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In the text below, do I need a comma right after the word "неправильно"?

И здесь я вовсе не спрашиваю о том, правильно ли это или неправильно отчитывать детей при всех, я просто хочу узнать, как у вас обходятся с детьми.

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    I think No, but I'm not sure. If I'll write this text to somebody of my colleagues, I will not use the comma.
    – Ella S.
    Apr 24, 2015 at 6:24
  • If there is no ambiguity (and there's no), I prefer do not use a comma, regardless of rules. But it is only IMHO.
    – Avtokod
    Apr 24, 2015 at 6:59
  • Guess, there's no clause that requires to be separated by comma.
    – Ivan
    Apr 24, 2015 at 7:02

2 Answers 2

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The crux is это. With it, you have a complete clause in правильно ли это или неправильно, and you need punctuation where it ends. I'd say, though, that a dash would fit much better than a comma.

If you lose это, and possibly ли along with it, and are left with правильно или неправильно отчитывать детей при всех, no punctuation is needed, since the verb phrase about telling children off becomes the subject.

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  • So, if I keep это and ли, then I need comma, right?
    – brilliant
    Apr 24, 2015 at 11:41
  • @brilliant You need something, and, like I said, I think it should be a dash. A comma would look somewhat random there, or else mark the sentence for a kind of brooding intonation. Apr 24, 2015 at 11:44
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You don't need this comma.

The rule applied here (useful with any parenthetical clause or word): if you can withdraw the part of sentence between commas and the sentence will be still meaningful then commas are needed.

Check - the sentence without the part at question loses any sense:

И здесь я вовсе не спрашиваю о том, отчитывать детей при всех, я просто хочу узнать, как у вас обходятся с детьми.

Similar example where commas are needed (from here):

Случайно появляется газ или нет, связан ли он с циклонами, а значит, можно ли по этому признаку прогнозировать – вопрос требует выяснения.

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  • I'm sorry but your answer is wrong. You seem to have missed the это. It's the difference between что за человек такой Иванов and что это за человек такой — Иванов. Apr 24, 2015 at 11:35

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