odieMT 1 / 1 Jun 25, 2012 #1Which is correct -1) She reports significant pain at night, limiting her ability to get a full night's sleep.OR2) She reports significant pain at night limiting her ability to get a full night's sleep.Another example:1) He has extensive pain in the lower lumbar area, radiating down his legs.OR2) He has extensive pain in the lower lumbar area radiating down his legsAnd why is it correct? Please provide the grammar rule if you can.What is confusing me - "Limiting/radiating" is the second verb in the sentence, first verb being "reports/has." The pain is actually what is limiting the ability to sleep/radiating down the legs, so it that an adjective phrase describing the pain that should be set apart by a comma or am I splicing the verb (limiting/radiating) from the subject (pain) by adding a comma?This is driving me crazy and I can't find a rule that seems to pertain exactly to this situation. Thank you!
ah_zafari [Contributor] 40 / 672 148 Jun 26, 2012 #2Hi,The sentences need no comma. In fact, the statement "limiting her ability to get a full night's sleep" is a part of the sentence and it is not an additional information. A comma should be used when some additional information is added to a sentence. For more information about this question you should study the concepts of "defining clause" and "non-defining clause".RegardsAhmad
dumi 1 / 6,925 1592 Jun 26, 2012 #3Hi Amy,I agree with Ahmad and his explaination. You dont need any commas.You can google and find many links that help you with usage of commas. I cannot provide you with these external links since that violates this forum rules. Google for "usage of commas" .