5 Sentences in Need of Commas

5 Sentences in Need of Commas 5 Sentences in Need of Commas 5 Sentences in Need of Commas By Mark Nichol Commas signal delineation in sentences, sometimes showing the break point between two thoughts and sometimes marking the beginning and end of a phrase inserted in the midst of a sentence. Here are five sentences in which a single comma, or the second of an inseparable pair, is missing, with revisions and explanations. 1. â€Å"Even when he was caught, some say he was plotting.† The phrase â€Å"some say† is an interjection in the midst of the statement â€Å"Even when he was caught, he was plotting.† It is not enough to merely insert the phrase; one must bracket it in commas (the first of which supersedes the original comma, the function of which is to separate the sentence’s two clauses): â€Å"Even when he was caught, some say, he was plotting.† 2. â€Å"Sorry guys, she’s married.† When directing a comment at readers, the writer must set off with commas the word or words used to identify the audience: â€Å"Sorry, guys, she’s married.† (Otherwise, the writer appears to be addressing guys who are sorry though they are sorry if they’re thinking they have a chance with the woman in question, so the erroneous version almost works.) The sentence is further improved by distinguishing the internal punctuation to enhance the impact of the statement: â€Å"Sorry, guys she’s married.† 3. â€Å"Now there’s a formula for ethical quandary.† Terms that are located at the beginning of a sentence and that refer to time (now, soon, before, afterward, and so on) may or may not, depending on their function, be followed by a comma, but in this case, in which now is used as a meaningless interjection and the emphasis is on the expletive there’s, it is essential: â€Å"Now, there’s a formula for ethical quandary.† Otherwise, the statement reads like a pitch from a television commercial for a shampoo formulated to eradicate ethical quandary. (Now, that would be a hot-selling product.) 4. â€Å"Residents decide driving, and shorter trips to places like Canada are safer options.† The phrase referring to travel to Canada is an interjection inserted into â€Å"Residents decide driving is the safer option,† with a change in the verb is and conversion of the singular option to the plural options to accommodate the additional choice: â€Å"Residents decide driving, and shorter trips to places like Canada, are safer options.† (Note that if the conjunction and were replaced with or, the verb and the form of the noun would remain singular: â€Å"Residents decide driving, or shorter trips to places like Canada, is a safer option.†) Alternatively, the sole comma in the original version could be omitted (â€Å"Residents decide driving and shorter trips to places like Canada are safer options†), but that revision changes the sense somewhat, turning a parenthetical aside into an integral part of the statement. 5. â€Å"This city knows how to create high-rise neighborhoods while San Francisco just talks about it.† Without a comma between the two clauses in this sentence, it reads as if one city has the knowledge about how to create high-rise neighborhoods during the time San Francisco just talks about it. But the meaning is that while San Francisco dawdles, the other city does: â€Å"This city knows how to create high-rise neighborhoods, while San Francisco just talks about it.† While is not used here to mean â€Å"at the same time,† denoting a continuation of one thought; it is a synonym for whereas, and the comma signals a new thought. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"Use a Dash for Number RangesHow to Send Tactful Emails from a Technical Support Desk