comma after 'therefore' [adverb]: taller than Bill; therefore, women

englishjasmin

englishjasmin

Senior Member
Slavic
Do I need to use a comma or not:

John is taller than Bill; therefore, it could be assumed that John will be a better basketball player.

John is tall than Bill; therefore, women like John more.

John is the best trader; therefore, John can drive the best company car.
 
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    • I think the punctuation looks perfect in all those sentences, EJ. That is exactly the way I was taught to punctuate sentences like those with "therefore" in school.
     
    owlman5 said:
    I think the punctuation looks perfect in all those sentences, EJ. That is exactly the way I was taught to punctuate sentences like those with "therefore" in school.
    Click to expand...

    I guess I am asking if I can omit the comas or not? I omitted it by mistake once in the text, and my editor did not pick it up. Thus, I wonder if there is some variability in usage?
     
    Some people don't use them in these sentences, but I like them. There's usually a little wiggle room when it comes to punctuation. Just make sure that your editor is happy. :)
     
    There is variability in usage and variability in placement of the word has an effect also!

    John is the best trader; therefore, John can drive the best company car.
    John is the best trader. Therefore, John can drive the best company car.
    John is the best trader. John can therefore drive the best company car.

    Some people insist on commas around therefore in the third example, while others omit them. Commas are another area where style guides can and will differ either from each other or from wide usage patterns. Many will decide based on how sthe speech was uttered (or the intended speech pattern of the sentence was written - commas then can indicate the intended pauses. If no pauses were intended, then a comma could be misleading. Searching for comma(s) and therefore will reveal many threads if you wish to sample the opinions! Some foreros spend half the day putting in commas and the rest of the day taking them out :D
     
    Therefore means "because of this" or "for this reason", so I feel it should follow the same rules as such phrases.

    I was taught the same rule as Owlman5, which lumps therefore in with however and nevertheless, but I prefer these particular sentences without the comma, especially when therefore comes between can and drive.

    However, I would put commas in:

    John, therefore, can drive the best company car.

     
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