English 1b3 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Punctuation in a complex sentence
Which punctuation is grammatical?
a) I liked the book, but, having read it over such a long period of time, I found I kept forgetting what was going on.
b) I liked the book, but having read it over such a long period of time, I found I kept forgetting what was going on.
c) I liked the book, but - having read it over such a long period of time - I found I kept forgetting what was going on.
a) I liked the book, but, having read it over such a long period of time, I found I kept forgetting what was going on.
b) I liked the book, but having read it over such a long period of time, I found I kept forgetting what was going on.
c) I liked the book, but - having read it over such a long period of time - I found I kept forgetting what was going on.
Top answer
I would go for (b).
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I don't know if it's just me, but I always find punctuating sentences like this problematic. (a) seems logically correct to me but looks fussy. The style of (b) is no doubt common, but is offputting to me since the commas seem to set off "but having read it over such a long period of time" as a phrase.
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I am completely aligned with GYP on this.
A is "technically" correct but looks fussy. (Perfect word choice.)
B is not (technically) logically correct, but easier on the eye and doesn't actually lead to confusion about the intended meaning.
C ends up looking like someone dumped punctuation on the page.
Let's not forget that the primary role of punctuation is to add clarity
A is "technically" correct but looks fussy. (Perfect word choice.)
B is not (technically) logically correct, but easier on the eye and doesn't actually lead to confusion about the intended meaning.
C ends up looking like someone dumped punctuation on the page.
Let's not forget that the primary role of punctuation is to add clarity
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