Grammar: Punctuating a question with a qualifier.

Factual Questions
1

Here’s an example:
Do you want me to go with you because I’d rather stay here

Now I assume this should be:

Do you want me to go with you? Because I’d rather stay here.

Is there any way to make this one sentence?

2

How about:

Do you want to go with me (because I’d rather stay here)?

3

I don’t think “because” is the right word. You’d rather stay here, but she wants you to go with her is the meaning I gleam from your sentence. So, why don’t you say so. “Do you want me to go with you? I’d rather stay here.” You do not “rather stay here” because she wants you to go with her, but despite that fact. Perhaps: “I’ll go with you if you want, but I’d rather stay here.”

4

Though I’d rather stay here, would you want me to go with you?

5

I would go for two sentences, definitely, and I’d also avoid starting the second one with “Because”.

6

What’s going on here is called ellipsis; there are words left out of the sentence. What KidCharlemagne is really saying is “Do you want me to go with you? I’m asking because I’d rather stay here.” In most conversations that I’ve heard, the “I’m asking because” part is satisfactorily represented by “because” alone.

Of course, to the truly discerning, the entire second sentence is implied by the first :stuck_out_tongue:

7

barbitu8, do you shave your head? I do, and that’s when I gleam. After reading the OP, however, I have gleaned that the desired message could be constructed and punctuated rather painlessly and meaningfully this way:

Do you really want me to go with you? :mad: :dubious: :frowning: :eek:

8

I think Nametag is right, I just couldn’t think of a good way of phrasing it.

I had a similar problem with something like “Do you have my new phone number? If not (I want you to know that) it’s xxx-xxxx-xxxx”

You might suggest saying “Do you have my new number? It’s xxx-xxxx-xxxx” or even “My new number’s xxx-xxxx-xxxx” but they both feel wrong if they do have it, though I may resort to the first :slight_smile:

9

I love the assumption that I’m saying this to a woman. :slight_smile:

BTW, I realize the sentence isn’t ideal but I was wondering how it would be punctuated if I were writing dialogue.

10

Chris said to Pat, “Do you want me to with you? Because I’d rather stay here.”

[Yes, sentences can start with conjunctions like ‘because.’ That’s the way we talk. It’s not good form for formal writing, and generally should be avoided, although, not necessarily.]
Peace.

Chris said to Pat, “Though I’d rather stay here, would you like me to go with you?”

Pat said to Chris, “You lazy bugger, go to hell for all I care!”