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Is the comma usage in the second sentence correct?

An alaunt with short grey fur emerged from the darkness baring its teeth. Shortly after, its master followed.

I understand that a comma should follow a dependent clause. I'm unsure if, "shortly after" is a dependent clause.

I would like the sentence to communicate that the dog's owner appeared after the dog. (Is the comma necessary?)

KillingTime
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Elm City
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  • "Shortly after" is an introductory phrase, not a clause, whether dependent or independent. The comma prevents a potential misread and so definitely is preferable: "necessary" doesn't make sense without further context. – HeWhoMustBeNamed Jan 10 '20 at 16:26

1 Answers1

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Yes, it is correct.

"Shortly after" is an adverbal phrase. It modifies the main clause: "The dog's owner arrived".

  • right: "Shortly after, the dog's owner arrived" = "the dog's owner arrived a short period of time after the dog emerged"

If you remove the comma, you end up with a parsing problem:

  • wrong: "Shortly after the dog's owner arrived." = "[??? happened] a short period of time after the owner of the dog arrived"

Because this version creates a dangling sub-clause just hanging there, the reader will go back and see what it could be referring to. The nearest candidate is the previous sentence ("the dog emerged"), so the reader will think the events happened in the opposite order to which you wanted to say, i.e: the dog emerged shortly after its owner arrived.

KrisW
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  • Follow up question. Are dangling sub-clauses appropriate in fiction writing? It sounds like they create some extra work for the reader. – Elm City Jan 10 '20 at 14:38
  • This answer is incorrect. "Shortly after" is not a clause at all; it's just a phrase. – HeWhoMustBeNamed Jan 10 '20 at 16:23
  • The question asked was "Is the comma usage in the second sentence correct?". My answer is correct in answering that question with "yes". My mistaken use of "clause" instead of "phrase" (which I will now edit) does not render the answer incorrect. – KrisW Jan 10 '20 at 18:20