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Victo Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Close vs Open Punctuation

In the good old days, back when I graduated in 1982, 'close' punctuation (ie heavy punctuation) was the norm:

Jessica wanted a divorce, but, considering the negative impact it would have on her children, she decided not to.

I believe that today's modern or 'open' punctuation would change it (using only one comma) to the following:

Jessica wanted a divorce, but considering the negative impact it would have on her children she decided not to.

Anybody agree?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

I would punctuate the sentence as follows: Jessica wanted a divorce but, considering the negative impact it would have on her children, she decided not to.

— Yoong Liat

  • I would punctuate the sentence as follows: Jessica wanted a divorce but, considering the negative impact it would have on her children, she decided not to.
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3 Answers
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I would punctuate the sentence as follows:

Jessica wanted a divorce but, considering the negative impact it would have on her children, she decided not to.
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I thought you needed a comma before a coordinating conjunction when it separated two independent clauses.
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victoAnybody agree?
I’m not so sure about all that, but I’d say both of the following are acceptable.

Jessica wanted a divorce, but considering the negative impact it would have on her children, she decided not to.
Jessica wanted a divorce, but, considering the negative impact it would have on her children, she decided not to.
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