Do you use both commas when a modifier follows a coordinating conjunction?

Asked by Zissou (3374

) March 31st, 2018

Grammarians, which do you prefer, (1) or (2):

(1) [clause],[coordinating conjunction][modifier],[clause].

(2) [clause],[coordinating conjunction],[modifier],[clause].

Examples:

(a) The door was unlocked, but(,) knowing what was on the other side, I did not open it. [participial phrase]

(b) It’s going to rain, so(,) unless you want wet seats, you should roll up your car windows. [subordinate clause]

(c) Joe has worked very hard, and(,) like many people, I was happy for him when he won the competition. [adverbial phrase]

(d) Kim apologized, and(,) surprisingly, Pat forgave her. [adverb modifying a clause]

I have observed variation when constructions like these immediately follow coordinating conjunctions. Which do you prefer, and why?

Please note that (2) should not be confused with incorrectly placing a comma after a conjunction:

(e) *He ate it. But, he didn’t like it.

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5 Answers

Depends on whether or not I want to emphasise.

ragingloli (52204

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Two commas. For clarity.

elbanditoroso (33518

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Yes, if you’re treating it as parenthetical. You could make a case that all four of those instances are parenthetical.

I would consider the added commas necessary only in (c) and (d). (I’d also add “other” before “people” in (c).)

And I would certainly delete that comma in (e).

I don’t, by the way, generally see grammar as a matter of preference. There’s room for plenty of variation, and there is style, which sets a choice among acceptable alternatives; but preference does not outrank correctness in cases such as (e).

If these constructions appeared in a document that I was editing, I would make sure to follow one rule consistently throughout.

Jeruba (56032

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I think that often the first comma feels overly-deliberate and is not needed, though as @ragingloli mentioned, it can be included for emphasis.

In general I leave out the first comma, as in my previous sentence.

Zaku (30553

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Thanks for your responses. I tend to favor punctuation that is based on the grammatical structure, rather than some of the other considerations that get mixed into it, and I agree that parentheticality is the key issue here. I’m not sure that a subordinate clause is parenthetical in the same way as the others, though. I find myself dropping that first comma in cases like (b).

Zissou (3374

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