3 Clarifications Thanks to Commas

Posted: July 13, 2012

[caption id="attachment_10352" align="alignright" width="346"]© maxsim - Fotolia.com[/caption]When it comes to writing, something as small as a comma can change the meaning of a sentence completely.

The omission of commas in a sentence can damage its comprehensibility. Employed according to the statement’s structural requirements, they clarify the syntax and therefore the meaning. Here are three sentences repaired with the assistance of one or two of these punctuation marks.

1. “Egyptian boys held posters of Ahmed Hussein Eid who was fatally stabbed by three bearded men during his funeral procession.”

One might misread this photo caption and come away with the impression that the victim was stabbed during his funeral procession. However, the subject of the image is boys in a funeral procession carrying posters of the victim; the explanation of the victim’s fate is parenthetical — nonessential to the sentence — and should thus be set off by commas: “Egyptian boys held posters of Ahmed Hussein Eid, who was fatally stabbed by three bearded men, during his funeral procession.

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