O use of comma serves for mark the offset of a term in the sentence, through a pause that changes the intonation. In speech, the intention to express an affirmation, exclamation or interrogation is marked by the variation in the way a sound is emitted, however, in writing, it is the punctuation that serves to graphically represent this intonation that helps make sense wanted.
See too: Three Myths About Comma Usage You Need To Know
When should we not use the comma?
The canonical order of a sentence in Portuguese is subject, verb and complements. When this sequence is respected, no comma is placed. So, briefly, it is not separated by a comma subject and predicate, nor verb and complements.
Look at the example:
João |
he bought |
a car for the wife. |
(subject) |
(verb) |
(complements) |
In the previous sentence, a comma is not allowed both after “João” and after “bought”, because the use would be infringing the two basic rules just described.
In a phrase small, like the one in the example, it's much easier to notice the
syntactic elements, that is, who is the subject, the predicate, the direct and/or indirect object. However, over longer periods, it is necessary to pay attention to do not insert a comma with the intention of pausing and end up breaking the rules.When to use the comma?
Knowing which are the cases in which the use of the comma is not allowed, it remains to be understood when this punctuation is required.
· Adverbial Adjuncts in Standard Position
If the first example is added a adverbial adjunct in standard position, that is, at the end of the sentence, we have:
John bought his wife a car yesterday.
As there is only one adverbial adjunct, the comma is optional, being appropriate:
- João bought a car for the wife yesterday.
- João bought a car for the wife yesterday.
However, if another adverbial adjunct is triggered, it is necessary to make at least one break:
- João bought a car for the wife yesterday before lunch.
- João bought a car for the wife yesterday, before lunch.
- João bought a car for the wife yesterday before lunch.
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· Adverbial adjuncts outside the standard position
Because adverbials have great mobility within the clause, they can occupy a non-standard position. This is represented by the use of the comma, which inserts a pause:
- Yesterday, John bought a car for his wife.
- João, yesterday, bought a car for his wife.
- John bought a car, yesterday, for the wife.
· Adverbial adjuncts in the form of prayer
Since adverbial adjuncts can also present themselves as adverbial sentences, generally the use of a comma is recommended to separate the adverbial subordinate clause from the main clause, but it is unnecessary if it is in its default position, that is, after the main clause:
- John bought a car for his wife when christmas came.
- when christmas came, John bought a car for his wife.
- John bought a car, when christmas came, for the wife.
· Adverb of time and place juxtaposed
The comma is also used to separate time and location in dates, usually in correspondence, such as:
- Friday, September 13, 2019.
- Rio de Janeiro, November 15, 1989.
· Terms with the same function not linked by conjunction
The comma serves to insert elements that perform the same syntactic function, when they are not joined by conjunctions, as in the phrase of Machado de Assis:
"I found men spouting, coarse, tiring, heavy, frivolous, pimply, trivial."
However when the conjunctionsand, orandnor are repeated in an enumeration, usually separate the coordinated elements, as in this other sentence by the same writer:
"Neither you, nor I, nor she, nor anyone else in this story could imagine."
· Coordinating conjunctions displaced to the middle of prayer
When it happens from a coordinated conjunction leave the default position, that is, the beginning of the sentence:
Everyone should do some physical activity daily; that doesn't mean, However, that everyone must be super athletes.
· Displaced prayers within another prayer
Sometimes we intersperse information or thought. These fragments stand out from the sentence and must be separated by a comma:
All, I think, should strive to achieve the result.
· Explanatory adjective sentences
An explanatory clause breaks the main clause and is therefore isolated by commas. In this case, the use of the comma is essential for the disambiguation meaning, since, without this separation, prayer becomes restrictive, as can be seen below:
- Artists, who are vain, tend to exaggerate their personal expenses.
- Artists who are vain tend to exaggerate their personal expenses.
· Vocative
O vocative, whatever its position in the sentence, must be separated by a comma:
“D. Glory, do you persist in the idea of putting our Bentinho in the seminar?”
· bet
As well as the bet, always isolated, even if at the beginning of the sentence:
- José Saramago, only Portuguese-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, passed away in 2010.
- The only Portuguese-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, José Saramago passed away in 2010.
· Explanatory or rectifying expressions
Expressions like other than that, for example, or better, including, that is, i.e, to know, by the way, Indeed are isolated by a comma:
José Saramago died on July 18, by the way, June.
· Ellipse of the verb
The language offers the possibility of omitting a verb that has already appeared in the previous sentence, this is called an ellipse. Its absence is indicated by the use of the comma:
Luiza leaves for work at 7 am on weekdays; on saturday at 9 am.
Exercises
Question 1 (Fuvest) In which of these sentences was the comma used to mark the omission of the verb?
a) Having an apartment on the ground floor is having the advantages of a house, in addition to being able to enjoy a garden.
b) Buy without fear: the store is virtual; the rights are real.
c) For those who do not know the financial market, we try to use a language free from economics.
d) The feeling is of being lost: you will not find anyone in Jalapão, but you will see the untouched nature.
e) This is the most important information for water preservation: knowing how to use it, it won't be lacking.
Solution: B. The comma replaces the verb to be, following the parallel of the previous sentence: the store is virtual; the rights are real.
Question 2 (Fuvest) Choose the alternative in which the text is presented with the most appropriate punctuation:
a) After a few generations, arsenic stopped being sold, in pharmacies, the cases of suicide or criminal poisoning did not decrease, but it increased and — how much... the number of mice.
b) After a few generations, arsenic stopped being sold in pharmacies, the cases of suicide or criminal poisoning did not decrease, but it increased: and how much! the number of mice.
c) After a few generations ago arsenic stopped being sold in pharmacies, suicide or criminal poisoning did not decrease, but it increased—and by how much! — the number of rats.
d) After a few generations, arsenic was no longer sold in pharmacies — cases of suicide or criminal poisoning did not decrease, but it did increase; and how much — the number of mice.
e) After a few generations ago arsenic was no longer sold in pharmacies, the cases of suicide or criminal poisoning did not decrease, but it increased; and how much, the number of mice!
Solution: ç. The only sentence that correctly uses the comma without altering its meaning.
by Paula Piva
grammar teacher
