Look at this sentence "Is there any doubt, demand the naysayers, about the terminus of this continuing process?". What kind of sentence is this called when the subject (naysayers) is put in between the commas? Another example "In contrast, philosophical arguments, lacking that important pushback from the world, don’t have a comparable track record in establishing what Hume called matters of fact and existence."
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1 Answer
According to Grammar Girl, "demand the naysayers" is an attributive:
An attributive, also known as identifier or signifier, is the “he said, she said” that show the reader who is saying what.
An example given in the same page is:
“Nasty as the job may be,” said Henrik, “the goat needs a good scrubbing.”
In your second example the subject isn't set off by commas. What is set off is the Prepositional Phrase "In contrast" and the Present Participle Phrase "lacking that important pushback from the world", all of which makes the subject look like it is set off, but it isn't.
Both "In contrast" and "lacking that important pushback from the world" are parentheticals:
Parenthetical: set off within or as if within parentheses; qualifying or explanatory. [The Free Dictionary]
Therefore, both can be omitted without the sentence changing its overall meaning. Note how your sentence is still sound without the parenthetical phrases/clauses:
- "Philosophical arguments don’t have a comparable track record in establishing what Hume called matters of fact and existence."
You can tell the subject isn't a parenthetical because it can't be omitted without rendering the sentence ungrammatical:
- "In contrast, lacking that important pushback from the world, don’t have a comparable track record in establishing what Hume called matters of fact and existence."
