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Fire1 Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Is a comma correctly used between "past" and "of"?

This scar was the only hint of Harry’s very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys’ doorstep eleven years before. (The situation is that Harry, the main character of this novel, has a scar on his forehead that makes him a special wizard because it is to do with Harry's very mysterious past and because of the past event, he lost his parents and got the scar, so he lives with the Dursley family.)


I've already asked about it several times, but I don't seem to have gotten any clear answers till now. I wonder whether the comma is correctly used there. Some American native speakers told me the sentence doesn't make much sense with the comma and it should be dropped and "and" is needed between there between "past" and "of", but other native English speakers answered me differently that it's okay and no need for "and". Whose answer is really correct?

If the comma is correct, is the below sentence correct as well?

This is a story of the tribe, of the way they live in the jungle.

  

Top answer

fire1 This scar was the only hint of Harry’s very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys’ doorstep eleven years before. In my opinion this sentence is acceptable.

— GPY

  • fire1 This scar was the only hint of Harry’s very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys’ doorstep eleven years before.
  • In my opinion this sentence is acceptable.
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2 Answers
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fire1This scar was the only hint of Harry’s very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys’ doorstep eleven years before.

In my opinion this sentence is acceptable.

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You must exercise caution when reading fiction. Fiction writers can and do often break the rules.

Here's an example from a Chicago Manual of Style Q&A post about commas:

Q. Is it ever appropriate to elide a conjunction between two parts of a compound predicate and use a comma (for example, “He walked to the door, opened it.

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