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I have the following sentence:

"To this end(,) efficient algorithms are necessary". Is the comma correct or not?

I'd appreciate every comment and would be thankful for your help.

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When deciding to use a comma, it's often useful to imagine saying the phrase, and whether it would work better with a slight pause at that point. The comma is like the written equivalent of the pause.

In this case, the pause in speaking aids comprehension for the listener, and so the comma aids comprehension for the reader. From a grammatical point of view, it breaks up the sentence into phrases - a coding equivalent would be the use of round braces to say "this stuff goes together".

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  • Thanks Max for your answer. So would you use the comma? If I understood correctly you are stating that from a grammatical point of view it is not advicable to use it but for the reader it might be helpful?
    – PeterBe
    Commented Aug 18, 2020 at 15:56
  • Yes, I would use it - that's what I meant when I said it aids comprehension (which is a good reason to use it). I didn't say that it's not advisable from a grammatical point of view - it's more that there isn't a grammatical rule about whether it's good or bad: the grammar just explains what it does.
    – Max Williams
    Commented Aug 18, 2020 at 15:59
  • Thanks Max for your answer and help (I accepted your answer).
    – PeterBe
    Commented Aug 18, 2020 at 16:29

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