Questions tagged [commas]
The comma is a punctuation character that is placed on the baseline and looks similar to a single quotation mark.
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Trying to understand how to connect phrases/clauses with commas
Take this fragment for example:
The snow had come from the north, in the mist, driven by the night wind, smelling of the sea.
It is from John Le Carré's The Looking Glass War. I've seen writers do ...
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Can we join two sentences with a comma if written in a conversational tone? Is this sentence grammatically correct? [duplicate]
Can we join two sentences with a comma if written in a conservational tone? Is this sentence grammatically correct?
We also need to remember that donations need not be strictly only in cash, they can ...
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Ellipsis in complex lists
How is this construction correct?
The drawing-room began to look empty: the baccarat was discontinued
for lack of a banker; more than one person said goodnight of his own
accord, and was suffered to ...
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What is the function of "as" here in the sentence and is there a lack of preposition before "the unpardonable sin"? [closed]
Thus, for instance, I was much moved by the eloquent attack on Christianity as a thing of inhuman gloom; for I thought (and still think) sincere pessimism the unpardonable sin. Insincere pessimism is ...
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Name for the comma in "Jim kept walking, past the streetlight."
I want to explain to a student why "Jim kept walking past the streetlight" conjures up an image of someone repeatedly walking past the streetlight, and that if the student merely wants to ...
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Which punctuation is best for connecting the latter longer clause in this sentence, or is the comma splice okay? [closed]
I am proofreading a colleague's work. And I know that you should use a connective/conjunction to join two clauses together rather than a comma splice, and so, in the past I have made such corrections ...
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Does comma+conjunction require a subject after it?
Take these examples:
"He walked to the store, and he bought bread."
"He walked to the store, and bought bread."
"He walked to the store and he bought bread."
"He ...
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Use of comma vs semicolon
Why are the answers for these two different?
Wrong: It rained all day, and thus, the hut collapsed.
Correct: It rained all day, and thus the hut collapsed.
"And" with conjunctive adverbs: ...
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Comma and inversion
I just wrote an English exam and I'm not sure if these two sentences which I've written are correct. If they're not, please tell me and if they are please back that up with a credible source.
Not ...
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Must, or at least may, a comma be placed whenever a verb might be mistaken for a part of a would-be compound noun?
To clarify with a made-up example:
When you address the nation state ...
Above, 'state' could be taken as either
a part of an open compound noun ('nation state', see footnote), or
a verb ('to state'...
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Do I need the comma in "it is in short...everthing"? [duplicate]
The intended meaning is that 'it', described simply, is 'everything'.
Would I write:
It is in short...everything.
Or:
It is, in short...everthing.
Instinctively, I believe that a comma is needed ...
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I ate the carrots(,) and the soup(,) and the mutton
I have been wondering whether we ought to use commas to separate repetitive conjunctions in English. In German, we don't; in Russian, we usually do. Could you help me figure it out; or, in other words,...
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Are "compared with" and "compared to" participle phrases?
Is "compared with" in the sentence below a participle phrase?
If so, why shouldn't a comma precede it? If not, what role is it playing?
The number of people who regularly eat fast food was ...
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Comma placement for speaker's name in publication
I'm editing a flyer someone else wrote and I have the following sentence:
Our storytelling series launches with featured speaker, Aloysius Firefly, professor of arts.
I think ought to be "... ...
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does this comma belong? [duplicate]
Sentence in question: "Please call xxx-xxx-xxxx, and let them know you are with X organization." Is the comma after the phone number necessary/required?
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Why “…, like,…”?
Can someone explain why I need to set off the adverb like with commas? I saw The New Yorker use it in a recent article,
A senior defense official told me that Kahl was surprised by whom he was about ...
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Coordinating conjunctions, consequences of actions, and commas
I've managed to completely confuse myself by thinking myself in circles. I know that when a coordinating conjunction joins two independent clauses (unless they're particularly short), you need to use ...
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How do I identify and punctuate appositives?
An appositive is a noun that immediately follows another noun in order to clarify it.
An appositive usually follows the noun it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it.
Restrictive ...
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Commas in a sentence "if not... then", and why
I struggle with commas. Not sure if it's because I never learnt any grammar, I have unusual breathing habits, am oddly polemical in speech, or what exactly. Anyway
Should you include (the) commas in ...
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When to use one or two commas with appositives?
I can't seem to find the answer to the above question.
I know when to use no commas (essential) and when to use two commas (non-essential), but when do you use only one comma?
It appears you use only ...
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Aren't all of the following sentences correct? [closed]
My friend was recently taking a test and couldn't figure out which sentence was correct. This has been bothering me for the past few days because I just can't wrap my mind around which sentence the ...
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Should the coordinating conjunction be preceded by a comma when there is an introductory element that covers both clauses?
If there exists an introductory, dependent clause/phrase that is meant to describe both or all clauses of a sentence, do we add a comma before the coordinating conjunction?
Tomorrow, Bob will go to ...
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Inserting a complete sentence between commas [closed]
Following is an excerpt from an NYT article:
On a long walk around the waterfront near his Brooklyn apartment one recent afternoon, Moss-Bachrach greeted many neighbors. He’s been in the same airy, ...
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Comma before "and" with two adjectives paralleled
The following paragraph is an excerpt from the NYT article:
Just don’t call him a dirtbag, Moss-Bachrach pleaded. “I get a little sensitive,” he said. “My feelings get hurt.” He’s made a specialty of ...
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Should I place a comma before “and” after listing 2 items [duplicate]
Like for example, “ Can I get a Glazed donut, and a cake pop “ or “ Do you guys have French fries, chicken nuggets, and burgers?
I keep getting confused because when I put “and” it feels like I don’t ...
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Comma “A second before…”
I’m wondering if the comma placed before “he” in the sentence below is correct.
A second before the blast wave hit the bridge and ripped it apart, he jumped back.
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What is the correct punctuation when using two adjacent parentheticals in the middle of a sentence? [duplicate]
I was reading an amateur novel which had this sentence:
Humans by nature, at least in this day and age are fickle creatures.
My immediate thought was that the comma placement was wrong. My first ...
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Why is the comma added? [closed]
Why is the comma added in the following?
[The] Hyena crept slowly round, making the most of his spotted brown camouflaged fur against the brownish stems of grass.
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How would you join a dependent clause to an independent clause that ends with a list?
Here is an example:
I have developed my ability to identify the factors that impact my physical, mental, and emotional health[,] and am beginning to apply this understanding to make informed ...
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Why should there be a comma in this sentence before "because"?
It was supported by stating that a reliable fabric supplier has been found and that a major competitor is no longer making alpaca overcoats, because of which demand will be high.
Why is there a comma ...
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Should there be a comma before "and" in this sentence?
There should be opposing viewpoints so that discussion can take multiple turns AND people can finally reach a solution that neutralizes both viewpoints.
Should there be a comma before "and" ...
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Commas in an introductory phrase for both a time shift and a new setting
So let’s say I’ve got an introductory phrase that introduces both a new setting and a new shift in time, sort of like a “scene change” phrase. For example, let’s say those two elements are “later” for ...
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Is the comma between the words 'that' and 'if' in this sentence incorrect?
In A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Bertrand Russell writes:
Hegel thought that, if enough was known about a thing to distinguish
it from all other things, then all its properties could be ...
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Is a comma needed with present participle phrase?
I'm not sure if I'm using the correct terminology in my subject line, but I'm trying to figure out why the following two sentences do not seem correct to me:
But, if the larva is female, then it ...
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How should I punctuate a phrasal adjective with additional adjective before the noun?
I am trying to discover the correct hyphenation and/or comma placement for the following sentence relating to honey bees:
When she hatches out of her egg, she is placed into a royal jelly filled ...
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Comma usage and "for" [duplicate]
Here are three examples collected from the Internet:
(1) Teslamotors.com is for many, the first introduction to Tesla and EVs. (one-comma version)
(2) This last point is, for many, the most ...
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The way to join multiple relative clauses
One sentence on this website says:
It is caused chiefly by kleptocratic governments or private interests in league with governments that make market exchange unprofitable, that make investment in ...
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Comma joining a question and a quoted speech
I find this sentence in a paper:
If this coming to awareness is true good luck, why would Shi Tiesheng need designer luck, he asks: “perhaps I’m already the darling of fate?”
Apparently, the author ...
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Why/how do the commas work in this sentence?
Why or how do the commas work in this sentence?
If the second I text you back, you call me because you know I'm holding my phone, I will call the police.
They’re not parenthetical.
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Should there be a comma after the word "and" in this sentence with a subordinate and indendant clause after the word "and"?
I believe I've got the proper comma placements for these two sentences:
"The ball fell to the ground, and he caught it after it bounced."
"After it bounced, he caught it."
...
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Comma use in a sentence with an internal correction [duplicate]
She is truly a, no THE winner.
I am having trouble deciding if this punctuation is correct, or whether it should be:
She is truly a, no THE, winner.
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Comma after interjection [duplicate]
God how we hate our boss.
God, how we hate our boss.
Should there be a comma after God? It seems to me God and how go together. God how we... Lord how we...
Putting a comma between God and how seems ...
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When you're using "here" in a sentence to specify a person, where do the commas go, if any?
When you use "here" to refer to a specific person, where do the commas go? Are commas around "here" correct? Because it doesn't look quite right to me...
For example,
Catherine, ...
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What grammar rule is this? (Commas)
a detective club consisting of teens specializing in solving mysteries → each teen is great at solving mysteries
a detective club consisting of teens, specializing in solving
mysteries → the detective ...
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You don't use a comma listing only two items, but SAT Reading Passage does. Why?
"Great Writing" series taught me not to use a comma when listing only two(2) items.
Grammarly and Google search seems to tell me the same.
When there are two items in a list, don't use a ...
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Do these sentences need commas? [closed]
Below are some examples of sentences that I have seen written both ways in professional material. The latter two cases were written by C.S. Lewis in That Hideous Strength (his versions are the ...
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Confusion from a Vocative Comma before a List
Is there any alternative punctuation to eliminate the ambiguity between the vocative comma and the list comma in a sentence like "John, Paul, George, and Ringo arrived earlier." The idea is ...
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Do interjections like “but hey” have commas between them?
It seems like the correct spelling is “but, hey,” however, especially when followed by a clause, the pauses (perhaps) become excessive and the comma is frequently dropped.
For example: “But hey, at ...
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Should I use a comma before it's in a follow-on independent clause?
I just want to gulp it down it's that good.
I just want to gulp it down, it's that good.
Wondering about using a comma here...
user472789
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"What is it(,) to be a hero?"
My friend and I have gotten into a rather passionate debate about whether Karen Paige's monologue at the end of season two of Daredevil was written in a grammatically correct fashion.
On screen, we ...
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