When do you use a comma before 'as'?

Gregg Bell · Apr 23, 2018

I'm having the same sort of problem as when to use a comma before 'because.' Sometimes it's clear. (Like in the preceding sentence.) Other times I'm uncertain as to whether to insert the comma or not. Especially in longer sentences. I'm looking for a rule of thumb when to insert it. Thanks.

skillage · Apr 23, 2018

I tend to overuse commas, but in the case of a phrase beginning with "as" I think of them as appropriate when they're marking off a phrase that could just as easily be deleted from the sentence. So for instance: "That, as my mother used to say, is hokum." You could just remove the "as my mother used to say" because it's a little digression, so it needs commas. Whereas in the sentence "She passed me as I was walking from the shop" there's no such phrase, so no comma.

Does that help at all?

Gregg Bell · Apr 23, 2018

skillage said:
I tend to overuse commas, but in the case of a phrase beginning with "as" I think of them as appropriate when they're marking off a phrase that could just as easily be deleted from the sentence. So for instance: "That, as my mother used to say, is hokum." You could just remove the "as my mother used to say" because it's a little digression, so it needs commas. Whereas in the sentence "She passed me as I was walking from the shop" there's no such phrase, so no comma.

Does that help at all?

Thanks skillage. Yeah, that helps. So if a phrase is non-restrictive, go ahead and use the commas. (Or single comma, if the non-restrictive phrase ends the sentence.)

When do you use a comma before 'as'?

Gregg Bell

skillage

Gregg Bell