Gapping comma in a listComma after e.g. listComma usage in listComma and dash introducing a listWhen using ellipsis to omit list items, is a comma required after the last item before the ellipsis or not?When is a comma appropriate when using “that is”Comma before adverbial participial phrases (reduced adverbial phrases) and participial prepositionsExcessive use of commas in sentencesComma Usage in a List of Locations in Same Region
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Gapping comma in a list
Comma after e.g. listComma usage in listComma and dash introducing a listWhen using ellipsis to omit list items, is a comma required after the last item before the ellipsis or not?When is a comma appropriate when using “that is”Comma before adverbial participial phrases (reduced adverbial phrases) and participial prepositionsExcessive use of commas in sentencesComma Usage in a List of Locations in Same Region
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
Consider the following sentence:
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher may seem to be a rascal, and the candlestick maker may seem to be a fool.
Since the verb phrase "may seem to be" is pretty long, I might want to elide "may seem to be". Can I use gapping commas?
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher, a rascal, and the candlestick maker, a fool.
My concern is that the gapping commas occur in a series that is punctuated with commas. Is it grammatical? Is there a better alternative to using gapping commas here?
punctuation commas ellipsis
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Consider the following sentence:
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher may seem to be a rascal, and the candlestick maker may seem to be a fool.
Since the verb phrase "may seem to be" is pretty long, I might want to elide "may seem to be". Can I use gapping commas?
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher, a rascal, and the candlestick maker, a fool.
My concern is that the gapping commas occur in a series that is punctuated with commas. Is it grammatical? Is there a better alternative to using gapping commas here?
punctuation commas ellipsis
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Have you considered dashes?
– KillingTime
8 hours ago
Interesting idea. Something like this: The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher -- a rascal, and the candlestick maker -- a fool. This looks busy, but admittedly better than intercalating serial and gapping commas.
– RNG
7 hours ago
The original is clear and good.
– Xanne
7 hours ago
2
Somehow, I keep listening for another clause headed with but...
– Cascabel
5 hours ago
@Cascabel - Yes, that sentence does convey a certain sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "May seem" suggests that they are not actually those things. If so, that could be delivered with a "but" in an ensuing coordinate cause. It could also be delivered in a new sentence, like one with "though" at the end.
– Benjamin Harman
2 hours ago
add a comment |
Consider the following sentence:
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher may seem to be a rascal, and the candlestick maker may seem to be a fool.
Since the verb phrase "may seem to be" is pretty long, I might want to elide "may seem to be". Can I use gapping commas?
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher, a rascal, and the candlestick maker, a fool.
My concern is that the gapping commas occur in a series that is punctuated with commas. Is it grammatical? Is there a better alternative to using gapping commas here?
punctuation commas ellipsis
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Consider the following sentence:
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher may seem to be a rascal, and the candlestick maker may seem to be a fool.
Since the verb phrase "may seem to be" is pretty long, I might want to elide "may seem to be". Can I use gapping commas?
The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher, a rascal, and the candlestick maker, a fool.
My concern is that the gapping commas occur in a series that is punctuated with commas. Is it grammatical? Is there a better alternative to using gapping commas here?
punctuation commas ellipsis
punctuation commas ellipsis
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
asked 8 hours ago
RNGRNG
384 bronze badges
384 bronze badges
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
RNG is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Have you considered dashes?
– KillingTime
8 hours ago
Interesting idea. Something like this: The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher -- a rascal, and the candlestick maker -- a fool. This looks busy, but admittedly better than intercalating serial and gapping commas.
– RNG
7 hours ago
The original is clear and good.
– Xanne
7 hours ago
2
Somehow, I keep listening for another clause headed with but...
– Cascabel
5 hours ago
@Cascabel - Yes, that sentence does convey a certain sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "May seem" suggests that they are not actually those things. If so, that could be delivered with a "but" in an ensuing coordinate cause. It could also be delivered in a new sentence, like one with "though" at the end.
– Benjamin Harman
2 hours ago
add a comment |
Have you considered dashes?
– KillingTime
8 hours ago
Interesting idea. Something like this: The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher -- a rascal, and the candlestick maker -- a fool. This looks busy, but admittedly better than intercalating serial and gapping commas.
– RNG
7 hours ago
The original is clear and good.
– Xanne
7 hours ago
2
Somehow, I keep listening for another clause headed with but...
– Cascabel
5 hours ago
@Cascabel - Yes, that sentence does convey a certain sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "May seem" suggests that they are not actually those things. If so, that could be delivered with a "but" in an ensuing coordinate cause. It could also be delivered in a new sentence, like one with "though" at the end.
– Benjamin Harman
2 hours ago
Have you considered dashes?
– KillingTime
8 hours ago
Have you considered dashes?
– KillingTime
8 hours ago
Interesting idea. Something like this: The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher -- a rascal, and the candlestick maker -- a fool. This looks busy, but admittedly better than intercalating serial and gapping commas.
– RNG
7 hours ago
Interesting idea. Something like this: The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher -- a rascal, and the candlestick maker -- a fool. This looks busy, but admittedly better than intercalating serial and gapping commas.
– RNG
7 hours ago
The original is clear and good.
– Xanne
7 hours ago
The original is clear and good.
– Xanne
7 hours ago
2
2
Somehow, I keep listening for another clause headed with but...
– Cascabel
5 hours ago
Somehow, I keep listening for another clause headed with but...
– Cascabel
5 hours ago
@Cascabel - Yes, that sentence does convey a certain sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "May seem" suggests that they are not actually those things. If so, that could be delivered with a "but" in an ensuing coordinate cause. It could also be delivered in a new sentence, like one with "though" at the end.
– Benjamin Harman
2 hours ago
@Cascabel - Yes, that sentence does convey a certain sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "May seem" suggests that they are not actually those things. If so, that could be delivered with a "but" in an ensuing coordinate cause. It could also be delivered in a new sentence, like one with "though" at the end.
– Benjamin Harman
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
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Yes, you can write it that way, sort of. There's nothing wrong with the concept of using gapping commas in that sentence, only the execution.
In that sentence, since the items you list contain internal commas (i.e., the gapping commas), you would use semicolons to separate the list items themselves instead of commas, so it would appear as follows:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman; the butcher, a rascal; and the
candlestick maker, a fool."
For more information on how to use semicolons in this way, please refer to the following and scroll down to number three:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/
That said, you could also write it without the gapping commas at all as there is well-established precedent for doing so when what is being implied is the verb alone, so it would appear:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher a rascal, and the
candlestick maker a fool."
A extremely famous example of this is found in John Keats' often quoted words from "Ode on a Grecian Urn":
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
The fact that the verb is missing between "truth" and "beauty," thus tacitly borrowing it from the main clause, is why a comma is appropriate after "truth" instead of a semicolon or period.
By the way, another example of what you're doing is the following Twix commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CsTlH4QOg
If you Google the ad's hook "as much in common as you a mortician and me an undertaker," you will see that it sometimes is written with gapping commas and sometimes not, just like no gapping comma appears between "sometimes" and "not" in the preceding clause.
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
add a comment |
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Yes, you can write it that way, sort of. There's nothing wrong with the concept of using gapping commas in that sentence, only the execution.
In that sentence, since the items you list contain internal commas (i.e., the gapping commas), you would use semicolons to separate the list items themselves instead of commas, so it would appear as follows:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman; the butcher, a rascal; and the
candlestick maker, a fool."
For more information on how to use semicolons in this way, please refer to the following and scroll down to number three:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/
That said, you could also write it without the gapping commas at all as there is well-established precedent for doing so when what is being implied is the verb alone, so it would appear:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher a rascal, and the
candlestick maker a fool."
A extremely famous example of this is found in John Keats' often quoted words from "Ode on a Grecian Urn":
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
The fact that the verb is missing between "truth" and "beauty," thus tacitly borrowing it from the main clause, is why a comma is appropriate after "truth" instead of a semicolon or period.
By the way, another example of what you're doing is the following Twix commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CsTlH4QOg
If you Google the ad's hook "as much in common as you a mortician and me an undertaker," you will see that it sometimes is written with gapping commas and sometimes not, just like no gapping comma appears between "sometimes" and "not" in the preceding clause.
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
add a comment |
Yes, you can write it that way, sort of. There's nothing wrong with the concept of using gapping commas in that sentence, only the execution.
In that sentence, since the items you list contain internal commas (i.e., the gapping commas), you would use semicolons to separate the list items themselves instead of commas, so it would appear as follows:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman; the butcher, a rascal; and the
candlestick maker, a fool."
For more information on how to use semicolons in this way, please refer to the following and scroll down to number three:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/
That said, you could also write it without the gapping commas at all as there is well-established precedent for doing so when what is being implied is the verb alone, so it would appear:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher a rascal, and the
candlestick maker a fool."
A extremely famous example of this is found in John Keats' often quoted words from "Ode on a Grecian Urn":
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
The fact that the verb is missing between "truth" and "beauty," thus tacitly borrowing it from the main clause, is why a comma is appropriate after "truth" instead of a semicolon or period.
By the way, another example of what you're doing is the following Twix commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CsTlH4QOg
If you Google the ad's hook "as much in common as you a mortician and me an undertaker," you will see that it sometimes is written with gapping commas and sometimes not, just like no gapping comma appears between "sometimes" and "not" in the preceding clause.
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
add a comment |
Yes, you can write it that way, sort of. There's nothing wrong with the concept of using gapping commas in that sentence, only the execution.
In that sentence, since the items you list contain internal commas (i.e., the gapping commas), you would use semicolons to separate the list items themselves instead of commas, so it would appear as follows:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman; the butcher, a rascal; and the
candlestick maker, a fool."
For more information on how to use semicolons in this way, please refer to the following and scroll down to number three:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/
That said, you could also write it without the gapping commas at all as there is well-established precedent for doing so when what is being implied is the verb alone, so it would appear:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher a rascal, and the
candlestick maker a fool."
A extremely famous example of this is found in John Keats' often quoted words from "Ode on a Grecian Urn":
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
The fact that the verb is missing between "truth" and "beauty," thus tacitly borrowing it from the main clause, is why a comma is appropriate after "truth" instead of a semicolon or period.
By the way, another example of what you're doing is the following Twix commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CsTlH4QOg
If you Google the ad's hook "as much in common as you a mortician and me an undertaker," you will see that it sometimes is written with gapping commas and sometimes not, just like no gapping comma appears between "sometimes" and "not" in the preceding clause.
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
Yes, you can write it that way, sort of. There's nothing wrong with the concept of using gapping commas in that sentence, only the execution.
In that sentence, since the items you list contain internal commas (i.e., the gapping commas), you would use semicolons to separate the list items themselves instead of commas, so it would appear as follows:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman; the butcher, a rascal; and the
candlestick maker, a fool."
For more information on how to use semicolons in this way, please refer to the following and scroll down to number three:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/
That said, you could also write it without the gapping commas at all as there is well-established precedent for doing so when what is being implied is the verb alone, so it would appear:
"The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher a rascal, and the
candlestick maker a fool."
A extremely famous example of this is found in John Keats' often quoted words from "Ode on a Grecian Urn":
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
The fact that the verb is missing between "truth" and "beauty," thus tacitly borrowing it from the main clause, is why a comma is appropriate after "truth" instead of a semicolon or period.
By the way, another example of what you're doing is the following Twix commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CsTlH4QOg
If you Google the ad's hook "as much in common as you a mortician and me an undertaker," you will see that it sometimes is written with gapping commas and sometimes not, just like no gapping comma appears between "sometimes" and "not" in the preceding clause.
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
edited 5 hours ago
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
answered 6 hours ago
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
6,3723 gold badges17 silver badges45 bronze badges
add a comment |
add a comment |
RNG is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
RNG is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
RNG is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
RNG is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Have you considered dashes?
– KillingTime
8 hours ago
Interesting idea. Something like this: The baker may seem to be a gentleman, the butcher -- a rascal, and the candlestick maker -- a fool. This looks busy, but admittedly better than intercalating serial and gapping commas.
– RNG
7 hours ago
The original is clear and good.
– Xanne
7 hours ago
2
Somehow, I keep listening for another clause headed with but...
– Cascabel
5 hours ago
@Cascabel - Yes, that sentence does convey a certain sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop. "May seem" suggests that they are not actually those things. If so, that could be delivered with a "but" in an ensuing coordinate cause. It could also be delivered in a new sentence, like one with "though" at the end.
– Benjamin Harman
2 hours ago