Although one of the main functions of commas is to introduce more clarity into a sentence, sometimes it can feel like they just exist to make writing more confusing!<\/p>\n
One reason for this is that you may learn a comma rule and then see writing that breaks it, even printed in newspapers, magazines and books.<\/p>\n
The reason for this is that some comma rules<\/a><\/strong> are more flexible than others. The rule about commas and the phrase “this in turn” is flexible. As a general rule, you need a comma after “this” and after “turn” in the phrase “this in turn.” “In turn” is a nonessential phrase, so it should be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. However, if the absence of the commas doesn’t affect the sentence’s clarity, you may leave them out.<\/strong> “This in turn” shows a relationship of both time and cause and effect<\/a><\/strong> between one sentence or part of a sentence and the next.<\/p>\n It may come as the second half of a sentence if the first half of the sentence is about the thing that happened first.<\/p>\n If the previous sentence is about the thing that happened first, it usually comes at the beginning of the next sentence. “In turn” is a nonessential phrase that comes in between the subject and verb<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Because nonessential phrases are supposed to be set apart from the rest of the sentence with commas, it has commas around it.<\/p>\n While the phrase “in turn” emphasizes the relationship of this sentence or part of the sentence to what has come before, it could be removed without affecting the sentence’s meaning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the examples below, you can see the relationship of the second sentence, which begins with “this in turn,” to the first.<\/p>\n Notice that if you take “in turn” out of one of these sentences, it does not change the meaning, so<\/a><\/strong> you know that it is nonessential:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “This in turn” might also come in the middle of a sentence to show the relationship of the second part of the sentence with the first part.<\/p>\n Notice that in the sentence below, there is a semicolon before “this” because you are joining two separate sentences:<\/p>\n You can join two sentences using a comma, but there has to be a conjunction with it as well. Therefore, you would never have a comma before “this” because it needs to come before the connecting conjunction.<\/p>\n You can see that is the case in the sentences below:<\/p>\n If you want to make sure that you are always correct, you can put commas around “in turn” as in the examples above.<\/p>\n However, as long as the clarity of the sentence is not affected, this is partly a matter of style.<\/p>\n Some style guides and organizations emphasize using as few commas as possible, and some people simply prefer to use fewer commas too.<\/p>\n Even when commas are not used for clarity, they can be used to indicate a pause in a sentence. You might want to remove commas to eliminate this pause:<\/p>\n Commas when used to indicate a pause can help add emphasis.<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\nHow are commas used with “this in turn”?<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\n“This in turn” with commas<\/h2>\n
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\n“This” is usually the subject, and it refers to the incident from the previous sentence or the earlier part of the sentence.<\/p>\n“This in turn” at the beginning of a sentence<\/h3>\n
“This in turn” in the middle of a sentence<\/h3>\n
“This in turn” without commas<\/h2>\n