From the moment I saw him I knew this wouldn't work out.
OR
From the moment I saw him, I knew this wouldn't work out.
It just doesn't seem to flow as well in the second version. Which one should I use?
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eveline
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1 Answers
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This is not a clause, but an adverbial phrase. According to most style guides, the comma is optional after an introductory adverbial phrase, but it is more often included than not.
Edwin Ashworth
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Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
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Adverbial phrase! Let me change the question. Thanks so much. – eveline Jul 16 '14 at 23:30
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I see. I'd definitely forgotten what it was actually called (and what it actually was). Thanks! – eveline Jul 16 '14 at 23:38
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@eveline: Thanks for accepting my answer! And welcome to the site. P.S. You could also vote my answer up, if you think it is right...it's the round grey arrow above the number "0". – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jul 17 '14 at 00:09
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My personal rule is that an introductory phrase of more than three words gets a comma; fewer than three words, no comma; exactly three words, judgement call. The example sentence justifies the rule: the comma makes it much easier to parse. – Michael Lorton Jul 17 '14 at 00:13
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@EdwinAshworth: It is not a clause: it merely contains a clause. Conversely, when she appeared from the palace is not a prepositional phrase, even though the most salient information arguably comes from the embedded prepositional phrase.. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jul 17 '14 at 01:11
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@eveline: As for whether or not to use the comma, see Shoe's answers here and here; largely the same considerations apply for adverbial phrases as for adverbial clauses. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 17 '14 at 01:21
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Have corrected, and done a minor edit on your answer so that I could adjust voting. I was modelling on 'After I saw him' rather than 'From that moment ...'. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 17 '14 at 01:23
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@EdwinAshworth: Great! I would indeed treat after... as an adverbial clause, pace H&P. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jul 17 '14 at 01:29
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1@Cerberus I HAVE LIKE 13 REPUTATION POINTS AND THE THING WON'T LET ME CLICK. I've been trying to vote it up since the moment you answered. Hahah. – eveline Jul 17 '14 at 02:27
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@EdwinAshworth Checked those out--helped a lot! – eveline Jul 17 '14 at 02:28
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@eveline: Oh, haha, well, it doesn't matter anyway. Thanks for trying! – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jul 17 '14 at 02:30