Breakdown of Редактор, исправляя пунктуацию, оставил важное замечание.
важный
important
исправлять
to correct
оставить
to leave behind (perfective)
редактор
editor
замечание
comment (remark)
пунктуация
punctuation
Questions & Answers about Редактор, исправляя пунктуацию, оставил важное замечание.
Why do we need commas around исправляя пунктуацию?
Исправляя пунктуацию is a verbal adverb phrase (деепричастный оборот). In Russian, these phrases must always be separated by commas from the rest of the sentence, no matter where they appear. Since it is right in the middle of the sentence here, it needs a comma both before and after it.
The main action оставил is perfective (completed). Why is the verbal adverb исправляя imperfective?
An imperfective verbal adverb shows that the action was happening at the exact same time as the main verb. The editor left the comment while in the process of correcting the punctuation. If we used the perfective form (исправив), it would mean he completely finished the punctuation first, and only then left the comment.
If I move исправляя пунктуацию to the end of the sentence, do I still need a comma?
Yes! Unlike standard participles (причастия), which only get commas if they come after the noun they modify, verbal adverbs (деепричастия) almost always require a comma, regardless of where they sit in relation to the main verb. If it moved to the end, it would be: Редактор оставил важное замечание, исправляя пунктуацию.
Does замечание always mean a neutral comment? I thought it meant a reprimand.
It can be both! Замечание comes from замечать (to notice). In editing, academic, or professional contexts, it usually just means a neutral comment, note, or observation. However, in everyday life or at school, the phrase сделать замечание often means to give someone a reprimand or scold them for bad behavior.
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