Extraneous comma

Question

WHAT is behind the practice, seen more and more frequently nowadays, of putting a comma after the subject?

The teacher, spoke to the class.

I'm sure everyone (except maybe those who do it!) has noticed this. At first I thought that it was simply poor editing, as if perhaps an appositive or adjective clause had been removed.

The teacher, Mr Jones, spoke to the class.

The teacher, who was very angry, spoke to the class.

But no. This custom, is becoming common

--even in places where highly-paid editors ply their trade!

cheers,

Henry

PS: My annoyance at this has been building for some time but what finally prompted me to post to usenet was an article this morning on the BBC News site. (Some readers here no doubt remember the days when the BBC was the paragon of English language usage.) Take a look at this story

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3148913.stm

and think, how many things would you have to correct if one of your students submitted it?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

(Email Removed) (Henry) burbled news:1fzo6h7.u3bnxw11q3p5pN%(Email Removed):
[nq:1]WHAT is behind the practice, seen more and more frequently nowadays, of putting a comma after the subject? The teacher, ... this story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3148913.stm and think, how many things would you have to correct if one of your students submitted it?[/nq]
Just looking at the first lines of the story tells one that no one edited the article and that the writer finished his first draft just in time to have it published before being terminated by the BBC for unproductiveness and, possibly, intoxication, caused, perhaps, by the enormity of his story. He seems unable to handle the past tense, in love with gerund phrases, and blinkingly disenchanted with relative pronouns beginning with "w":

"For the second time this summer (1) British Airways has ground (2) flights following government advice its airliners risk being targeted by terrorists. How do (3) grounded passengers greet this latest alert?"

(1) A comma is necessary here.

(2) This should have been "grounded", unless the writer means that BA put the planes through an aeroplane grinder in order to turn them into some sort of new EU ground brew.

(3) Surely this should have been "did"?

-- Franke: "The soil is the only place that I know where everybody's on the same playing field. It doesn't give a flying rip if you're white, black, rich, poor, young, old, Hispanic, Asian, gay, straight -- it doesn't care." Rev. Thomas Henderson

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]WHAT is behind the practice, seen more and more frequently ... have to correct if one of your students submitted it?[/nq]
[nq:1]Just looking at the first lines of the story tells one that no one edited the article and that the ... in order to turn them into some sort of new EU ground brew. (3) Surely this should have been "did"?[/nq]
I disagree with (3). As long as the planes are still grounded, a shift to a present perspective about currently-held opinions seems ok. The rest of the article uses the present frequently. But it's full of other mistakes - spelling and usage errors.

john

Usenet · Answer

A certain Henry, of alt.usage.english,uk.culture.language.english,misc.education.language. english,alt.languages.english, writes:
[nq:1]first I thought that it was simply poor editing, as if perhaps an But no. This custom, is becoming common http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3148913.stm[/nq]
It's just poor editing, I guess.

-- Enrico C

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Usenet · Answer

Doesn't exactly misguide the reader and impede intelligibility tho!???
[nq:1]WHAT is behind the practice, seen more and more frequently nowadays, of putting a comma after the subject? The teacher, ... this story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3148913.stm and think, how many things would you have to correct if one of your students submitted it?[/nq]

Extraneous comma

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