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Fire1 Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Meaning according to whether a comma is dropped

Let's compare four examples

1. His sister Amy (comma dropped) vs 2. His sister, Amy (comma added)

I think 1 is grammatically correct if there are at least two sisters in his house, but also 2 is grammatically correct if there is only one sister in his house.

3. My dog Spot (comma dropped) vs 4. My dog, Spot (comma added)

Like I just said above, I think 3 is grammatically correct if there are at least two dogs in my house, but also 4 is grammatically correct if there is only one dog in my house.

So, what I want to know are ...

Q1) Do I correctly understand the function of the comma?

Q2) Are the comma-dropped versions, "His sister Amy" and "My dog Spot" all grammatically correct?

  

Top answer

Punctuation exists to aid reading. That's all it is for. The comma makes the name parenthetical, so there would also be one after the name.

  • Punctuation exists to aid reading.
  • That's all it is for.
  • The comma makes the name parenthetical, so there would also be one after the name.
  • "My dog, Spot" is my dog, and his name is Spot.
  • This is an incorrect form if you have more than one dog, and it means you have only one.
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1 Answers
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Punctuation exists to aid reading. That's all it is for. The comma makes the name parenthetical, so there would also be one after the name. "My dog, Spot" is my dog, and his name is Spot. This is an incorrect form if you have more than one dog, and it means you have only one. "My dog Spot" is the dog of mine whose name is Spot. That is the only correct form if you have more than one dog. It wo

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