise
as a result
due to this
after all
in this case
in the same time
generally
in this regard
mainly
often
exclusively
at most
meanwhile
just in case
in case of emergency
if possible
as far as possible
still
practically
approximately
with all that
with (all) desire
on occasion
wherein
equally
the biggest
at the very least
actually
generally
maybe
as if
in addition
to top it off
I guess
by the proposal
by decree
by decision
as if
traditionally
supposedly
The comma is NOT included
at the beginning of a sentence:
“Before... I found myself...”
"Since…"
"Before as…"
"Although…"
"As…"
"In order to…"
"Instead of…"
“Actually...”
"While…"
“Especially since...”
"Nevertheless…"
“Despite the fact that...” (at the same time - separately); There is NO comma before “what”.
"If…"
"After…"
“And...”
“Finally” in the meaning of “finally” is NOT separated by commas.
“And this despite the fact that...” - a comma is ALWAYS placed in the middle of a sentence!
“Based on this, ...” - a comma is placed at the beginning of the sentence. BUT: “He did this based on...” - a comma is NOT used.
“After all, if..., then...” - a comma is NOT placed before “if”, since then comes the second part of the double conjunction - “then”. If there is no “then”, then a comma is placed before “if”!
“For less than two years...” - a comma is NOT placed before “what”, because This is NOT a comparison.
A comma is placed before “HOW” only in case of comparison.
“Politicians such as Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov...” - a comma is added because there is a noun "policy".
BUT: “...politicians such as Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov...” - a comma is NOT placed before “how”.
Commas are NOT used:
“God forbid”, “God forbid”, “for God’s sake” - are not separated by commas, + the word “God” is written with a small letter.
BUT: commas are placed in both directions:
“Thank God” in the middle of the sentence is highlighted with commas on both sides (the word “God” in this case is written with a capital letter) + at the beginning of the sentence - highlighted with a comma (on the right side).
“By God” - in these cases, commas are placed on both sides (the word “God” in this case is written with a small letter).
“Oh my God” - separated by commas on both sides; in the middle of the sentence, “God” - with a small letter.
If the introductory word can be omitted or rearranged to another place in the sentence without disturbing its structure (usually this happens with conjunctions “and” and “but”), then the conjunction is not included in the introductory construction - a comma is NEEDED. For example: “Firstly, it became dark, and, secondly, everyone was tired.”
If the introductory word cannot be removed or rearranged, then a comma is NOT placed after the conjunction (usually with the conjunction “a”). For example: “She simply forgot about this fact, or maybe she never remembered it,” “..., and therefore, …”, “..., and maybe …”, “..., and therefore, …”.
If the introductory word can be removed or rearranged, then a comma is NEEDED after the conjunction “a”, since it is not associated with the introductory word, i.e., welded combinations such as “and therefore”, “and however”, “and therefore” are not formed. or maybe”, etc. For example: “She not only didn’t love him, but maybe even despised him.”
If at the beginning of the sentence there is a coordinating conjunction (in the connecting meaning) (“and”, “yes” in the meaning of “and”, “too”, “also”, “and that”, “and that”, “yes and”, “ and also”, etc.), and then an introductory word, then a comma in front of it is NOT needed. For example: “And really, you shouldn’t have done that”; “And perhaps it was necessary to do something differently”; “And finally, the action of the play is ordered and divided into acts”; “Besides, other circumstances have come to light”; “But of course, everything ended well.”
It happens rarely: if at the beginning of a sentence there is a connecting conjunction, and the introductory construction is highlighted intonationally, then commas are NEEDED. For example: “But, to my great chagrin, Shvabrin decisively announced...”; “And, as usual, they remembered only one good thing.”
Basic groups of introductory words
and phrases
(set off by commas + on both sides in the middle of the sentence)
1. Expressing the speaker’s feelings (joy, regret, surprise, etc.) in connection with the message:
to annoyance
to amazement
Unfortunately
unfortunately
unfortunately
to joy
Unfortunately
to shame
fortunately
to the surprise
to horror
bad luck
for joy
for luck
the hour is not exactly
there's no point in hiding
by misfortune
fortunately
strange affair
amazing thing
what good, etc.
2. Expressing the speaker’s assessment of the degree of reality of what is being communicated (confidence, uncertainty, assumption, possibility, etc.):
without any doubts
undoubtedly
undoubtedly
may be
right
probably
apparently
Maybe
Indeed
in fact
there must be
Think
Seems
it would seem
Certainly
Maybe
May be
Maybe
Hope
presumably
is not it
undoubtedly
obviously
apparently
in all probability
truly
perhaps
I guess
in fact
essentially
Truth
right
of course
goes without saying
tea, etc.
3. Indicating the source of what is being reported:
They say
they say
they say
transmit
In your
according to...
I remember
In my
in our opinion
according to legend
according to information...
according to…
according to rumors
according to message...
in your opinion
audible
report, etc.
4. Indicating the connection of thoughts, the sequence of presentation:
All in all
Firstly,
secondly, etc.
however
Means
in particular
The main thing
Further
Means
So
For example
Besides
by the way
By the way
by the way
by the way
finally
vice versa
For example
against
I repeat
I emphasize
more than that
on the other side
On the one side
that is
thus, etc.
as it were
whatever it was
5. Indicating techniques and ways of formatting expressed thoughts:
or rather
generally speaking
in other words
if I may say so
if I may say so
in other words
in other words
in short
better to say
to put it mildly
in a word
simply put
in a word
as a matter of fact
if I may say so
so to speak
to be precise
what is it called, etc.
6. Representing appeals to the interlocutor (reader) in order to attract his attention to what is being reported, to instill a certain attitude towards the facts presented:
do you believe
do you believe
do you see
you see)
imagine
let's say
do you know)
Do you know)
Sorry)
believe me
Please
understand
do you understand
do you understand
listen
suppose
Imagine
Sorry)
let's say
agree
agree, etc.
7. Measures indicating an assessment of what is being said:
at least, at least - are isolated only when inverted: “This issue was discussed twice, at least.”
the biggest
at the very least
8. Showing the degree of normality of what is being reported:
It happens
it happened
as usual
according to custom
happens
9. Expressive statements:
All jokes aside
between us it will be said
just between you and me
need to say
it won't be said as a reproach
frankly
according to conscience
in fairness
admit say
to speak honestly
funny to say
Honestly.
Set expressions with comparison
(without commas):
poor as a church mouse
white as a harrier
white as a sheet
white as snow
fight like a fish on ice
pale as death
shines like a mirror
the disease vanished as if by hand
fear like fire
wanders around like a restless person
rushed like crazy
mumbles like a sexton
ran in like crazy
lucky, as a drowned man
spins like a squirrel in a wheel
visible as day
squeals like a pig
lies like a gray gelding
everything is going like clockwork
everything is as chosen
jumped up as if scalded
jumped up as if stung
stupid as a plug
looked like a wolf
goal like a falcon
hungry as wolf
as far as heaven from earth
shaking as if with a fever
trembled like an aspen leaf
he's like water off a duck's back
wait like manna from heaven
wait like a holiday
lead a cat and dog life
live like a bird of heaven
fell asleep like the dead
frozen like a statue
lost like a needle in a haystack
sounds like music
healthy as a bull
know like crazy
have at one's fingertips
fits like a cow's saddle
goes next to me like it's sewn on
like he sank into the water
roll around like cheese in butter
sways like a drunk
swayed (swayed) like jelly
handsome as god
red like a tomato
red as a lobster
strong (strong) like an oak
screams like a catechumen
light as a feather
flies like an arrow
bald as a knee
it's raining cats and dogs
waves his arms like a windmill
rushing around like crazy
wet as a mouse
gloomy as a cloud
dropping like flies
hope like a stone wall
people like sardines in a barrel
dress up like a doll
you can't see your ears
silent as the grave
dumb as a fish
rush (rush) like crazy
rush (rush) like crazy
rushing around like a fool with a written bag
runs around like a chicken and an egg
needed like air
needed like last year's snow
needed like the fifth spoke in a chariot
Like a dog needs a fifth leg
peel off like sticky
one like a finger
remained broke like a lobster
stopped dead in his tracks
razor sharp
different as day from night
different as heaven from earth
bake like pancakes
turned white as a sheet
turned pale as death
repeated as if in delirium
you'll go like a darling
remember your name
remember like in a dream
get caught like chickens in cabbage soup
hit like a gun on the head
sprinkle like a cornucopia
similar as two peas in a pod
sank like a stone
appear as if by command of a pike
loyal like a dog
stuck like a bath leaf
fall through the ground
good (useful) like milk from a goat
disappeared as if into the water
just like a knife to the heart
burned like fire
works like an ox
understands oranges like a pig
disappeared like smoke
play it like clockwork
grow like mushrooms after the rain
grow by leaps and bounds
drop from the clouds
fresh like blood and milk
fresh as a cucumber
sat as if chained
sit on pins and needles
sit on coals
listened as if spellbound
looked enchanted
slept like a log
rush like hell
stands like a statue
slender as a Lebanese cedar
melts like a candle
hard as a rock
dark as night
accurate as a clock
skinny as a skeleton
cowardly as a hare
died like a hero
fell as if knocked down
stubborn as a sheep
stuck like a bull
mulish
tired as a dog
cunning like a fox
cunning like a fox
gushes like a bucket
walked around like a daze
walked like a birthday boy
walk on a thread
cold as ice
skinny as a sliver
black as coal
black as hell
feel at home
feel like you're behind a stone wall
feel like a fish in water
staggered like a drunk
It's like being executed
as clear as two and two is four
clear as day, etc.
Do not confuse with homogeneous members
1. The following stable expressions are not homogeneous and therefore are NOT separated by a comma:
neither this nor that;
neither fish nor fowl;
neither stand nor sit;
no end or edge;
neither light nor dawn;
not a sound, not a breath;
neither for yourself nor for people;
neither sleep nor spirit;
neither here nor there;
for no reason about anything;
neither give nor take;
no answer, no hello;
neither yours nor ours;
neither subtract nor add;
and this way and that;
both day and night;
both laughter and grief;
and cold and hunger;
both old and young;
about this and that;
both;
in both.
(General rule: a comma is not placed inside complete phraseological expressions formed by two words with opposite meanings, connected by a repeated conjunction “and” or “nor”)
2. NOT separated by commas:
1) Verbs in the same form, indicating movement and its purpose.
I'll go for a walk.
Sit down and rest.
Go take a look.
2) Forming a semantic unity.
Can't wait.
Let's sit and talk.
3) Paired combinations of a synonymous, antonymous or associative nature.
Seek the truth.
There is no end.
Honor and praise to all.
Let's go.
Everything is covered.
It's nice to see.
Questions of purchase and sale.
Greet with bread and salt.
Tie hand and foot.
4) Compound words (interrogative-relative pronouns, adverbs that contrast something).
For some people, but you can’t.
It’s somewhere, somewhere, and everything is there.
That's all. Thanks for the educational program baddcat http://baddcat.livejournal.com/92274.html
