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Arbizonne Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Punctuation: does this count as a serial comma?
I'm not sure whether the last comma counts as a serial comma in this sentence:
- "The wind buffeted their bodies, flayed their cheeks, and lashed their legs."
I'm confused as to why the comma disappears if the latter two verbs are transformed into subordinate present participles: "the wind buffeted their bodies, flaying their cheeks and lashing their legs".
Many thanks in advance for any help.
- "The wind buffeted their bodies, flayed their cheeks, and lashed their legs."
I'm confused as to why the comma disappears if the latter two verbs are transformed into subordinate present participles: "the wind buffeted their bodies, flaying their cheeks and lashing their legs".
Many thanks in advance for any help.
Top answer
arbizonne why the comma disappears Because you're only joining two components. The same thing would happen in the main clause: The wind buffeted their bodies and lashed their legs. ) And the comma would reappear if there were three participles to join.
- arbizonne why the comma disappears Because you're only joining two components.
- The same thing would happen in the main clause: The wind buffeted their bodies and lashed their legs.
- ) And the comma would reappear if there were three participles to join.
- The wind buffeted their bodies, flaying their cheeks, lashing their legs, and chilling their arms.
- CJ
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2 Answers
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arbizonnewhy the comma disappearsBecause you're only joining two components. The same thing would happen in the main clause:
The wind buffeted their bodies and lashed their legs. (No comma.)
And the comma would reappear if there were three participles to join.
The wind buffeted their bodies, flaying their cheeks, lashi
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Yes, that makes perfect sense. Cheers! Any idea if they still count as serial commas if you're not listing nouns?
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