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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Do I use a comma before the word "before"?
Are the commas right here? Thank you for any help.
"Only by being courageous, and with the help of his friends, can he make it, before it's too late."
"Only by being courageous, and with the help of his friends, can he make it, before it's too late."
Top answer
I would delete every one of those commas.
- I would delete every one of those commas.
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6 Answers
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Techniqually all of the commas could be omitted, but best way would be to remove only the one preceding 'before'.
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Let me try:
He can make it.
=> He can make it [before it's too late. ]
=> [By being courageous] he can make it [before it's too late. ]
=> [By being courageous] and [with the help of his friends](,) he can make it [before it's too late.]
Finally:
=> Only by being courageous and with the help of h
He can make it.
=> He can make it [before it's too late. ]
=> [By being courageous] he can make it [before it's too late. ]
=> [By being courageous] and [with the help of his friends](,) he can make it [before it's too late.]
Finally:
=> Only by being courageous and with the help of h
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If you wanted this read out loud so that the part that says "and with the help of his friends" sound like an addition or an aside, you can set that off with commas, but they aren't grammatically necessary.
You would not generally use a comma in a construction like this: Only through hard work [no comma] can I expect to reach my goals.
You would not generally use a comma in a construction like this: Only through hard work [no comma] can I expect to reach my goals.
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