How do I write this sentence properly?
“We attempted to capture a recreation on video, but, sadly, some of her equipment began to malfunction. Still…….”
I’m uncertain of the commas between “video,” and “sadly,” and after “sadly.”
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5 Answers
Don’t make things extra hard for yourself – when in doubt, use the dash.
“We attempted to capture a recreation on video – but sadly, some of her equipment began to malfunction.”
What I am not sure about is the use of “began”. Can something “begin” to malfunction? Isn’t that a little like saying “it began to break”?
Sure things can “begin” to malfunction. They may not be broken totally, but something, somewhere needs fixing for it to work perfectly.
A perfect place for a semi colon after the word video. The two are related enough that creating a separate sentence is unnecessary.
The commas before and after sadly should remain.
When in doubt about where to insert commas just keep in mind that if you spoke the sentence aloud, the commas indicate a natural slight pause.
So, just say the sentence out loud and take notice of where the natural pause breaks occur. That’s where you put your commas.
However, a period after the word video and creating another sentence would not be incorrect either. It’s up to you.
That’s kind of the rule I use for commas. I hear a slight hesitation, or slight change of direction and I add a comma. (English was not my forte!)
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