arghhhh - bracketing commas

[Lorcan]

Hi - I've been having probs with the following - my teacher tells me its wrong because of misuse of bracketing commas - I'm not so sure that this is the case - is there anything wrong with this

'Comfortable accommodation and tasty food awaits you at this traditional hotel, which is ideally located for exploring central Paris, and within easy reach of Versailles and beautiful French countryside.'


Surely you don't have to follow the bracketing comma rules just because you have two commas in a sentance??? I don't want these two commas to act as bracketing commas so can't I simply ignore the bracketing commas guff?


Cheers, Lorcan

 

[5jj]

Hi - I've been having probs with the following - my teacher tells me its wrong because of misuse of bracketing commas - I'm not so sure that this is the case - is there anything wrong with this

'Comfortable accommodation and tasty food awaits you at this traditional hotel, which is ideally located for exploring central Paris, and within easy reach of Versailles and beautiful French countryside.'


Surely you don't have to follow the bracketing comma rules just because you have two commas in a sentance??? I don't want these two commas to act as bracketing commas so can't I simply ignore the bracketing commas guff?

If I had been your teacher, I would have suggested that the comma between Paris and and is not only unnnecessary but also potentially confusing.

The comma which precedes which suggests that you are introducing a non-defining relative clause - you are adding extra information about the hotel. The next comma makes the reader wonder what is happening - have we got to the end of the relative clause, are we about to enter another non-defining relative clause? No, there is no which. Perhaps the writer has omitted it.....etc.

So, omit the second comma. If you think that the sentence then becomes too cumbersome, break it up in another way:


'Comfortable accommodation and tasty food awaits you at this traditional hotel, which is ideally located for exploring central Paris; it is also within easy reach of Versailles and some (?) beautiful French countryside.'

This is not really a question of 'rules'. It is more about making life easier for your reader.

 

[riquecohen]

'Comfortable accommodation and tasty food [STRIKE]awaits[/STRIKE] await you.........

H.