Is it just me, or are there way too many comma's in this sentence I found in a book I've been reading:
"Susanna put her daughter, Grace, in a Washington, D.C., boarding school, then hit the party circuit, hobnobbing with New York and Washington, D.C., elites including the Astors and Vanderbilts..."
I think there are 2 extra commas in that sentence. Am I right?
***edit: Apparently all the commas are correct. Read comments if you desire.***
No, actually. The sentence is grammatically correct, despite the fact that it's a pain to read. Though it seems dumb, there's always a comma in between and after Washington, D.C., (unless it's at the end of a sentence! :P). The other commas denote a break-off from the main idea, or giving more information about what's being talked about ("...daughter, Grace, in a...").
ReplyDeleteIf Susanna has more than one daughter, there would be no commas around Grace. So that would be two extra commas.
ReplyDeleteCaryn, I looked it up and you are right. A comma does indeed belong after Washington, D.C. I knew it belonged between Washington and D.C. but I never knew about adding commas after it. I think that is frightfully weird, but apparently correct. (Though the answer is not easily found online, so I think I may continue to claim ignorance because I find it soooo weird.)
ReplyDeleteSarah, I like your thought on the two daughters thing.