alongside

[simplythebest]

Hi there,

I'd like you to tell me if 'alongside' in the following sentence is ok:

'Through this type of exercise alongside word search puzzles I have tried to cover a wide range of topic-based vocabulary.'

Is 'alongside' here synonymous with 'together with'?
Need I place any commas in my sentence?

Thank you,
simplythebest

[hermit]

you have the correct meaning of 'alongside'.

there is need for a comma to separate the introductory prepositional phrase from the rest of the sentence. it will be placed after 'puzzles'.

hermit

[simplythebest]

Hi,
Thank you.
I'm a bit puzzled as to the comma in the sentence: first, you say:

there is need for a comma to separate the introductory prepositional phrase from the rest of the sentence.

then:

it will be placed after 'puzzles'.

My sentence reads:
'Through this type of exercise alongside word search puzzles I have tried to cover a wide range of topic-based vocabulary.'

Can you help me out, please?

simplythebest...

[hermit]

yes, i must correct myself here. there are two prepositional phrases, not just one.

the first begins with through - the second begins with alongside - both words used in this case as prepositions

punctuation would be - "through this type of exercise, alongside word search puzzles, I have tried to cover a wide range of topic-based vocabulary"

sorry for the confusion

hermit

[pedagog]

What hermit means is that "alongside word search puzzles" is a parenthetical phrase. It isn't essential to the grammar of the sentence, but it provides additional meaning. One could separate it with parentheses or with commas, but either way, both one before and one after the phrase are required.