Skip to main content

punctuation - Comma after address


Here's an example:




  • Chocolate lovers rejoice!

  • Chocolate lovers, rejoice!



To my understanding, the first one says that chocolate lovers are rejoicing and in the second one, we are asking the chocolate lovers to rejoice.


Am I correct? Or is it fine to use both 1 and 2 interchangeably?


Also, if am wrong about the second one, then how do you convey to chocolate lovers that they should rejoice?



Answer



Both versions are imperative clauses, and both have directive force. The difference is: your first version uses a 3rd person subject, while the second version uses a vocative.


In both versions, there is the directive "Rejoice!"


Both versions basically have the same meaning. In a roomful of chocolate lovers, you can give the directive "Rejoice!" or the directive "Chocolate lovers rejoice!" or the directive "Chocolate lovers, rejoice!", or the directive "Everybody rejoice!", or the directive "Everybody, rejoice!" or the directive "Rejoice, everybody!"


For more info, there's the 2002 reference grammar by Huddleston and Pullum et al., The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Chapter 10, pages 925-8 (9.2.1 - 9.2.2) which includes the section "Subject vs vocative in imperatives".


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more