English questions
about use of , comma
I see 2 sentences using , and not using ,
1. She is driving now, at the time of speaking.
2. Tom is not reading the book at the time of speaking.

what is the difference between using , and not using ,
the meaning is different, if skip , in the 1
and the meaning is different if i keep , before at the time in 2?
what about grammar?

1,2 must be correct sentences, they are from English Grammar In Use by Cambridge university press, Raymond Murphy.

Question

English questions
about use of , comma
I see 2 sentences using , and not using ,
1. She is driving now, at the time of speaking.
2. Tom is not reading the book at the time of speaking.

what is the difference between using ,  and not using ,
the meaning is different, if skip , in the 1
and the meaning is different if i keep , before at the time in 2?
what about grammar?

1,2 must be correct sentences, they are from English Grammar In Use by Cambridge university press, Raymond Murphy.

Answer

In both sentences "at the time of speaking" is a relative clause.

In the first example "at the time of speaking" is a non-defining clause... that is, the clause can be removed and the sentence has the same meaning (eg. "She is driving now" and "She is driving now, at the time of speaking" have almost the same meaning)

In the second example "at the time of speaking" is a defining clause... that is, the clause cannot be removed.

Here is a different example:
"My girlfriend, who lives in unit 14, has been arrested" - In this is example, the clause provides extra information but does not change the meaning.

"My girlfriend who lives in unit 14 has been arrested" - In this example, the clause describes which girlfriend we are talking about. This sentence also implies that I have more than one girlfriend - because I have to state that I mean the girlfriend who lives in unit 14.

Answers · 1

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!