Is There a Comma After Once Again

The Optional Comma

May i, 2018 by ProofreadingPal in Writing Fiction

English grammar own't easy, and ultimately, after you've studied and swallowed grammar books until you just can't take it anymore, the last insult may exist that sometimes it but comes down to personal preference.

Such is the instance with the optional comma. That's a comma that can go or not go somewhere depending on what yous think works best. Information technology sounds great, but actually, information technology's grammar'south version of giving you enough rope to hang yourself.

Sigh.

Grammar Matters

Ultimately, the betoken of all grammar is to help the reader understand what's going on. Take the following famous example:

The panda eats, shoots, and leaves.

As opposed to the intended statement:

The panda eats shoots and leaves.

So the beginning thing to know about optional commas is that they appear only occasionally. The majority of commas are mandatory. You can't just stick a comma anywhere and merits the judgement looks ameliorate that fashion.

Grammar Rules Can't Cover Everything

Space is large. Really big. You lot simply won't believe how vastly, hugely, listen-bogglingly big it is. I mean, yous may think it's a long style down the road to the chemist, but that's but peanuts to—

Oh expect. I meant, language is large. Really large. You may think you've read a lot of books, but that's just peanuts to seeing the number of ways and means that people can put words together.

By their nature, grammer rules are anticipatory. Want to put extra info in that phrase? There's a dominion for that. Want to imply that some data is more than important than other information? There's a rule for that. Desire to suggest some information, so deny it, and offer another information instead? There'due south a rule for that.

But sometimes the rules but have to requite style to basic readability. Commas oft become optional when sentences are complex, or but patently long, and the reader could employ a trivial suspension.

Conjunctions

A classic optional comma shows up with conjunctive structures. The rule is that when y'all have 2 complete sentences joined by a conjunction, the comma goes before the conjunction:

I accept several things to buy, merely I don't have enough money.

When what comes later on the conjunction is not a complete judgement, you don't put a comma before the conjunction.

I have several things to buy merely not enough coin.

Nonetheless, when what comes before or later the conjunction is complicated past length or emphasis or modify in idea, that comma becomes optional. So both of the post-obit are correct:

I take several things to buy on the shopping list my mother wrote out for me yesterday only but a few things on the list my sister and I wrote together the twenty-four hours before when I had more than money.

and

I have several things to buy on the shopping listing my female parent wrote out for me yesterday, merely merely a few things on the list my sister and I wrote together the twenty-four hours before when I had more money.

Personally, I similar the second version better.

"Not only simply also" has an optional comma when you really want to stress that dissimilarity, and sometimes "neither . . . nor" can employ a boost also.

Interjections

Commas get around "of course" and "in fact," and other balmy interjections, and this used to exist 100 percent mandatory. These days, you lot don't have to put a comma in front of the interjection if information technology directly follows a conjunction.

Geraldine asked a lot of people, and in fact, she got results.

Information technology'southward truthful that "and, in fact," is fine, but it'south also a flake cluttered for today's tastes.

Adjectives

When nosotros put a lot of adjectives in forepart of a substantive, we employ commas to split them.

She has the cheaper, faster, smarter version of that software.

The optional comma comes in when the adjective-noun pairing can as well exist seen equally a two-give-and-take noun. Is "baby" an adjective in "baby buggy," or is "infant" part of the noun, equally in "tooth decay" and "action figure"?

So, here we have an optional comma where, again, both are correct:

It's stupid to fight in a unsafe, burning building.

and

It'south stupid to fight in a dangerous burning building.

Introductory Phrases

I'thou planning to devote a whole post to this one (oh, the excitement!) because putting a comma later an introductory phrase relies on a host of factors. For this mail, we'll deal with length.

Once once more, these are both correct:

While sunbathing with friends, we all forgot to reapply our sunblock.

and

While sunbathing with friends we all forgot to reapply our sunblock.

Readability is once once again central, which means that people generally put a comma later on a long introductory phrase simply not after a short 1. There is no real rule most that length, withal.

Repetitive Emphasis

Sometimes we desire to stress something strictly for the drama of it, and one way to do that is by repetition. Separating that repetition with commas is, once over again, optional. (And did you discover that in that last sentence I separated out "once again" with commas, whereas I didn't exercise it in the judgement to a higher place? Readability, infant!)

And so anyway, both of these are correct:

Frodo just walked, and walked, through that whole movie.

and

Frodo just walked and walked through that whole movie.

And then are:

The expressionless dragon fell from the sky, and fell with a boom.

and

The dead dragon roughshod from the sky and fell with a nail.

So, (optional comma) every bit you can come across, (not optional comma) there are many instances in which the writer'southward, (optional comma) and the editor's, (optional comma) personal judgments come into play, (non optional comma) and if you detect yourself unsure sometimes, (optional comma) just ask us here at ProofreadingPal! (optional exclamation indicate)

Julia H.

nelsonneye2000.blogspot.com

Source: https://proofreadingpal.com/proofreading-pulse/writing-fiction/the-optional-comma/#:~:text=Once%20again%2C%20these%20are%20both,forgot%20to%20reapply%20our%20sunblock.&text=While%20sunbathing%20with%20friends%20we,not%20after%20a%20short%20one.

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