Do I need comma before "tools"?

[matacar]

Are deficit spending and increased taxes on the rich tools that should be used in conjunction?

Where else am I supposed to put a comma?

 

[GoesStation]

Are deficit spending and increased taxes on the rich tools that should be used in conjunction?

Where else am I supposed to put a comma?

The sentence doesn't have a comma, so you can't put one anywhere else. Some people would put one after spending and rich.

 

[jutfrank]

My reading of the sentence is that there must not be a comma after tools, since that should be used in conjunction is meant as a defining relative clause, restricting the antecedent tools. I can't really see any other sensible reading.

And since this is obviously meant as written English, I'd also consider a comma before and as wrong as it would interrupt the compound subject deficit spending and increased taxes.


Where did you get this sentence, matacar?

 

[emsr2d2]

My reading of the sentence is that there must not be a comma after tools,

The OP's question (in the title) asks if there should be a comma before "tools" not after.

I might reorder the sentence, mainly because, try as I might, I can't stop seeing "rich tools" as an adjective followed by a noun. I know it's not, but there's clearly a childish bit of my brain that now can't unsee it. ) For info, "tool" is a slightly derogatory word in BrE, meaning something akin to "idiot".

 

[matacar]

This is something I transcribed from an audio file. "Rich is not asociated with tools" in this case. The speaker saying this sentence made a slight pause before tools.

 

[GoesStation]

The sentence doesn't have a comma, so you can't put one anywhere else. Some people would put one after spending and rich.

I've edited the above. Without commas, the reader might read "rich tools" as tools modified by the adjective rich. Setting off "and increased taxes on the rich" with commas would prevent that.

 

[matacar]

Thank you for your help, really appretiate it.

 

[Rover_KE]

Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

matacar, you don't appear to have found the Thank button yet. It's in the bottom left-hand corner of every post except your own. Click that instead of writing thank-you posts.

 

[Tarheel]

The sentence doesn't have a comma, so you can't put one anywhere else. Some people would put one after spending and rich.

Some people probably would. I wouldn't use any commas in that sentence. (I would hold onto my meager supply of them and save them for something else.)

 

[jutfrank]

The OP's question (in the title) asks if there should be a comma before "tools" not after.

Oh, right, yes, I hadn't really noticed the thread title. I was thinking of GoesStation's comment in post #3 when I wrote that: "Some people would put one after spending and rich."

I might reorder the sentence, mainly because, try as I might, I can't stop seeing "rich tools" as an adjective followed by a noun.

Tax the rich tools! :lol:

 

[jutfrank]

The speaker saying this sentence made a slight pause before tools.

I see. Well, I assume your aim here is not to transcribe the speaker's speech as accurately as possible but instead to write his/her sentences as clearly as possible, so a comma before tools is not necessary. In fact, in contradiction to what GoesStation has said in post #6, I'd say that a comma is incorrect, given the sentence structure. I don't think you should be concerned about the possibility of people parsing rich tools as an adjective modifying a noun.

 

[GoesStation]

For info, "tool" is a slightly derogatory word in BrE, meaning something akin to "idiot".

It's the same in American English. Or rather, it can be. It's also a common word for "useful implement".

 

[GoesStation]

I don't think you should be concerned about the possibility of people parsing rich tools as an adjective modifying a noun.

Emsr2d2 and I both read it that way. I think the commas are okay as a way to guide the reader to the correct understanding.

 

[matacar]

Tools, in this case, is not connected with rich. I do believe I need a comma before "and" and before "tools". It's not supposed to be an insult, sorry for not being precise.

 

[GoesStation]

Tools, in this case, is not connected with rich. I do believe I need a comma before "and" and before "tools". It's not supposed to be an insult, sorry for not being precise.

We didn't understand it as an insult after reading it carefully. It looked derogatory at first glance, though. Adding the commas, which would normally be incorrect for this sort of sentence, makes that reading impossible.

You need to say what something is used in conjunction with.

 

[GoesStation]

You need to say what something is used in conjunction with.

There's a simple word you can use if the answer is "each other".