"sorry"
tjb
following:
"Sorry, I didn't see you there."
Is a comma correct there? It just doesn't seem right to me somehow.
Also, people often use a comma after the "sorry" in the following, but I
tend to use a semi-colon:
"I'm sorry; I didn't see you there."
Am I right, or are they? Or is neither of us?
dontbother
This is one of those dialogue-writing problems. I wouldn't use a comma
unless the "sorry" were followed by "but". Without the "but", I'd say the
comma should be a period (full stop), not a semi-colon.
Professional writers, however, will use the comma in both cases, and no one
will complain. It's only when there's no comma that a problem of meaning,
stress, and intonation arises.
--
Franke: EFL teacher and medical editor
Posting from Taiwan. Unmunged email: /at/hush.ai
It's all in the way you say it, innit?
tjb
>> People would typically use a comma after the 'sorry' in something like
>> the following:
>>
>> "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
>>
>> Is a comma correct there? It just doesn't seem right to me somehow.
>>
>> Also, people often use a comma after the "sorry" in the following, but
>> I tend to use a semi-colon:
>>
>> "I'm sorry; I didn't see you there."
>>
>> Am I right, or are they? Or is neither of us?
>
> This is one of those dialogue-writing problems. I wouldn't use a comma
> unless the "sorry" were followed by "but". Without the "but", I'd say the
> comma should be a period (full stop), not a semi-colon.
Just to check -- are you applying that to the first example (the one
without the "I'm") as well?
> Professional writers, however, will use the comma in both cases, and no one
> will complain. It's only when there's no comma that a problem of meaning,
> stress, and intonation arises.
Acknowledged.
dontbother
> dontbother <dontb...@mushmail.mom> wrote:
>
>>> People would typically use a comma after the 'sorry' in something
>>> like the following:
>>>
>>> "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
>>>
>>> Is a comma correct there? It just doesn't seem right to me somehow.
>>>
>>> Also, people often use a comma after the "sorry" in the following,
>>> but I tend to use a semi-colon:
>>>
>>> "I'm sorry; I didn't see you there."
>>>
>>> Am I right, or are they? Or is neither of us?
>>
>> This is one of those dialogue-writing problems. I wouldn't use a
>> comma unless the "sorry" were followed by "but". Without the "but",
>> I'd say the comma should be a period (full stop), not a semi-colon.
>
> Just to check -- are you applying that to the first example (the one
> without the "I'm") as well?
Yes, I'd say that there's no significant grammatical difference between
the two despite the second one's having a subject and verb in front of
the "sorry". "Sorry" and "I'm sorry" are both complete sentences in
dialogue. The first is elliptical; the second, complete.
>
>> Professional writers, however, will use the comma in both cases, and
>> no one will complain. It's only when there's no comma that a problem
>> of meaning, stress, and intonation arises.
>
> Acknowledged.
>
--
HVS
> People would typically use a comma after the 'sorry' in
> something like the following:
>
> "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
>
> Is a comma correct there? It just doesn't seem right to me
> somehow.
Do you mean "is a comma needed at all?" I'd say that the comma
changes the meaning.
Without any context, I'd take "Sorry, I didn't see you there" to
mean something like "Oops -- I didn't realise you were standing
there". My default reading of "Sorry I didn't see you there",
though, would be "I regret that although we were at the same event,
I didn't meet up with you".
--
Cheers, Harvey
Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed
For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van
Skitt
> tjb wrote
>> People would typically use a comma after the 'sorry' in
>> something like the following:
>>
>> "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
>>
>> Is a comma correct there? It just doesn't seem right to me
>> somehow.
>
> Do you mean "is a comma needed at all?" I'd say that the comma
> changes the meaning.
>
> Without any context, I'd take "Sorry, I didn't see you there" to
> mean something like "Oops -- I didn't realise you were standing
> there". My default reading of "Sorry I didn't see you there",
> though, would be "I regret that although we were at the same event,
> I didn't meet up with you".
I agree.
--
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
http://www.geocities.com/opus731/
tjb
> Do you mean "is a comma needed at all?" I'd say that the comma
> changes the meaning.
Oh, I was wondering whether a comma would be considered the most suitable
punctuation character to use there. Excuse my lack of clarity.
tjb
>> Just to check -- are you applying that to the first example (the one
>> without the "I'm") as well?
>
> Yes, I'd say that there's no significant grammatical difference between
> the two despite the second one's having a subject and verb in front of
> the "sorry". "Sorry" and "I'm sorry" are both complete sentences in
> dialogue. The first is elliptical; the second, complete.
Thanks.