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What is the difference between: 1-Good books like The Brothers Karamazov have to be read twice. 2-Good books, like The Brothers Karamazov, have to be read twice. Does the comma change the meaning?

Migo · Accepted Answer

2 means Good books (like The Brothers Karamazov) have to be read twice. Or just Good books have to be read twice. When like The Brothers Karamazov is set off by two commas it isn't integral to the meaning of the sentence and is just an example used to emphasize the point.

I'm having some disagreement on how to deal with the first sentence appropriately so I'll get back to you on a later date when I have a concrete answer.

Miriam · Answer

1-Good books like The Brothers Karamazov have to be read twice.
2-Good books, like The Brothers Karamazov, have to be read twice.

I agree with Migo's comment on sentence #2. This sentence could very well have been "Good books have to be read twice". The phrase between commas can be omitted from the sentence with no change whatsoever in themeaning of the sentence.

In #1, by not using commas you make "like The Brothers Karamazov" an integral part of the sentence. I wouldn't say that the meaning is very diferent from that of sentence #2, but you are giving the phrase "like The Brothers Karamazov" a different "status" within the sentence. In #2, it is only an example and the speaker/writer might as well have used any others. In #1, the example seems to have been more carefully selected because, possibly, the speaker/writer wanted to emphasise on that particular book.

In other words, in #1, the emphasis is on "The Brothers Karamazov", while in #2 the emphasis is on "good books" in general, and "The Brothers Karamazov" is simply an example to illustragte what you mean by "good books".

I hope that helps.

Miriam

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