We(,) modern men and women(,)

[ademoglu]

Hi.

'We(,) modern men and women(,) live surrounded by technology that makes life easier.'

I was wondering if I can omit the commas after the subject and before the verb, so I made such a sentence. Which one sounds better, with or without the commas? I think both are OK but I cannot be sure.

 

[PeterCW]

If the sentence still makes sense when you remove the phrase between the commas then they should probably be there. That is a simple rule that I used throughout my time as a music journalist.

 

[GoesStation]

If the sentence still makes sense when you remove the phrase between the commas then they should probably not be there. That is a simple rule that I used throughout my time as a music journalist.

I think you omitted a word.

 

[GoesStation]

The commas make the sentence awkward and unnatural. Leave them out.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think you omitted a word.

I don't agree. If the sentence still makes sense without the phrase between the commas (and, of course, without the commas!), then the words inside the commas are supplementary information and should, therefore, be between commas.

In the case of the opening sentence, "We live surrounded by technology that makes life easier" is a grammatical sentence. The phrase between the commas simply clarifies who "We" are.

I would have put the information in brackets, but between commas is OK too.

Having said that, removing the commas also leaves a grammatical sentence but it's a structure I find old-fashioned and unnatural. Saying "We modern men and women ..." is acceptable but I don't think many native speakers would use it.

 

[PeterCW]

I think you omitted a word.

No.

 

[jutfrank]

removing the commas also leaves a grammatical sentence but it's a structure I find old-fashioned and unnatural. Saying "We modern men and women ..." is acceptable but I don't think many native speakers would use it.

I disagree with that.

I'm in the minority.

Again. :-(

If that is the case, I'll join you there.

The two versions of the sentence have different structures and different meanings. In the version with the commas, the commas show that the appositive phrase (the bit between the commas) is non-restrictive. In the version without commas, the appositive phrase is restrictive. A difference in pronunciation shows this in speech.

The difference in meaning relates to whom the speaker is referring to with We. To put it simply, with the non-restrictive phrase he's talking about everyone whereas with the restrictive phrase, he's talking only about those people he thinks of as modern men and women.