There is undoubtedly a great deal of truth in what he says.

[Nonverbis]

Why undoubtedly is not separated by bracketing commas?

There is undoubtedly a great deal of truth in what he says.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/undoubtedly?q=undoubtedly


The rule is this: a pair of bracketing commas is used to mark off a weak interruption of the sentence - that is, an interruption which does not disturb the smooth flow of the sentence [The Penguin Guide to Punctuation].

Could you comment why "undoubtedly" is not separated by a pair of bracketing commas?

"Undoubtedly" can be removed from the sentence without disturbing the sense. To my mind it should be a vivid case for bracketing commas. But for some reason not only is it a vivid case, but the word is not separated by commas at all.

 

[probus]

There are few if any hard and fast rules for commas. In the past many writers would have used a pair of commas to set off "undoubtedly", but current style guides tend to omit any commas that can be omitted without obscuring meaning.

 

[Nonverbis]

I think we can say that we’ve done well, all in all [The Penguin Guide to Punctuation].

But why "all in all" is separated here? Accourding to the logic you mentioned above, commas should be ommitted.

 

[emsr2d2]

Why is undoubtedly is not separated by bracketing commas?

There is undoubtedly a great deal of truth in what he says.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/undoubtedly?q=undoubtedly

The rule is this: a pair of bracketing commas is used to mark off a weak interruption of the sentence - that is, an interruption which does not disturb the smooth flow of the sentence [The Penguin Guide to Punctuation].

Could you comment on why "undoubtedly" is not separated by a pair of bracketing commas?

"Undoubtedly" can be removed from the sentence without disturbing the sense. To my mind it should be it's a vivid clear case for bracketing commas no comma here but for some reason not only is it a vivid case, but the word is not separated by commas at all.

I think we can say that we’ve done well, all in all [The Penguin Guide to Punctuation].

But Why is "all in all" is separated here? Accourding According to the logic you mentioned above, commas should be ommitted omitted.

Note my corrections above.

 

[5jj]

I think we can say that we’ve done well, all in all [The Penguin Guide to Punctuation].

But why is "all in all" is separated here? Accourding to the logic you mentioned above, commas should be ommitted.

As probus has already told you, There are few if any hard and fast rules for commas.

 

[jutfrank]

The rule is this: a pair of bracketing commas is used to mark off a weak interruption of the sentence - that is, an interruption which does not disturb the smooth flow of the sentence [The Penguin Guide to Punctuation].

But the word undoubtedly is not a 'weak interruption of the sentence'. It's a modifying sentence adverb.

"Undoubtedly" can be removed from the sentence without disturbing the sense.

It can be removed, yes, because it's a modifier. If you omit it, you do disturb the sense of the sentence in that you lose the meaning it carries.

Sentence adverbs don't need to be marked with commas when they're in the middle of a clause—only when they appear before or after the clause they modify. Look:

Obviously, you need a comma in this sentence.
And you need a comma in this sentence, obviously.
But you obviously don't need one in this sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

But you obviously don't need one in this sentence.

Out of curiosity, if "obviously" were moved, would you use "But, obviously, you don't need one in this sentence" or "But obviously you don't need one in this sentence"?

 

[jutfrank]

Out of curiosity, if "obviously" were moved, would you use "But, obviously, you don't need one in this sentence" or "But obviously you don't need one in this sentence"?

Following my rule, after obviously, yes, but before, no, so to answer your question: neither. (That's not to say that you couldn't put one before the adverb too if you wanted to 'parenthesise' it.) The sentence adverb in this case appears in the clause-initial position rather than between subject and predicate.

As I recall, this is the same question that we had in a thread last week. (Sorry, but I can't find it to link to.) I think I was alone in my view in that thread.

 

[5jj]

As I recall, this is the same question that we had in a thread last week. (Sorry, but I can't find it to link to.) I think I was alone in my view in that thread.

This one?

 

[Tdol]

Don't look for 100% consistency in most thoughts about English, but I'd say that goes double for punctuation.