Question on Grammar (Period, or not?)
My friend needs me to post here to see what is the correct way to word this.
I'm 90% certain this will be deleted or promptly ignored, but I digress.
Now, does this statement, "I'm better at the English language than you you native English speaker" need a period between the two "you"s?
I stand by that it doesn't since there is no pause between them. The first "you" ends the subject matter of whom the speaker is better than. The second "you" continues with a description of the aforementioned.
Now Front Row Crew Forums, perhaps Mr. Period, I ask you, what do you think of this? Because apparently you're the source for authenticity on a claim when it comes to my friend =P
Comments
Try to say that sentence out loud without pausing between the two "you"'s. You'll see it sounds wrong and needs a pause between the two sentences. Try it, both without and with pause. With the pause the sentence sounds better.
It's not a run-on sentence, but ah... *googles* A comma splice? I know not the words to describe these things, neither in English nor Dutch.
EDIT: Has there ever been a topic that has been deleted?
"I am better at the English language than you: a native English speaker."
Also out of curiosity, would proper grammar dictate that an additional verb or noun is needed after the word "better"? "the English language" seems a little vague as to what exactly about the English language you are better at. I know this is very picky, but I am curious as to what an English professor would dictate the most proper way to word the above noted sentence.
Your second question is nitpicking. It's like asking: "Okay, tell me exactly what you are better at than me then". And besides, there's already a word there, 'at'.