Matt Taibbi writes in part:
In the next second however I was terrified, because I care about my job, and knew there would be a million eyes on this thing.
A few comma errors in the above. Rewrite the sentence correctly in the comments. Extra credit: offer grammatical justifications for your corrections.
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How about this:
ReplyDeleteIn the next second, however, I was terrified because I care about my job and knew there would be a million eyes on this thing.
As to the why, that's easy. Grammarly told me so.
Grammarly was right for once. "However," as a parenthetical expression, needs to be surrounded by commas. The commas that are already in Taibbi's sentence don't need to be there.
ReplyDeleteThere should be no comma before "because" since you don't use a comma to separate a dependent clause when that clause comes second in a sentence. (Compare "If you do that again, I'll kill you" and "I'll kill you if you do that again.")
The second comma shouldn't be there because it's not necessary for a compound predicate.
WRONG: She sat down, and farted.
RIGHT: She sat down and farted.
Taibbi's dependent clause, stripped to its essence, says, "I cared... and knew." No comma needed.
It all makes sense when you explain it. I need that voice in my ear when I write.
ReplyDelete