O interpunkcji zdań z frazami bezokolicznikowymi konotowanymi przez niż i zamiast
On the punctuation of sentences with infi nitive phrases connoted by niż ( than) and zamiast (instead)

Summary/Abstract: This paper is dedicated to the punctuation of sentences with infinitive phrases connoted by niż (than) and zamiast (instead). Some language users, including linguists, interpret them as clausal phrases, while others – as nonclausal ones, which obviously influences punctuation: presence or absence of a comma. However, as a result of a syntactic analysis, it has been found that in sentences such as: Lepiej zapobiegać niż leczyć (It is better to prevent than to treat), Wolę jeździć na rowerze niż pływać (I’d rather cycle than swim), Powinieneś mnie podwieźć zamiast zmuszać do podróży autobusem (You should give me a ride instead of making me go by bus) and Zamiast się uczyć poszedł na dyskotekę (Instead of learning, he went to the disco), the infinitives occurring in the Polish sentences after niż and zamiast are not functionally equivalent to the infinitive form nor are they contextually equivalent to complex predicates, and therefore there are no grounds for separating the phrases from the remaining part of the statement with a comma.

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