3

I'm hoping to get a breakdown of the punctuation in the following sentence:

It has a wider-reaching impact because, arguably, in addition to being of use to vehicle owners, it also benefits the public commuting system.

Specifically, I'd like to understand the purpose of each comma and the grammatical rule that justifies its use.

Barmar
  • 20,741
  • 1
  • 38
  • 59
Noor Nizar
  • 39
  • 2
  • The sentence is infelicitous. Either the 'arguably' belongs after 'it', or a rewrite is needed: 'It has a wider-reaching impact. This is arguably because, in addition to being of use to vehicle owners, it benefits the public commuting system.' (I've also deleted 'also'). // If the sentence were felicitous, there would be comma overload, usually best resolved by using different offsetting punctuation (say dashes) for the parenthetical. // Punctuation around parentheses is addressed here.... – Edwin Ashworth Mar 13 '24 at 00:02

2 Answers2

3

Use a pair of commas to set off parenthetical phrases (non-essential elements) in a complete sentence. In other words, non-essential elements are phrases that can be removed from the sentence and the sentence still makes sense without it.

(This rule justifies the use of the parenthetical commas around arguably.)

Use a comma after a dependent clause and before an independent clause. Dependent clause markers include words such as: Because, Since, If, When, While, After. (This rule justifies the last comma.)

UNT Dallas, the source of this extract, has more rules for commas in case you're interested to further your knowledge of them. (Note the use of parenthetical commas in this sentence.)

user405662
  • 8,423
  • 1
    This is a succinct and useful explanation. – Sven Yargs Mar 10 '24 at 06:59
  • Hey, I appreciate your response, although I still have some concerns that I'd be very thankful if you cleared out.

    1- suppose I omit "arguably" Will the sentence "It has a wider-reaching impact because in addition to ...." be punctuationally correct? I'm questioning this because automatic grammar checker and ChatBots suggest a comma still after because.

    2- The second rule you mentioned implies that the dependent clause depends on the later independent clause, in that case, shouldn't it be necessary to put a period before "because"?

     – Noor Nizar Mar 11 '24 at 02:42
  • 'Most of the time, you should not use a comma before because when it connects two clauses in a sentence. Because is a subordinating conjunction, which means that it connects a subordinate clause to an independent clause; good style dictates that there should be no comma between these two clauses. An exception can and should be made when the lack of a comma would cause ambiguity. [Grammarly]. But note also that the comma, if used at all, is used before not after 'because'.... – Edwin Ashworth Mar 13 '24 at 00:16
  • 'It has a wider-reaching impact because, it also benefits the public commuting system.' is incorrect. Here, there are essentially sequential parentheticals (one 1-word, one 9-word). – Edwin Ashworth Mar 13 '24 at 00:16
1

The commas around arguably set it off because it is a nonessential adverb and serves to qualify the statement without being integral to its meaning.

The last comma is there not because it precedes an independent clause, as another answer states, but because the phrase beginning with in addition to is a long prepositional phrase and should be followed by a comma when placed at the start of a clause. There are two clauses in this sentence: It . . . impact (independent) and because . . . system (dependent). Both arguably and this prepositional phrase are interruptions between the subordinating conjunction because and the rest of the dependent clause. Prepositional phrases considered “long” (which is ambiguous but typically regarded as over four words or so) are followed by a comma when they precede the rest of a clause to help parse the sentence.

If you were to remove arguably, whether or not a comma should still be placed after because depends on the intended meaning. If the prepositional phrase is regarded as nonessential, the comma would be appropriate. However, I would argue that the way this sentence is structured makes the phrase essential—removing it results in It has a wider-reaching impact because it also benefits the public commuting system, which to me seems incorrect because also is now out of place here since nothing else has been stated as an impact. Thus, it would make more sense to regard it as essential and not to have a comma.

GrammarCop
  • 318
  • Sorry, I've just said this in a comment under the incorrect answer. I should have read on. You are correct. // The question itself has problems (see my initial comments). – Edwin Ashworth Mar 13 '24 at 00:20