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Ryansamturner Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

To put a comma before 'they'?

I have the below sentence, and was going to put a comma before 'they', but not sure if that would be correct or not?

'Instead of lying still on the branches, they began to express themselves.'

Or without.

'Instead of lying still on the branches they began to express themselves.'
  

Top answer

Yes, I would use a comma.

— Ozzourti

  • Yes, I would use a comma.
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11 Answers
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Yes, I would use a comma.
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Thanks.

Would you say that it would be ok to put a comma before 'was' in the following sentence?

'The last thing to happen, was to the leaves.'
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ryansamturnerThanks.Would you say that it would be ok to put a comma before 'was' in the following sentence?'The last thing to happen, was to the leaves.'
No. You should not separate a subject from its verb by a single comma.
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Thanks.

Would it be acceptable to use the comma to suggest a pause in speech, or to make it a bit more dramatic. Or is it just a no, no in all cases?
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It's good to think about commas in terms of pauses, but a native speaker would not naturally pause here.

Clive
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Thank you both for your comments.

Can I ask one final question?

Would the use of the comma be acceptable in the below sentence, as it is split already?

'She told us that the safest option, and the most common one, was a natural delivery'
Or
'Sarah's father, on the other hand, was more reserved.'
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Note that you have used two comma; these act like brackets. One comma, wherever you put it, would be wrong.
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Thanks.

Wothe it be the same if I was saying:

'One by one they lifted themselves.'

I've been putting a comma before 'they'.

'One by one, they lifted themselves.'

Should I omit the comma?
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