Comma in rhetorical snap

Question

“Oh, please! What’re you a punk rocker now?” he shoots back.I don't need a comma after "you" there, do I? It's optional, right?

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

SnarfI don't need a comma after "you" there, do I?

Yes, you do.

SnarfIt's optional, right?

Not in my book.

CalifJim · Answer

Snarf“Oh, please! What’re you a punk rocker now?” he shoots back.I don't need a comma after "you" there, do I? It's optional, right?

Another country heard from.

No comma. No choice. To render this colloquial blend of a 'yes-no' question and a 'wh' question correctly, you have to leave out the comma!

Similarly,

Where are you going to the bank now?
When did you see the dentist last year?
Who are you going to ask Jill for help on that?

All ungrammatical, but I've never heard any kind of pause in those blended interrogatives, and they were common in the area where I grew up.

CJ

Snarf · Answer

CalifJim Another country heard from.No comma. No choice.

What does that mean?

CalifJim Snarf“!Similarly,Where are you going to the bank now?When did you see the dentist last year?Who are you going to ask Jill for help on that?All ungrammatical, but I've never heard any kind of pause in those blended interrogatives, and they were common in the area where I grew up.CJ

I don't find those three examples to be similar to my example, actually. And I thought the article made a comma unnecessary in my sentence. Unlike, for example, "What're you, chicken?"

RandomGuy · Answer

CalifJimTo render this colloquial blend of a 'yes-no' question and a 'wh' question correctly, you have to leave out the comma!

I have to say that this startled me. Why do you say that, CJ?

Also, your second example suggests to me a different meaning than the one intended, and I don't find it at all ungrammatical with or without the comma.

When did you see the dentist last year? (On what month did you see the dentist last year?)
When did you see the dentist, last year? (When did you see the dentist? My guess is last year.)

CalifJim · Answer

SnarfCalifJim 1 Another country heard from.2 No comma. 3 No choice.What does that mean?

1 I have a different opinion.
2 Don't use a comma.
3 It's wrong with a comma.

SnarfI don't find those three examples to be similar to my example, actually.

Opinions vary. It's almost inevitable.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

Aspara GusCalifJimTo render this colloquial blend of a 'yes-no' question and a 'wh' question correctly, you have to leave out the comma!I have to say that this startled me. Why do you say that, CJ?

I thought the rest of my post explained why I said it.

Aspara Gusyour second example suggests to me a different meaning than the one intended, and I don't find it at all ungrammatical with or without the comma.When did you see the dentist last year? (On what month did you see the dentist last year?)When did you see the dentist, last year? (When did you see the dentist? My guess is last year.)

I didn't think it was necessary to add my usual "in the intended reading".

Since I was talking about interrogative blends, this was intended to be an example of the blend of the following two questions, regardless of what other interpretations might also be made.

When did you see the dentist? Did you see the dentist last year?

I can't guarantee that every example I give is always exactly illustrative of the point I'm trying to make, but I would think that the model established by the other two examples would be sufficient to carry my point in the third as well.

CJ

Comma in rhetorical snap

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