[Grammar] I am afraid I can't go out tonight.

[arjitsharma]

I would like to know why no comma is needed before the "Afraid?"

I am afraid I can't go out tonight.( I saw this sentence on YouTube)

 

[Raymott]

We'd have to know why you think there should be a comma there to explain why there isn't. Otherwise, the only answer is that a comma doesn't belong there.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

With a comma, it would be two separate thoughts:

1. You're afraid.
2. You can't go out tonight.

With no comma, afraid is an idiom meaning sorry to say, regret to tell you, sad to inform you:

- I'm sorry to say I can't go out tonight.
- I regret to tell you I can't go out tonight.
- I'm sad to inform you I can't go out tonight.

 

[bubbha]

It's equivalent to "I'm afraid that I can't go out tonight."

In English (unlike, say, in German), we do not place a comma before a sub-sentence preceded by the complementizer "that", even when "that" is omitted but implied.

 

[Raymott]

In English (unlike, say, in German), we do not place a comma before a sub-sentence preceded by the complementizer "that", even when "that" is omitted but implied.

Are you suggesting that the proper German is "Ich bin, besorgt"? Or do you think the OP meant a comma should come after "afraid"?

 

[bubbha]

Are you suggesting that the proper German is "Ich bin, besorgt"? Or do you think the OP meant a comma should come after "afraid"?

I was talking about "that" (dass in German):

Ich weisse, dass... (I know that...)

 

[emsr2d2]

English definitely does not follow the same pattern as German in that respect.

 

[arjitsharma]

Why is a comma needed after the word "Sorry" then?

I am sorry, I can't attend.

 

[GoesStation]

Why is a comma needed after the word "Sorry" then?

I am sorry, I can't attend.

It isn't. The meaning is slightly different with the comma. Without it, you are sorry for your inability to attend. With it, you express regret, then you tell me that you can't attend. The version with a comma contains (I think) a comma splice. This kind of sentence is widely used and accepted, though, and there's no reason to avoid comma splices in very short sentences.

 

[arjitsharma]

Whether I express regret or say "I think" with a comma splice?

 

[jutfrank]

I think the general point of this thread is to advise you not to use comma splices.

 

[Raymott]

I thought it was to find out first whether he meant a comma after, not before, 'afraid', and then to answer the question, but that hasn't happened. It seems that everyone has just judged "I am, afraid ..." to be so bizarre that he could not have meant that; and the OP feels it not worth the effort to clarify.