{"id":10649,"date":"2021-02-09T11:15:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T11:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=10649"},"modified":"2022-09-19T18:10:30","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T18:10:30","slug":"comma-before-rarely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-rarely\/","title":{"rendered":"Comma before &#8220;rarely&#8221;: The Definitive Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/whether-or-not-vs-whether\/\"><b>whether<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to place commas in sentences can be a thorny and gruesome path to take.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-and\/\"><b>And<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it is safe to assume that everyone has come to this conflicting point at least once in their lifetime, natives and non-natives alike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So why don&rsquo;t we try to disentangle the web of guiding principles on comma usage, particularly before the word &ldquo;rarely.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n[toc]\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When do we need a comma before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo;?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong>In a nutshell, rarely does a comma appear before &ldquo;rarely,&rdquo; and indefinite adverb of frequency. However, we may need a comma to pre-signal parentheses, those that are interesting yet grammatically-irrelevant ideas within a sentence. With this, a pre-comma also needs to be used when &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; comes after a parenthetical insertion. Also, a comma should precede it in a serial list, which is quite self-explanatory. But, note that a comma is not needed when it is non-parenthetically used to modify verbs, adjectives, or adverbs, which is almost always the case.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Rarely: Meaning, Function, and Usage<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The word &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is an adverb that expresses how often something happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quite a vague explanation, yes? Don&rsquo;t worry because that&rsquo;s actually the point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Rarely,&rdquo; an indefinite <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cisl.edu\/adverbs-of-frequency-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-cisl-student\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>adverb of frequency<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, expresses a relatively vague meaning, as opposed to definite adverbs like weekly, monthly, or yearly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Definite frequency adverbs help us accurately quantify rates of occurrences, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-whereas\/\"><b>whereas<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> indefinite adverbs help in expressing these ideas more easily.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Definite adverbs are more useful in conversations or texts requiring a more straightforward expression, such as in describing research results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-however\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>However<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, describing events in daily conversations need not be exhaustively nor meticulously measured at all times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is when our indefinite adverbs come in, such as the word &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/which-vs-what\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>which<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> roughly means &ldquo;hardly ever&rdquo; or &ldquo;seldom.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, it means that it may be identified somewhere between &ldquo;never&rdquo; and &ldquo;sometimes,&rdquo; depending on the language user&rsquo;s reference point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A planetary collision, at least in our solar system, has never happened, while living up to 100 years old these days rarely happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-although\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>Although<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I might suggest that living up to 100 years is a rare occurrence, this take is just a general idea based on my perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, indefinite adverbs help in creating an approximate deduction of an event&rsquo;s occurrence rate <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-rather\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>rather<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than an accurate one, which makes communication easier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that we have understood how &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; functions and what role it plays in creating sentences, let&rsquo;s move on to<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">commas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>A break down of the guidelines on the comma before &ldquo;really&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before breaking the &ldquo;rules&rdquo; down, we must first understand that <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-rules\/\" title=\"comma placement\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">comma placement<\/a> is not as essential as death and taxes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Commas were actually developed before the &ldquo;rules&rdquo; came about, which happened mainly for convenience and clarification reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As our Greek and Roman ancestors used to write without spaces and punctuation marks, these devices were invented<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">later on to disambiguate their texts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another reason is that several style guides dictate the fields of discipline at present, so there is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-really\/\"><b>really<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> no single, definite rule for perfect punctuation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-instead\/\"><b>instead<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of memorizing what people generally perceive as &ldquo;comma rules&rdquo;, we had better focus more on understanding how sentences work based on disambiguation and aesthetics reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I&rsquo;m trying to say is that most of the forthcoming explanations are based on both syntactic and<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stylistic principles, scrupulously simplified for easier comprehension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All you need to remember are the words &ldquo;parenthesis&rdquo; and &ldquo;series,&rdquo; and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-then\/\"><b>then<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you&rsquo;re good to go.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; introduces a mid-sentence parenthesis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As language intricacy cannot be merely explained using the prescriptive point of view alone, stylistics <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-also-the-definitive-guide\/\"><b>also<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> plays a significant role in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In stylistics, a parenthesis is used as a rhetorical or persuasive device to accentuate an interruptive thought that makes a sentence more interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parenthetical expressions are set off with commas to mark their grammatical independence as well as their highlighting effect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These expressions can be placed anywhere <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-since\/\"><b>since<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they do not necessarily follow the grammatical flow dictated by the sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at the example to see clearly.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">I&rsquo;m donating these clothes away, rarely do I use them anyway, because they could be more useful to others.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The parenthetical information interrupts the sentence midway to create some emphatic and informational effect as per the writer&rsquo;s intention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hence, the interruptive clause is segregated from the entire sentence <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/is-with-which-correct-grammar\/\"><b>with<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> commas due to its grammatical dispensability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-no-matter\/\"><b>No matter<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where the parenthesis is inserted within the sentence, commas must always be used as warning signals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More importantly, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-not\/\"><b>not<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> using commas in encapsulating a parenthetical interruption makes the sentence obscure and hard to read.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">I&rsquo;m donating these clothes away rarely do I use them anyway because they could be more useful to others.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; introduces an end-sentence parenthesis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since a parenthesis can be placed pretty much everywhere, it follows that a parenthesis attached at the end of a sentence needs a pre-comma <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-too-the-definitive-guide\/\"><b>too<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What we have to remember in this type of sentence construction is that the initial clause needs to be able to express a complete thought and must not be dependent on the subsequent information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Study the next example.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">She finally gave in to the job offer overseas, rarely and half-heartedly considering it in the past year.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second clause is a fragment whose meaning is highly dependent on the primary clause since it is attached without any connective device.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a connective device, particularly a subordinate conjunction, is used, a good writer knows <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/that-that\/\"><b>that<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the sentence does not need a comma at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, in the last example, the pre-comma replaces the job of the conjunction instead, making the punctuation mark highly crucial in the construction process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This goes back to the reason that any parenthetical expression is free from syntactical adherence and that they are added for emphatic reasons only.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, the removal of the comma makes the sentence rather clunky and confusing to read.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">She finally gave in to the job offer overseas rarely and half-heartedly considering it in the past year.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; comes after a parenthesis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-now\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>Now<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that the parenthetical comma guidelines have been made clear, it should be easy to understand that a comma must always come after a parenthesis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same comma automatically serves as the mandatory comma before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; when it still introduces further information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&rsquo;s an example to illustrate that.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Celine has just got demoted from her position, which was actually her team members&rsquo; dream, rarely passing the performance reviews in the last five years.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fragment introduced by &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is not really that necessary to the meaning of the whole sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was simply added to add some supporting details to the initial clause which is already grammatically complete on its own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-thus\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>Thus<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a pre-comma is needed to mark that the additionality of the fragment rather than as something that is grammatically important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This also implies that removing the medial parenthesis would still create a<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sensible sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you do not want to use a comma to attach the last information, you may use a connective device instead.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Celine has just got demoted from her position because she rarely passed the performance reviews in the last five years.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10655\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated.jpg\" alt=\"Comma Before Rarely Pin\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-735x1103.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-223x335.jpg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-231x347.jpg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-347x520.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-427x640.jpg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-512x768.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10655 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%201500'%3E%3Crect%20width='1000'%20height='1500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Comma Before Rarely Pin\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-735x1103.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-223x335.jpg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-231x347.jpg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-347x520.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-427x640.jpg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Comma-Before-Rarely-Updated-512x768.jpg 512w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is used in a serial list<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last case necessitating a comma placement before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is when it is part of a serial list of items, which is quite self-explanatory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&rsquo;s an example to show that.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Your performance evaluation summary states that you often designate your own tasks to others, rarely meet your team members for collaborative work, and frequently come in late at an average of 2 times per week.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&rsquo;s a lengthy one, isn&rsquo;t it? Maybe I could show you a shorter one for an easier read.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Some examples for indefinite adverbs are usually, rarely, and sometimes.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is needless to say that a comma must be placed before any serial elements used after the first item and before the conjunction used to attach the last item.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the comma before &ldquo;and,&rdquo; known as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/unnecessary-commas\/\"><b>Oxford comma<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in the example is an optional one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that it can be removed for as long as it does not create any confusion in the text.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When does putting a comma before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; become incorrect?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Put simply, placing<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a comma before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; would be incorrect when it is used in its most basic function as an adverb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that a comma should not be placed when it is used to modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in a non-parenthetical manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some specific examples to show what I&rsquo;m trying to point out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is modifying a verb<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Rarely&rdquo; can be used to modify a verb in a sentence, which is its most common function among the three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, using &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; means we want to imply the meaning of &ldquo;hardly ever&rdquo; which is closer to &ldquo;never.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We should not put a comma when it functions this way since its role is to alter the meaning of the verb in the sentence, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/but-rather-in-a-sentence\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>rather<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than add additional information.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Their dog rarely barks at night, nor at strangers.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sentence implies that the subject shows a relatively exceptional trait, at least in the sense that most dogs are expected to make a lot of noise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Putting a comma before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; in this type of construction certainly promises a red mark from any teacher or grammar-checker tool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is modifying&nbsp; an adjective<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another part of speech that adverbs can modify are adjectives, and thus, &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; also has the ability to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, a comma should not be placed before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; when it is used to modify adjectives in a non-parenthetical manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Saleswomen are rarely late for client meetings.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A comma before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; would also make the sentence wrong, so it should never be placed in similar cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>When &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; is modifying an adverb<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last modifying power of adverbs<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can be used on their immediate relatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-despite\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>Despite<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> being a relatively less common function compared to verbs and adjectives, this is still possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-obviously\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>Obviously<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> enough, a comma must not be placed before &ldquo;rarely&rdquo; in the sentence below.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Let&rsquo;s begin without him. He is rarely here anyway.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Rarely&rdquo; modifies the spatial adverb &ldquo;here&rdquo; whose meaning is deictically dependent on the language user&rsquo;s reference point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that it is impossible to know where &ldquo;here&rdquo; exactly is without any background information or supporting details.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Frequently Asked Questions on Comma Before &ldquo;Rarely&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Can we start a sentence with &ldquo;rarely?&rdquo;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, when we want to create an emphatic effect that makes use of inverted sentence construction. For example, &ldquo;Rarely does she wear makeup.&rdquo; Inversion is not recommended for beginner English learners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>What is a synonym for &ldquo;rarely?&rdquo;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Rarely&rdquo; denotes a similar meaning to &ldquo;hardly ever&rdquo; which is just slightly more frequent than &ldquo;never.&rdquo; These adverbs are called indefinite adverbs of frequency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Do you put a comma before &ldquo;and&rdquo; in a list?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can put a comma before &ldquo;and,&rdquo; called an Oxford or serial comma, if we want to avoid creating unintentional ambiguity. This comma is optional in short and clearly-categorized lists such as in this sentence: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She loves kiwis, strawberries(,) and peaches.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although commas can be a hard nut to crack, we should <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/bare-in-mind-vs-bear-in-mind\/\">bear in mind<\/a> <\/strong>that they exist for a highly vital purpose: to disambiguate sentences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without commas, the written language will just be like a song without a melody or an open sea without a lighthouse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or perhaps, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-even\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=grow.me&amp;utm_campaign=grow_search\"><b>even<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> much more like Bogota, the most traffic-congested city in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deciding on whether to place commas in sentences can be a thorny and gruesome path to take. And, it is safe to assume that everyone has come to this conflicting point at least once in their lifetime, natives and non-natives alike. So why don&rsquo;t we try to disentangle the web of guiding principles on comma &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"Article","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1119,1116],"tags":[80,346],"class_list":["post-10649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-comma-rules","category-grammar","tag-comma","tag-comma-before-rarely"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10649"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24144,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10649\/revisions\/24144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}