comma before 'such as': go to many cities, such as Seoul and Taegu

A

amby

Banned
chinese
In the following two sentences, I see a comma in the first sentence and but no comma in the second sentence. Is there any rule ? When should I place comma before such as?

When I visit Korea, I want to go to many cities, such as Seoul and Taegu.
Car companies such as Toyota and Ford manufacture their automobiles in many different countries around the world.
 
    • I suppose is it most of the time a matter of preference (when the presence or absence of commas does not change the meaning). I personally would probably omit the commas in the first sentence and use two of them in your second - before such and after Ford.
     
    The presence or absence of commas changes the meaning in these two examples, making the such-as phrase unrestrictive or restrictive.

    "Car companies such as Toyota and Ford ..." is making a statement about Toyota, Ford and perhaps some other car companies.

    "Car companies, such as Toyota and Ford, ..." is making a statement about all car companies, of which Toyota and Ford are two examples.
     
    Wow, Pert, that is a really correct answer. So correct, I suspect, as to be probably useless in practice; commas are used more commonly merely to signify whether the author intends a pause in a sentence or not, and they can also be used to isolate logical units in written texts. I myself would use commas on a restrictive phrase if it were long enough to become confused with the rest of the sentence, or if it would be confusing in other ways.

    What do you think about:

    Global car companies such as Toyota and Ford and clothing companies such as The Gap and Urban Outfitters manufacture their products in many different countries...

    I would vastly prefer:

    Global car companies, such as Toyota and Ford, and clothing companies, such as The Gap and Urban Outfitters, manufacture their products in many different countries...
     
    I would insert commas slightly differently, lucas:

    Global car companies such as Toyota and Ford, and clothing companies such as The Gap and Urban Outfitters, manufacture their products in many different countries...

    Your second example I would tend to read unrestrictively.
    I might reply: "That's not true. XYZ is a global car company, but it manufactures cars only in China."
    I say "tend to" because I've noticed that a lot of people now (not you) use commas very carelessly, and I have to make allowance for them.
     
    I'm with lucas, ..., such as Toyota and Ford, ..., such as The Gap and Urban Outfitters, are parenthetical.

    The essential sentence is,

    Global car companies ... and clothing companies ... manufacture their products in many different countries... in which no commas are required.
     
    Pertinax said:
    Your second example I would tend to read unrestrictively.
    Click to expand...
    Touché. I think you're right there. So, um, I didn't really make a point, did I?

    I use the style of "intuition and rhythm" to punctuate my sentences; I probably shouldn't be giving out any advice on logical rules of punctuation.
     
    Yes, Pertinax is so right. I am one of those that use commas carelessly. :D In all languages I know well enough to punctuate. :D
     
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