Commas (very difficult question)

Question

Different, and hence conflictual, they are, especially in the present case, as they have irreconcilable principles.

I have separated conflictual and different with commas to precise that I only refer to the former when I mention "especially in the present case". Am I making an arguably correct usage, although perhaps a bit too implicit?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Different, and hence conflictual, they are, especially in the present case, as they have irreconcilable principles.

I have separated conflictual and different with commas to precise that I only refer to the former when I mention "especially in the present case". Am I making an arguably correct usage, although perhaps a bit too implicit?

I assume you mean 'They are different, and hence conflictual, . . .', but that you have used a different although valid word order.

I have separated conflictual and different with commas to precise that I only refer to the former when I mention "especially in the present case". Am I making an arguably correct usage, although perhaps a bit too implicit?
Perhaps you should make it more explicit.
eg They are different, especially in the present case, and hence they are conflictual, as they have irreconcilable principles.

I'd say the adjective 'conflictual' is a lot less common than 'conflicting'.

'Hence' in your sentence suggests that things are conflictual because they are different. Do you think that is true?
eg A table is different than a chair. A belief is different than a dream. But these examples are not what I'd call 'conflictual'.
Thus, perhaps you should say
eg They are different, especially in the present case, and they have irreconcilable principles, so hence they are conflictual.

Best wishes, Clive

Wholegrain · Answer

Perhaps, I should have said Diametrically different.

Thank you, it was very helpful.

Commas (very difficult question)

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