Why does Orwell omit so many commas (and include some where they don't belong)?
When reading Orwell, my eyes immediately find themselves locked onto each grammatical "error." Very frequently he will omit commas where they are today necessary. I will list some examples, but keep in mind that this is only at the surface—I could indeed find many, many more.
And, for reference, both Google Docs and Grammarly agree with me where some of these commas should be.
Its combination of qualities made possible the success of the American and French revolutions, [sic] and made a popular insurrection a more serious business than it could be in our own day.
In that case [sic] we are back where we were before, the only difference being that power is concentrated in still fewer hands and that the outlook for subject peoples and oppressed classes is still more hopeless.
...‘Abolished frontiers’; actually [sic] it is only since the aeroplane.
In certain circumstances [sic] it can break down, at certain levels of civilization it does not exist, but as a positive force [sic] there is nothing to set beside it.
...but in fact [sic] anyone able to use his eyes...
Also, in moments of supreme crisis [sic] the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct.
I could seriously do this for hours. I'm not criticizing Orwell. In my opinion, many of these sentences simply read better without the comma assaulting your eyes. But as someone who is going to be a journalist, I am massively confused by this habit of many of my favorite authors. From purely a grammatical standpoint, am I able to omit some of these commas as well?
grammar commas
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SermoSermo
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When reading Orwell, my eyes immediately find themselves locked onto each grammatical "error." Very frequently he will omit commas where they are today necessary. I will list some examples, but keep in mind that this is only at the surface—I could indeed find many, many more.
And, for reference, both Google Docs and Grammarly agree with me where some of these commas should be.
Its combination of qualities made possible the success of the American and French revolutions, [sic] and made a popular insurrection a more serious business than it could be in our own day.
In that case [sic] we are back where we were before, the only difference being that power is concentrated in still fewer hands and that the outlook for subject peoples and oppressed classes is still more hopeless.
...‘Abolished frontiers’; actually [sic] it is only since the aeroplane.
In certain circumstances [sic] it can break down, at certain levels of civilization it does not exist, but as a positive force [sic] there is nothing to set beside it.
...but in fact [sic] anyone able to use his eyes...
Also, in moments of supreme crisis [sic] the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct.
I could seriously do this for hours. I'm not criticizing Orwell. In my opinion, many of these sentences simply read better without the comma assaulting your eyes. But as someone who is going to be a journalist, I am massively confused by this habit of many of my favorite authors. From purely a grammatical standpoint, am I able to omit some of these commas as well?
grammar commas
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
When reading Orwell, my eyes immediately find themselves locked onto each grammatical "error." Very frequently he will omit commas where they are today necessary. I will list some examples, but keep in mind that this is only at the surface—I could indeed find many, many more.
And, for reference, both Google Docs and Grammarly agree with me where some of these commas should be.
Its combination of qualities made possible the success of the American and French revolutions, [sic] and made a popular insurrection a more serious business than it could be in our own day.
In that case [sic] we are back where we were before, the only difference being that power is concentrated in still fewer hands and that the outlook for subject peoples and oppressed classes is still more hopeless.
...‘Abolished frontiers’; actually [sic] it is only since the aeroplane.
In certain circumstances [sic] it can break down, at certain levels of civilization it does not exist, but as a positive force [sic] there is nothing to set beside it.
...but in fact [sic] anyone able to use his eyes...
Also, in moments of supreme crisis [sic] the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct.
I could seriously do this for hours. I'm not criticizing Orwell. In my opinion, many of these sentences simply read better without the comma assaulting your eyes. But as someone who is going to be a journalist, I am massively confused by this habit of many of my favorite authors. From purely a grammatical standpoint, am I able to omit some of these commas as well?
grammar commas
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
When reading Orwell, my eyes immediately find themselves locked onto each grammatical "error." Very frequently he will omit commas where they are today necessary. I will list some examples, but keep in mind that this is only at the surface—I could indeed find many, many more.
And, for reference, both Google Docs and Grammarly agree with me where some of these commas should be.
Its combination of qualities made possible the success of the American and French revolutions, [sic] and made a popular insurrection a more serious business than it could be in our own day.
In that case [sic] we are back where we were before, the only difference being that power is concentrated in still fewer hands and that the outlook for subject peoples and oppressed classes is still more hopeless.
...‘Abolished frontiers’; actually [sic] it is only since the aeroplane.
In certain circumstances [sic] it can break down, at certain levels of civilization it does not exist, but as a positive force [sic] there is nothing to set beside it.
...but in fact [sic] anyone able to use his eyes...
Also, in moments of supreme crisis [sic] the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct.
I could seriously do this for hours. I'm not criticizing Orwell. In my opinion, many of these sentences simply read better without the comma assaulting your eyes. But as someone who is going to be a journalist, I am massively confused by this habit of many of my favorite authors. From purely a grammatical standpoint, am I able to omit some of these commas as well?
grammar commas
grammar commas
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
asked 23 mins ago
SermoSermo
101
101
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Sermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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