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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

A comma vs. the comma

i) It is okay to omit A comma before "and at the end of the sentence".
ii) It is okay to omit THE comma before "and" at the end of the sentence.

Does either "a comma" or "the comma" work in these examples? I think neither is an error. It's not a specific comma we are referring to. Thanks you.
  

Top answer

I don't feel comfortable with 'a comma' when referring to 'the sentence'.

— Mister Micawber

  • I don't feel comfortable with 'a comma' when referring to 'the sentence'.
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10 Answers
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I don't feel comfortable with 'a comma' when referring to 'the sentence'.
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Mister MicawberI don't feel comfortable with 'a comma' when referring to 'the sentence'.
Thank you. Do you mean to say that if a person omits the comma at the end of the sentence, you prefer "the comma" because we are referring not to any comma, but to a comma that may have been in the sentence and is now omitted?
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Mister Micawber,

The reason why I asked the question in the first place was because this came from my textbook, "Keys to Successful Writing" by Raimes and Jerskey:

"However, journalists and British writers often omit a comma before the final 'and'". Why ever did they say "a comma"?
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AnonymousHowever, journalists and British writers often omit a comma before the final 'and'". Why ever did they say "a comma"?
Because sometimes (if they don't require an Oxford comma) there is none there.
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AnonymousDo you mean to say that if a person omits the comma at the end of the sentence, you prefer "the comma" because we are referring not to any comma, but to a comma that may have been in the sentence and is now omitted?
No; it is because 'the sentence' necessarily has only one comma before its final 'and'.
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Mister MicawberNo; it is because 'the sentence' necessarily has only one comma before its final 'and'.
MM, thank you - I don't think I quite understand. I am sorry about that. Maybe my confusion is because "omit" means to "disregard"/"avoid mentioning", which means that for something to be omitted it already has to be there.

Can we try another exampl
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AnonymousThere is no comma in the original sentence, so I think either "a" or "the" is correct. Do you agree?
No. The choice of 'a'' vs 'the' applies to your sentences #1 and #1, not the 'rich sister' sentence! It should be 'the' because #1 refers to a specific sentence ('in the example above').

On another note, your 'rich sister' sentence can
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Mister Micawber AnonymousThere is no comma in the original sentence, so I think either "a" or "the" is correct. Do you agree?No. The choice of 'a'' vs 'the' applies to your sentences #1 and #1, not the 'rich sister' sentence! It should be 'the' because #1 refers to a specific sentence ('in the example above').On another note, your 'rich sister' sentence cannot have a comm
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AnonymousNow are you okay with either "a" or "the"?
That's it.
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Mister MicawberThat's it.
Thank you!! Excellent.
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