A common formulation of the punctuation rule"Before" this "is always put in a dash" is both true and false. The fact is that in this version the rule covers only a part of the cases when this word is used. It is understood that the "dash" before this word is always necessary without exception if it is a link between the subject and the predicate, in other cases other algorithms and rules may operate.
Dash in original structures
As you know, one of the main situations whenit is necessary to put dashes, represent proposals, the basis of which is expressed by a noun, numeral or infinitive, in them a sign is placed between the subject and the predicate:
Fret saw is a tool that even a woman can easily master. (A sign is placed between the subject and the predicate, expressed by the nouns.)
Late spring is the time of love, hope and expectation.
School is a time for self-determination and the formation of personality.
Dashes in the same constructions containing a bunch
Often the unsuccessful formulations of the Methodistsprimary school provoke errors in sentences, where the predicate is accompanied by a bunch. Everywhere the younger students are explained that "the dash is put instead of (!) The words" this "." This formulation works as a tool for putting signs in sentences without a bundle, but it is misleading if you need to put a sign in a sentence with this binding. The point is that the thus formulated "clue" logically implies that if a dash is put "instead of" a word, then when it is in the sentence, the need for a sign disappears. Many schoolchildren form a persistent stereotype, leading to stable errors: dashes are not put in sentences with a bunch.
Meanwhile, the rules of punctuation are strictly opposite. In the case when there is a bunch with a predicate, a dash before it is mandatory. Examples:
Autumn is a time for creativity and summing up.
To love is to sacrifice oneself.
To adopt a child is a gift not to him, but first of all to himself.
To come always in time is respect not only for others, but first of all for oneself and for one's business.
Dash before the predicate with a negative
A dash before the word "this", if it is a link between the subject and the predicate, is necessary even in cases where there is no need for a sign without a link.
Thus, there is no dash when the predicate contains a negation:
A little lop-eared puppy is not a toy. (A sign is not put, because before the predicate expressed by the noun, there is a negative particle "not.")
Even the most talented movie is not a replacement for a book.
Put the controversial diagnosis of a serious patient is not the area of competence of a nurse.
In the case where the predicate with negation is accompanied by a bunch, before "this" is always a dash:
A little lop-eared puppy is not a toy. (A sign is placed, since the particle "not" follows the binder.)
Even the most talented cinema is not a replacement for a book.
Put a controversial diagnosis of a serious patient - this is not the area of competence of a nurse.
Dash before the predicate, expressed by an infinitive
In constructions with infinitive predicates, this sign is placed regardless of whether a bundle is used or not.
To re-read the book I read in my childhood is like finding myself in my childhood. To re-read the book I read as a child, it's as if I were in my childhood.
To love a person for real - how to start living anew.
Swim in the lake in the early morning - how to look younger.
Sitting at the same table with old friends is like stopping the passage of time.
Synthesis word
The second case, which presupposes the obligatory statement of the sign, consists in the use of a generalizing sign. A dash before him is always put in these cases.
Go fishing, swim in the river, collect berries, cook at the stake - it's all the favorite signs of a rural summer.
Seagulls, clouds of lambs, screams of waders, tender water of the lake - all this beckons and is remembered for a long time.
Scandals, clarifying relations, little deceptions - is this not the way to break the relationship?
Particle
Confusion with a universal formulation "before"This" always stands for a dash "arises from the fact that a word formally looking always the same, in fact it can be different parts of speech. In the case when it comes to a particle, a dash before "this" is not put:
How did they leave without waiting for the fireworks?
Well, where did you all go together?
So after all, he then called and warned that the roads are slippery.
A reference word on the boundary of parts of a complex sentence
In many cases, theone of the parts of a complex sentence, the meaning of which is to explain, explain or supplement the previous part, and also draw a conclusion from it. In such cases, many intuitively put a dash in front of "this" instead of a comma. Such a sign is allowed, but it must be taken into account that the dash changes the intonational coloring of the whole sentence and puts other logical accents. A comma or a dash before "this" is certainly needed, but the choice of the sign as a whole remains for the writer. In neutral sentences of this type, a comma is placed on the boundary of the sentences.
Suddenly a huge bird flew to the terrace - it was all night long on the roof and did not allow to sleep. (A sign on the border of the sentence parts conveys the meaning: "So who did not let me sleep!", "Ah, it turns out, who was grinning!".)
At the very end of the eighteenth century Pushkin was born, this he will change the Russian language and the fate of Russian literature. (The "neutral" sign on the junction of the parts of a complex sentence shows the meaning: "As you know, it was he who changed the Russian language.")
On her knees lay the dachshund, this is her last year, we all were taken from Voronezh.
In the garden they have a Manchurian nut, this is a tree, the fruits of which are very similar to walnuts.
After a comparative turnover
There is no reason to put a "dash"Before the demonstrative pronoun in intonationally neutral constructions. For example, the question of a sign can arise when a pronoun follows a comparative turnover. In these cases, always put a comma. If, in such a sentence, before the word "this" is given a dash, this is a mistake.
Like any other animal, this creature is able to get used to a person.
Like all other generations, it needs something new and different.
Like a silent and consonant with the whole neighbor, this tree lives all his life near our house and pumps branches as a sign of his participation in our life.
However, from such cases it is necessary to distinguishProposals, the basis of which is expressed by a noun, a numeral or an infinitive, and which are complicated by comparative turnover. In such proposals, after a comparative turnover and before a bunch, both a comma and a dash are put:
The scream of a low heron flying over the marsh, like a wail of loneliness or a voice from another world, is always a disagreeable feeling even for a seasoned hunter. (The dash is set, as if there were no comparative turnover: "The cry of the low heron flying over the marsh is an unpleasant sensation even for a seasoned hunter ". The comma closes the comparative turnover.)
The new verses of an unfamiliar talented author, like the new world that opens up, are like confirming that everything in the world is all right. (A sentence without a relative turnover obviously requires a sign between the subject and the predicate.)
After a verbal participle or a single verbal participle
In addition, a sign is mistakenly put afterDeprivate or participial turnover. There are no logical reasons for such a sign, apparently, the writer is in the grip of the same stereotype, transferred from particular cases to all others: “there is a dash before“ this ”.
Being formed gradually, this decision became stronger and stronger, and finally it was made.
Being unattainable, this journey so absorbed his thoughts that he could not think about anything else.
Having run away on a meadow, this herd of released children did not hear and did not see anything except the sun, strawberries and butterflies.
As in the case described above, from suchconstructions should be distinguished by a sentence with a bunch before a predicate, pronounced noun, numeral or infinitive and complicated reproduction of words. In such sentences, two signs are placed before a bunch following a single verbal adverb or turnover:
Leaving forever, mentally looking back on past years, is a true test. (A dash is put for the same reason that it is necessary in the sentence "Leaving forever is a true test. ”. A comma before a dash is needed as a closing one for a de-participial turn.)
Watching children who learn to live, playing and arguing with each other and copying parents' behavior is not only fun and interesting activity, but also a reason to think about themselves. If you reduce the sentence, excluding from its composition an additional and secondary participial circulation, then the logic of the appearance of a dash is obvious: “Watching children is not only a fun and interesting activity, but also an occasion to reflect on oneself". A comma in front of this sign closes the adverbial turnover, and in the case of its exclusion - a subordinate clause.
So, whether a dash is put in front of “this”, if we are not talking about copyright signs, depends almost entirely on what part of the speech and what syntactic role this word is talking about.
