Learn English – Do I need to place a comma before “then”

commaspunctuation

Example:

"The helicopter will land in a minute or two
."

"Why can't we see it, then?

Do I need that comma before the then? Why and why not?

I got both versions on Google:

…wouldn't they be in the way then?

…wouldn't they be dead, then?

Best Answer

The comma can represent a syntactic pause and/or a change of intonation that accompanies and corroborates a syntactic pause.

A comma would make clear that "then" as used here is not temporal but conditional; temporal and conditional uses of then have different syntactic pauses and intonational contours.

P.S. Its being at the end of the sentence is not the deciding factor. Consider:

**I'm away Monday, but I'll be in town on Tuesday. Can I see the apartment then? [no pause before "thenn"]

The answer on the rental form is incorrect. I have no pets. I can rent the apartment, then?** [pause and different intonation to mark the meaning "in that case"]

Related Solutions

Learn English – place a comma after a conjunction beginning the sentence

A comma after a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but) is only acceptable when the comma is the first of a pair of commas bracketing a ‘supplement’—a phrase or clause which lies outside the main structure of the sentence and interrupts the flow of thought.

  And, as if that were not enough, he went on to sneer at the victim.
     ^---------------------------^  

  But, as you said, there is no point in trying too hard.
     ^------------^

In other circumstances the comma is effectively ‘disjunctive’ and subverts the joining effect of the conjunction.

This counterproductive comma is becoming very common in contemporary business writing; I suspect it represents a hypercorrection by people who have misunderstood the need for commas bracketing supplements, or think it lends formal ‘elegance’ to their writing.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Learn English – place a comma after a conjunction beginning the sentence

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