Premise

Question

Sixty-one percent of American adults, who according to a March 2020 Marquette Law School poll, hold an unfavorable view of the former President, likely would not find that an attractive premise.

What does "premise" mean?

Moreover, may I know more about the usage of ",", especially the "," before likely?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Silencio TarsierWhat does "premise" mean?

In this case, it means "that", but we don't know what that is unless we can see what came before. As for the word itself, almost any dictionary will define it better than I could, for example, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/premise . Onelook.com is your friend.

Silencio TarsierMoreover, may I know more about the usage of ",", especially the "," before likely?

The writer has wrongly used an extra comma that destroys the grammar. It should read "Sixty-one percent of American adults, who according to a March 2020 Marquette Law School poll hold an unfavorable view of the former President, likely would not find that an attractive premise." Those two commas surround a parenthetical clause, making the sentence equivalent to "Sixty-one percent of American adults (who according to a March 2020 Marquette Law School poll hold an unfavorable view of the former President) likely would not find that an attractive premise." Even with the correction, the sentence is faulty. What he really means is "The sixty-one percent of American adults who according to a March 2020 Marquette Law School poll hold an unfavorable view of the former President likely would not find that an attractive premise."

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