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Are commas needed?

Forums: English, Punctuation
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I agree with you, but just because they can used in the singular or plural, depending on context, doesn't make them uncountable nouns.

Are the commas obligatory? I think so, but I would like to confirm whether I'm correct.

Many thanks.

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As surely as i tell you they are, come clown like JTT will come along to deny it.

While the commas are not necessarily obligatory, the sentence will be far less "readable" without them. The commas represent what would be pauses and changes of inflection in spoken English, and are in places in which i would put commas myself if i had written the sentence.

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Hi Setanta

Why do you think JTT will disagree with you? I think JTT, like many other members, have a good command of English.

Before I forget, many thanks for your reply.

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You are welcome.

JTT is a bully, without offering any other qualification than that he has read the work of one particular author, he has taken on the mantle of language expert here. He has alienated quite a few people, including a couple of long term members who rarely come back here any longer.

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I think they are necessary. Commas bracket dependent clauses, and while one may argue whether "depending on context" is a dependent clause, I would comma that phrase.

As Set says, it makes it more readable WITH the commas.

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Commas, love I . See how that makes the phrase just stand out?

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Re: Are commas needed?

Yoong Liat wrote:

I agree with you, but just because they can used in the singular or plural, depending on context, doesn't make them uncountable nouns.

Are the commas obligatory? I think so, but I would like to confirm whether I'm correct.

Many thanks.

I agree with you, but just because they can be used in the singular or plural, depending on context, doesn't make them uncountable nouns.

The comma placement is just hunky dory.

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Setanta wrote:

You are welcome.

JTT is a bully, without offering any other qualification than that he has read the work of one particular author, he has taken on the mantle of language expert here. He has alienated quite a few people, including a couple of long term members who rarely come back here any longer.

You never fail to amaze, Set. You are SUCH a hypocrite and a pathetic little whiner. 'bully' is your middle name.

You don't have the faintest idea what my qualifications are yet they are obviously good enough to make you think twice about simply regurgitating the prescriptions that you've acquired with respect to language.

This is not to say that you don't hand out some good advice, for you do, when you stay away from the prescriptions.

Those who fail to return probably just aren't as qualified to hand out advice on language as they thought they were. The English forum has actually been relatively prescription free for some time now, even the old peeves thread.

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do you mean proscriptions?

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Colon resection, is surgery to remove part of the large bowel, sometimes, euphemistically referred to as a semicolon.

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I sense that I use commas excessively. I often feel that I'm just following a rule. I think I should just write sentences without commas and then read them looking for ambiguities in meaning resulting from an absence of commas. In other words, we should use them when they are needed, not when they are prescribed.

Did my last sentence contradict my assertion?

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Setanta, you my friend are out of order in you post above about JBP.

Pull yer head in big dog.

Yoong commas are extraordinarily disposable, but the quoted passage works better with commas than without.

Most native speakers would understand either way.

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JLNobody wrote:

I sense that I use commas excessively. I often feel that I'm just following a rule. I think I should just write sentences without commas and then read them looking for ambiguities in meaning resulting from an absence of commas. In other words, we should use them when they are needed, not when they are prescribed.

Did my last sentence contradict my assertion?

Assuming I'm motivated enough to be as-certain-as-I-can of the poster's intent, and assuming the poster in question has the whereforall to construct the sentence with clarity, I'll read it out loud pausing at the commas.

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dadpad wrote:

Setanta, you my friend are out of order in you post above about JBP.

Pull yer head in big dog.

You've gone barmy from too much sun, digger . . . JBP ain't in this thread, and i made no comments about anyone with those initials. If you mean JTT, you're don't know what the hell you're talkin' about. I know of at least two members who stopped coming here to post because of their negative reaction to JTT.

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farmerman wrote:

do you mean proscriptions?

Nope, prescriptions, FM, though prescriptivists do both.

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Setanta wrote:

dadpad wrote:
Setanta, you my friend are out of order in you post above about JBP.

Pull yer head in big dog.

You've gone barmy from too much sun, digger . . . JBP ain't in this thread, and i made no comments about anyone with those initials. If you mean JTT, you're don't know what the hell you're talkin' about. I know of at least two members who stopped coming here to post because of their negative reaction to JTT.

You are still out of order regardless of my hopeless grasp of who you are actually talking about.

Anyone has the right to post their thoughts. If those thoughts are wrong you at liberty to say so, however your personal attacks are unwanted and unwarrented in many cases.

I have noticed you seem to have been particularly critical lately and I'm telling you as a friend, pull your head in, cause you need to be told.

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As you may imagine, i don't agree. Which is something i have a perfect right to assert, as well as my criticisms of individuals.

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Setanta wrote:

dadpad wrote:
Setanta, you my friend are out of order in you post above about JBP.

Pull yer head in big dog.

You've gone barmy from too much sun, digger . . . JBP ain't in this thread, and i made no comments about anyone with those initials. If you mean JTT, you're don't know what the hell you're talkin' about. I know of at least two members who stopped coming here to post because of their negative reaction to JTT.

You really can be an idiot at times, Setanta. Now you've taken to whining for others, spreading your smarmy innuendos. It matters not one iota if "at least" two members stopped coming here to post.

Wonderful memory, lad. You're not even sure of the numbers but admittedly, we can't really expect you to be able to remember if it was two, three or four.

If they had something positive to offer there's no reason for them not to have continued.

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From Setanta's signature:

that gal the British set fire to.

Joan of Arc was burnt by the English. She was executed on the 30th of May 1431, and the "British" nationality possible on the 1st of May 1707.

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Hi friends

I really feel uneasy, being the cause of the 'war' that is being fought between members.

I hope all of you will keep your cool.

Regards

YL

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