Sometimes I obsess about commas

ckatt

ckatt

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Chapter 3 of A Wizzard of Earthsea begins with this sentence:

Ged slept that night aboard Shadow, and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his, they shouting good wishes cheerily after him as he went up the docks.

It's an interesting sentence, one that I like, but its the first comma that I'm not sure about.

Ged slept that night aboard Shadow, : this is an independent clause, but: and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his, is a dependant clause, so as I understand it, a comma should not be used here.
So what's going on? Any thoughts?
 
Actually, "and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his" is connected by a conjunction to the first clause and does not modify it, so it's not a dependent clause. See here under "compound sentences" for similar examples: Sentence clause structure - Wikipedia
 
But doesn't "and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his" need a subject then?
This a complex sentence unless I'm mistaken.
 
It might have been used for reasons of pacing rather than formal accuracy. The sentence makes just as much sense without the comma but feels a bit breathless.
 
ckatt said:
But doesn't "and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his" need a subject then?
This a complex sentence unless I'm mistaken.
Click to expand...
Contracted compound. The subject, Ged, is the same in both clauses.
 
ckatt said:
Chapter 3 of A Wizzard of Earthsea begins with this sentence:

Ged slept that night aboard Shadow, and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his, they shouting good wishes cheerily after him as he went up the docks.

It's an interesting sentence, one that I like, but its the first comma that I'm not sure about.

Ged slept that night aboard Shadow, : this is an independent clause, but: and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his, is a dependant clause, so as I understand it, a comma should not be used here.
So what's going on? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I was taught to look at a piece of writing as though I were reading it aloud, and put the commas in where I would pause in my speech.
 
Avelino de Castro said:
I was taught to look at a piece of writing as though I were reading it aloud, and put the commas in where I would pause in my speech.
Click to expand...

I--now--get told that too. Then the next person chides me for improper grammar, and the next after taking some out for poor readability.

It's sometimes a lose-lose catch-22 choice.

K2
 
The first comma is necessary because there is a pause. Without it it turns into Hawking speak.
What I personally think is just awful is that "they"
"...comrades of his, they shouting good wishes cheerily after him..."
It is really clumsy and makes a three legged race of the sentence. Frankly I'd rewrite the whole thing.
 
Ged slept that night aboard Shadow, and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his, they shouting good wishes cheerily after him as he went up the docks.
I think that technically it should be.
Ged slept that night aboard Shadow and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his. They shouted good wishes cheerily after him as he went up the docks.

However because the actions can't take place at the same time it probably reads better as.
Ged slept that night aboard Shadow, and early in the morning parted with those first sea-comrades of his. They shouted good wishes cheerily after him as he went up the docks.

However there is another issue to me in that one way it reads that early in the morning he parted with those first sea-comrades of his: and even in the way it is presented it doesn't look like they are going with him since they are shouting--after him--as he goes up the docks.

If they aren't going with him then it might be better.

Ged slept that night aboard Shadow and, early in the morning, parted with those first sea-comrades of his shouting good wishes cheerily after him as he went up the docks.

If they are going with him then:

Ged slept that night aboard Shadow and, early in the morning, parted with those first sea-comrades of his, they shouted good wishes cheerily as they went up the docks.
Or
Ged slept that night aboard Shadow and, early in the morning, parted with those first sea-comrades of his, shouting good wishes cheerily as they went up the docks.

I'm not sure the way it is written, whether it is clear which way it is--are they going with him or is he going alone.
 
tegeus-Cromis said:
Contracted compound. The subject, Ged, is the same in both clauses.
Click to expand...
I see. I had been searching for a comma rule to explain it. I was not familiar with the term "contracted compound". Don't you think it would have been nicer to include that in your initial post? It seems I'm not the only one unfamiliar with it based on the other responses people have offered.
Is a comma always necessary in contracted compound sentences?
 
ckatt said:
Is a comma always necessary in contracted compound sentences?
Click to expand...
No. You can say "I swept the floor and vacuumed the rug." But if you didn't do those things at the same time, you might say, "I swept the floor, and later that afternoon vacuumed the rug." Or else, "That night Ged swept the floor, and early in the morning vacuumed the rug." Which gets us back to where we started... So here adding the comma is a matter of indicating a time gap. It's not a strict grammar rule, it also depends on the content of the sentence.
 
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