Two commas or one comma for parenthetical element and subordinate clause

Question

Hi. Would you place a comma after the conjunction for parenthetical elements ( I think the underlined part is - no. 1 below ) or subordinate clauses?

1.You might be right, but, as long as I can remember, John did not say he would be in school tomorrow.
Or could be this?
You might be right, but as long as I can remember, John did not say he would be in school tomorrow.

2.You might be right, but, as soon as he comes, I will check with him to find out what he will do tomorrow.
Or could it be this?
You might be right, but as soon as he comes, I will check with him to find out what he will do tomorrow.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Would you place a comma after the conjunction for parenthetical elements ( I think the underlined part is - no. 1 below ) or subordinate clauses?

1.You might be right, but, as ~~long~~ far as I ( can ) remember, John did not say he would be in school tomorrow.
This is OK. I might omit the comma after 'right', depending on how short that first clause is.

I wouldn't say it's wrong if you omit the pair of commas (ie both the before and after comma).

Or could be this?
You might be right, but as ~~long~~ far as I ( can ) remember, John did not say he would be in school tomorrow. No, I wouldn't write it this way.

2.You might be right, but, as soon as he comes, I will check with him to find out what he will do tomorrow.
Or could it be this?
You might be right, but as soon as he comes, I will check with him to find out what he will do tomorrow.
Same comments as for your first pair of examples.

In modern English, I'd say that we tend to try to avoid having a lot of commas in our sentences if possible.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks. As to not putting two commas before and after the parenthetical element for my first pair of examples, what would the reason poasibly be? I must say that I have seen no commas used in situations like that but wonder why.

Would you say the same thing for this pair too?

You might be right, but, after he comes in, I will try to confirm it.

Or could it be this?

You might be right, but after he comes in, I will try to confirm it.

Sorry, but as to the underlined question part, how would you rewrite it so as to not split the infinitive? Or is it OK as it is to you?

Clive · Answer

Hi,
As to not putting two commas before and after the parenthetical element for my first pair of examples, what would the reason poasibly be? I must say that I have seen no commas used in situations like that but wonder why.

The reason for the pair of commas is to signal the reader to pause and make sure he has the overall structure and meaning of the sentnce in mind. If the whole sentence is short and the meaning is clear, some people would say that such a pause is not really necessary. On the other hand, consider how much harder the sentence would be without commas if the parenthetical element were really long, and/or if the other parts were really long.

Would you say the same thing for this pair too? Yes.

You might be right, but, after he comes in, I will try to confirm it.

Or could it be this?

You might be right, but after he comes in,I will try to confirm it. I don't like this, becasue it seems to me that the 'but' is reaally associated with 'I will try to confirm it.
eg You might be right, but I will try to confirm it. I will do this after he comes in.
eg You might be right but, after he comes in, I will try to confirm it.

Sorry, but as to the underlined question part, how would you rewrite it so as to not split the infinitive? Or is it OK as it is to you? The underlined part is OK as written. But you are mistaken in thinking that there is an infinitive there. It's just Present Tense.

Best wishes again, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, again. Where does the recommendation that says that a person should place a comma if the clause is not essential and should not place a comma if it is essential fit in the overall argument of yours. I think we are talking about a subordinate clause.

You wrote this as part of your previous response:

Hi,
As to not putting two commas before and after the parenthetical element for my first pair of examples, what would the reason poasibly be? I must say that I have seen no commas used in situations like that but wonder why.

The reason for the pair of commas is to signal the reader to pause and make sure he has the overall structure and meaning of the sentnce in mind. If the whole sentence is short and the meaning is clear, some people would say that such a pause is not really necessary. On the other hand, consider how much harder the sentence would be without commas if the parenthetical element were really long, and/or if the other parts were really long.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Thank you, again. Where does the recommendation that says that a person should place a comma if the clause is not essential and should not place a comma if it is essential fit in the overall argument of yours. I think we are talking about a subordinate clause. That's a recommendation I wouldn't dispute.

In terms of relating it to whether it is said with a pause, let's consider a couple of examples.
Example 1. There is one student named Tom in the class.

The teacher spoke to Tom, who is from China. This would be said with a pause, which indicates to the listener that thie information that follows is only loosely related to Tom. In other words, the pause lets the listener reflect on the statement 'The teacher spoke to Tom . . . . . . . '.

Example 2. There are two students named Tom in the class. One is from China and one is from Japan.

The teacher spoke to Tom who is from China. This would be said without a pause, which indicates to the listener that the information that follows 'Tom' is closely coupled with Tom in what is being said.

I certainly don't want to push my whole line of argument too far and say that grammar rules about commas are not important. I just want to suggest that, as a learner, it's good to reflect on why such a particular grammar rule about commas exists. A comma is a method of reflecting on paper the way that people actually speak. It's not the other way around.

Best wishes, Clive

Eddie88 · Answer

Hi, guys,

I just thought I'd add something here.

When one has parenthetical information immediately following a coordinating conjunction (joining main clauses) the comma is not to be placed around the parenthetical expression itself. Instead, the comma is placed before the coordinating conjunction and after the expression.

'Therefore' is the parenthetical expression here:

I walked home, and therefore, I was tired. ~~I walked home, and, therefore, I was tired.~~

Clive · Answer

Hi,
Let me indicate the ways that I might say this, using commas to indicate where I would pause.

I walked home, and therefore I was tired.

I walked home and, therefore, I was tired.

I walked home and therefore I was tired.

I don't consider any of this information to be 'parenthetical'.

Best wishes, Clive

Eddie88 · Answer

According to various sites, 'therefore', in this case, is what is called a mild parenthetical expression.

Because it is only a small expression, people say it is a matter of personal preference whether or not the comma is used.

I seldom use commas here, but commas would not be incorrect.

Cheers.

Clive · Answer

Hi,
I read that to mean you agree with the three examples in my last post.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi. I don't know whose recommendation to follow but Clive seems to have proven himself over the years to be a source to be taken seriously.<img src="http://www.EnglishForward.com/emoticons/emotion-1.gif"/>

Two commas or one comma for parenthetical element and subordinate clause

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions