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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Do we need a comma?
Sometimes, verbs can be avoided but is a comma necessary when we do that? I'll give an example.
Obama would be the president and Biden, the VP.
I take it 'would be' doesn't have to be repeated. But do we need a comma after Biden for proper pause?
Obama would be the president and Biden, the VP.
I take it 'would be' doesn't have to be repeated. But do we need a comma after Biden for proper pause?
Top answer
Yes, you should place a comma there. A comma is often used to indicate the omission of a word or words that can be understood from the context. I would also place a comma after the word 'president', like so: Obama would be the president, and Biden, the VP.
- Yes, you should place a comma there.
- A comma is often used to indicate the omission of a word or words that can be understood from the context.
- I would also place a comma after the word 'president', like so: Obama would be the president, and Biden, the VP.
- Without this other comma, Obama would be both president and Biden - and that would be a bit odd!
- When you strip a few words out of a co-ordinate clause as you've done above, you usually still need to separate it from the first clause with a punctuation mark - just as you would have done if the implied words remained.
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4 Answers
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Yes, you should place a comma there.
A comma is often used to indicate the omission of a word or words that can be understood from the context.
I would also place a comma after the word 'president', like so:
Obama would be the president, and Biden, the VP.
Without this other comma, Obama would be both president and Biden - and that would be a bit odd! When you
A comma is often used to indicate the omission of a word or words that can be understood from the context.
I would also place a comma after the word 'president', like so:
Obama would be the president, and Biden, the VP.
Without this other comma, Obama would be both president and Biden - and that would be a bit odd! When you
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Thanks, Futurist. I understand, but what of really short sentences? Is the comma necessary? Tea is hot, and pepsi, cold. Doesn't it look like there are too many commas? Would that be okay?
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Even in your second sentence, both commas are necessary to eliminate ambiguity, and each falls where there is a natural pause in speech; so, both should definitely stay.
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Thanks Futurist. I'm not the orginal poster, but learned something from your post.
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