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For instance, the availability of pornography on the internet is the main cause(,) particularly for men to become ignorant to the pursuit of romantic relationships in the real-world.

Would I put a comma before particularly here? My colleague says so, but I am doubtful about that.

Alternatively, would I enclose particularly in commas or use a semicolon?

Wrzlprmft
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H B
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    Welcome to ELU. Other issues with the sentence make it difficult to recommend where to put commas or not. I'd suggest you try having a look at the sentence and making it easier to understand before addressing the comma issue. – Isabel Archer May 28 '20 at 12:56
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    It appears that you want "particularly for men" to be a "parenthetical" (look it up). In that case you need commas on both ends. – Hot Licks May 28 '20 at 13:15
  • And "to become" is wrong. "For becoming" would be better. – Hot Licks May 28 '20 at 13:16
  • @Hot Licks Don't you think it would sound a bit repetitive to say "for becoming" right after "particularly for men"? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that maybe there's a better way to say it. – Naomi May 28 '20 at 13:58
  • You don't understand a parenthetical. – Hot Licks May 28 '20 at 14:06
  • For becoming sound a bit awkward. Could you please write the sentence out and show me? – H B May 28 '20 at 14:14
  • "... the availability of pornography on the internet is the main cause for becoming ignorant ..." This is what you have when the parenthetical is omitted. – Hot Licks May 28 '20 at 16:46
  • Alright thank you. And how would I implement the "particularly for men" in this sentence? – H B May 28 '20 at 17:16
  • And can I even use parenthesis in academic writing? – H B May 28 '20 at 18:00
  • You include "... , particularly for men, ..." -- a parenthetical. Please look it up!! – Hot Licks May 28 '20 at 18:46

1 Answers1

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This is a parenthetical comma: "For instance, the availability of pornography on the internet is the main cause, particularly for men, to become ignorant to the pursuit of romantic relationships in the real world."

Notice that the commas can be replaced by parentheses without changing the meaning: "For instance, the availability of pornography on the internet is the main cause (particularly for men) to become ignorant to the pursuit of romantic relationships in the real world."

It might be better if you wrote it like this: "For instance, the main cause of ignoring the pursuit of romantic relationships in the real world is the availability of pornography on the internet, particularly for men."

Kieran Jack Commanda
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