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Please help me determine whether or not to include a comma at the end of the third sentence:

"I won't be talking to my ex at the party tonight."

-"But what if she talks to you?"

"I won't be listening to her either."

-or-

"I won't be talking to my ex at the party tonight."

-"But what if she talks to you?"

"I won't be listening to her, either."

Thanks!

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    It depends. If it makes it clearer, add a comma. If not, leave it out.
    – Maverick
    Commented Jun 22, 2016 at 20:33
  • I will punctuate the silence, with commas.
    – TimR
    Commented Jan 25 at 22:11
  • It's natural (though not essential) to have a pause after her. To signal this, use a comma. But in this case you can choose.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented May 24 at 22:51

2 Answers 2

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It's the opposite of the previous comment. Without the comma emphasizes the word 'listening', in accordance with simultaneously not talking to her. With the comma, there's an emphasis on 'her' which implies that the speaker won't listen to her equally to not listening to another person.

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    – Community Bot
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 20:29
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Without the comma it means that he won’t listen to her - the same way as he won’t listen to anyone else. With the comma it means that he won’t talk and won’t listen to her. So yes, here the comma makes sense.

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