Learn English – “…but, rather, …” vs “…, but rather, …”

grammar

Which is more grammatical:

John does not help out, but rather, sits and plays games all day.

John does not help out but, rather, sits and plays games all day.

I feel like the second one is more grammatical since whatever is in the commas can be taken out and the sentence would still make sense. However, the first one has commas according to how it would sound if I said this sentence aloud.

Best Answer

If I could, I would like to add another opinion than those given in the comments.

Since the second part of your sentence is not a complete sentence, you do not need a comma before the conjunction, but.

John does not help out but sits and plays games all day.

Sits and plays games all day is not a complete sentence. Therefore, no comma is needed.

However, rather interrupts the sentence and does need to be set apart by commas.

John does not help out but, rather, sits and plays games all day.

This would be the correct way of punctuating this sentence. In fact, the link given in the first comment seems to support this point. It says...

Interrupting Elements When a nonessential word or phrase occurs in the middle of a sentence, it should be set off with commas. EXAMPLE: Your work has been, frankly, awful.

Related Solutions

Learn English – Richard isn’t driving right now. Last year, Richard rode his bicycle to work every day, but he ______ the bus since the accident

Richard isn't driving right now. Last year, Richard rode his bicycle to work every day, but he has been taking the bus since the accident.

Why? You're speaking about something that started in the past, so you can't use takes. He has taken the bus more than once, so you can't use took.

You could say he has taken the bus:

Last year, Richard rode his bicycle to work every day, but he has taken the bus since the accident.

However, the inclusion of the first sentence in your example means that the focus is on the continuous state of Richard's actions in the present.

This means that:

Richard isn't driving right now. Last year, Richard rode his bicycle to work every day, but he has been taking the bus since the accident.

sounds more natural.

However, this is pretty nuanced and I would mark neither 2 nor 4 as incorrect. I am surprised that these are offered as exclusive options in the question you gave. Are you sure you can't pick multiple options?

Learn English – The use of ‘will have’ over ‘would have’ in this sentence

The sentence is correct as the tense is in the present. If the writer was speaking about someone specific, then "would have" would work better.

We use the perfective will have when we are looking back from a point in time when something will have happened.
By the end of the decade scientists will have discovered a cure for
influenza. I will phone at six o’clock. He will have got home by then.
or looking "back" from the present:
Look at the time. The match will have started. It’s half past five.
Dad will have finished work.
We use would have as the past tense form of will have:
I phoned at six o’clock. I knew he would have got home by then. It was
half past five. Dad would have finished work.
We use would have in past conditionals to talk about something that did not happen:
If it had been a little warmer we would have gone for a swim. He would
have been very angry if he had seen you.

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Best Answer

Related Solutions

Learn English – Richard isn’t driving right now. Last year, Richard rode his bicycle to work every day, but he ______ the bus since the accident

Learn English – The use of ‘will have’ over ‘would have’ in this sentence

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