Which (if any) is the grammatically correct form of this sentence?

Question

The sentence is intended to convey that it is easy to fall into a pattern, and the pattern might be one of two types: consecutive sentences or repeatedly introducing paragraphs in the same way.

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases while writing either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs.

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases while writing, either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs.

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases, while writing, either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs.

The first obeys the rules as I understand them, but I think it creates a trip hazard because the 'either' could plausibly be constraining 'while writing', and only the 'or' clarifies that it's talking about the pattern.

The third also obeys the rules as I understand them (setting-off a nonrestrictive clause with a pair of commas), but it does not match the original thought or spoken tempo.

The second matches the thought and tempo, but I cannot identify a grammatical rule that would justify the inclusion of the comma.

I have studied a number of comma guides before asking this question, including: https://www.iue.edu/student-success/coursework/commas.html https://www.grammarly.com/blog/comma/

EDIT: But I had not seen this one, which may contain the answer I was looking for: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punctuation/commas/extended_rules_for_commas.html

Answer 1

Comma placement comes under the rules of punctuation (which are quite flexible) rather than the rules of grammar.

Here, having two metaphorical-location identifiers next to each other is at best clumsy, so I'd separate them. I'd also use 'when' to show that the writing is the focus rather than 'while', which backgrounds the writing.

I'd write:

• When writing, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases (either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs).

Note that the parenthetical is of the 'development of the idea of the statement in / adding details to the main clause' type. It is a parenthetical because it can be omitted without leaving the matrix sentence grammatically compromised (though of course information will be lost).

While the various options available for offsetting parentheticals include zero punctuation, I wouldn't advise that here. I prefer the brackets here, but the single offsetting comma is certainly not wrong, and a dash might be chosen by some.

Answer 2

I would like to point out that if one looks hard enough, one may find differences in meaning between the sentences. The first one might be taken to mean "it's easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases; this occurs while [writing either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs]".

The second one might be "it's easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases; this occurs while [writing], and it may occur either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs".

The third one might be "it's easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases; this may occur either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs, and as a sidenote, this occurs while writing".

Admittedly, it's rather hard to distinguish sentences 2 and 3, but the 3rd one implies that the fact that the pattern occurs within writing is parenthesized and thus has less importance.

I might be wrong, however.

Answer 3

Your second example simply shows a nonrestrictive clause, which, when appearing at the end of the sentence, requires only one comma — not a pair. Read it like this:

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases while writing (either in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs).

That one is your intention, probably.

The first one means:

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases while writing in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs.

The last one means:

It’s easy to fall into a pattern of using introductory phrases in consecutive sentences or at the start of multiple paragraphs.