"a joint statement last month saying..." or "a joint statement last month, saying..."
He reiterated the terms of the agreement saying that Seoul had promised that the military hardware would not affect China's safety and security interests.
The foreign ministries of both countries released a joint statement last month, saying that they intend to 'renormalize' bilateral ties.
Usage of commas is always confusing.
This question is not about politics.
I think that the both sayings in each sentence should modify the agreement and a joint statement each to make sense and they come from "the agreement that said..." and "a joint statement that said..."
And then I think that there must not be a comma like "a joint statement last month saying..."
What do you native English speakers think?
Thank you so much as usual in advance!
Top answer
In the second sentence, the logical subject of "saying" is the foreign ministries. The comma makes this clear. In the first sentence, the logical subject of "saying" is most likely intended to be "he", but a comma would be desirable.
- In the second sentence, the logical subject of "saying" is the foreign ministries.
- The comma makes this clear.
- In the first sentence, the logical subject of "saying" is most likely intended to be "he", but a comma would be desirable.
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In the second sentence, the logical subject of "saying" is the foreign ministries. The comma makes this clear.
In the first sentence, the logical subject of "saying" is most likely intended to be "he", but a comma would be desirable.
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