MSGID: 1:153/716.0 d13c86c1   
   REPLY: 2:221/6.0 5cf95892   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Alexander!  Still mulling over the issue of commas....   
      
    AH>  When she complained to my mother, my mother answered   
    AH>  "How would the doctor know if you were turning blue   
    AH>  with that stuff on?"  :-))   
      
      
             In my previous message I neglected to say that when I added commas to   
    your example & Mark's I was "going by the book".  The above is a departure   
   from standard procedure, but I've learned a few things since I attended school:   
      
    1)  Although I wasn't happy when a USAian English professor criticized me for   
        using "too many commas"... and I may err in the opposite direction now...   
        I got the point.  If I'd used commas as they're generally used in British   
        English there would be three of them in my example, all serving different   
        purposes.  Once I became accustomed to the idea of rationing them I began   
        to see how a forest of commas may hinder some readers more than it helps.   
        By shortening the original sentence you made it unnecessary to prioritize   
        them & determine which one(s) may be omitted without sacrificing clarity.   
        Sometimes that's the quickest & easiest solution.  OTOH I keep asking you   
        about context, and thanks to Anton I have more to add there... [chuckle].   
      
    2)  My mother was speaking to a person who was emotionally upset.  I've found   
        in certain situations that regardless of what the textbook authors advise   
        us to do in order to make our writing more interesting there may be times   
        When it's highly effective to start with a main clause & continue without   
        pausing.  In oral conversation, not everybody takes turns politely & with   
        some folks it may be a bit of a challenge to get a word in edgewise.  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)   
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