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Fire1 Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

Is a comma necessary in this case?

A. The military is demanding special medical assistance for high-ranking officers on the battlefield, distinct from regular medical aid provided to lower-ranking soldiers.

B. The military is demanding special medical assistance for high-ranking officers on the battlefield distinct from regular medical aid provided to lower-ranking soldiers.

(In sentence A, there is a comma between battlefield and distinct, but in sentence B, there isn't, between them)

Is a comma necessary between battlefield and distinct, to show that "distinct from" is qualifying "special medical assistance", not "battlefield" ?

  

Top answer

Hi You are quite right. If you allow the sentence to run on from battlefield to distinct, without a break, your reader will pause while they wonder what 'battlefield distinct' is going to mean. If you put the comma in, the meaning is clear.

  • Hi You are quite right.
  • If you allow the sentence to run on from battlefield to distinct, without a break, your reader will pause while they wonder what 'battlefield distinct' is going to mean.
  • If you put the comma in, the meaning is clear.
  • Dave
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1 Answers
0

Hi

You are quite right. If you allow the sentence to run on from battlefield to distinct, without a break, your reader will pause while they wonder what 'battlefield distinct' is going to mean.

If you put the comma in, the meaning is clear.

Dave

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