Which and comma

Question

Salam,I wish to know if comma and which are used correctly.It's not god but another similar sounding word, which I'm sure you can guess (comma after which).Thanks.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

anonymousSalam

Shalom.

anonymousIt's not *** but another similar sounding word, which I'm sure you can guess (comma after which).

It's not "***" but a similar-sounding word, which I'm sure you can guess.

I don't know what you mean by comma after "which" unless you do mean just that. There can be no comma after "which".

If you mean before, as I suspect you do, the sentence seems to mean two different things, one with and one without. Without the comma, the reader tends to interpret the "which" clause as applying to "word":

It's not "***" but a similar-sounding word, a word that I'm sure you can guess.

With the comma, the meaning tends toward "I'm sure you can guess that it's not "***" but a similar-sounding word." This comma is insufficient to reliably convey that meaning, and it is better to recast along the lines of my attempt here.

Which and comma

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