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Placement of commas
Posted: 03 Jun 2022, 14:31
by AJent_07
- When the limo pulled away from the curb the lights of a Land Rover, parked in front of the park next door, went on, and it quickly pulled out and followed the limo.
error : there should be a comma after the curb
- “In the entire history of the science of paleontology it is reasonably estimated that one percent of the earth’s vast expanse of potentially exploitable surface sites have been investigated by professionals."
error : there should be a comma after paleontology
- When they uncovered the bones of a mastodon he was committed for life, to the immense pleasure and relief of his aging uncle, whose own two sons had been more interested in sports and girls than history of any kind.
error : there should be a comma after mastodon not life
- Outside the White House a gentle, windless snowfall and the glow of yellow lights in windows provided a tranquil contrast to the tension and angry arguments going on inside almost exactly two months after war was declared.
error : there should be a comma after White House
- After Joshua worked his men through an extra-long, hard day of road construction practice they trudged in late to their barracks area and went straight to the chow line, with no time to clean up before the mess hall closed.
error : there should be a comma after practice
Are all these not considered errors?
What does a person mean when they say
one complete thought/sentence, comma not necessary
for all these statements?
Re: Placement of commas
Posted: 05 Jun 2022, 00:52
by MsH2k
AJent_07 wrote: ↑03 Jun 2022, 14:31
1. When the limo pulled away from the curb the lights of a Land Rover, parked in front of the park next door, went on, and it quickly pulled out and followed the limo.
error : there should be a comma after the curb
2. “In the entire history of the science of paleontology it is reasonably estimated that one percent of the earth’s vast expanse of potentially exploitable surface sites have been investigated by professionals."
error : there should be a comma after paleontology
3. When they uncovered the bones of a mastodon he was committed for life, to the immense pleasure and relief of his aging uncle, whose own two sons had been more interested in sports and girls than history of any kind.
error : there should be a comma after mastodon not life
4. Outside the White House a gentle, windless snowfall and the glow of yellow lights in windows provided a tranquil contrast to the tension and angry arguments going on inside almost exactly two months after war was declared.
error : there should be a comma after White House
5. After Joshua worked his men through an extra-long, hard day of road construction practice they trudged in late to their barracks area and went straight to the chow line, with no time to clean up before the mess hall closed.
error : there should be a comma after practice
Are all these not considered errors?
What does a person mean when they say
one complete thought/sentence, comma not necessary
for all these statements?
I agree that a comma should be used after the subordinate clause in the first and fifth sentences. Here are two supporting sources.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writ ... ommas.html
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/subordinate-clause/
In the third sentence, the comma after
mastodon should be included for the same reason; however, the comma after
life is not necessarily in error because it could be introducing a parenthetical element at the end of the sentence. Example #8 in the Purdue link may support this usage.
The second and fourth sentences are slightly different because they are phrases instead of clauses. Many sources recommend using a comma after an introductory phrase of four words or longer, but it is not a consistent rule. A comma should be used to avoid ambiguity, but a case could be made that the sentences are clear without the commas.
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/commas-a ... y-phrases/
https://www.englishgrammar101.com/modul ... y%20Adverb
It sounds like the
person’s response is to reinforce the need to not include the commas. I’m not sure of the context for this difference of opinion, but I hope this information helps.