{"id":8645,"date":"2020-10-12T15:25:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T15:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=8645"},"modified":"2023-08-24T08:28:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T08:28:41","slug":"comma-before-or-after-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"Comma before or after &#8220;instead&#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>In this article, you will learn how to use commas with the adverb &ldquo;instead.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive right in.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n[toc]\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Do you need a comma before or after instead?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong>A comma before &ldquo;instead&rdquo; is usually not needed. When instead is used as an introductory adverb at the beginning of the sentence, a comma goes after it. There is no comma before or after &ldquo;instead of.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Comma placement before or after &ldquo;instead&rdquo; in more detail<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, more often than not, a comma does not come before this adverb, but it may come after it instead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A comma would be necessary when we use <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/37185741\/STUDENTS_MASTERY_IN_USING_ADVERBS_AT_ENGLISH_STUDY_PROGRAM_OF_SINTUWU_MAROSO_UNIVERSITY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>introductory adverb<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the beginning of the sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, this sentence structure may not be as common as placing it at the end<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The airfare for Hawaii is quite high this summer. <\/span><\/i><b><i>Instead<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we could go to Florida for a week-long vacation.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We must <\/span><b>not<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> punctuate it with a comma when it appears at the end of the sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, it is recommended to place the adverb <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the sentence&rsquo;s tail part since native speakers structure their speech and writing this way.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the airfare for Hawaii is quite high this summer, we could go to Florida <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Instead&rdquo; may also be paired with &ldquo;of&rdquo;, forming the prepositional phrase &ldquo;instead of&rdquo; &mdash; this case does not directly require commas either.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A comma would only be necessary at the end of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/clauses-vs-phrases\/\"><b>dependent clause<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which is positioned at the beginning of the sentence.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Instead of<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> going to Hawaii, we could choose Florida.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, no commas are needed if the sentence contains only one <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/clauses-vs-phrases\/\"><b>independent clause<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We could go to Florida <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead of <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">going to Hawaii.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&rsquo;s choose Florida <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead of<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Hawaii.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nAs always, there are exceptions, though. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When &ldquo;instead&rdquo; is used in a serial list, then we would obviously need to place a comma both before and after it. <\/p>\n<p>But this obviously doesn&rsquo;t really have anything to do with the particular word &ldquo;instead,&rdquo; as any word would take commas under these circumstances.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather, <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and alternatively are adverbs that can be used to express other options or preferences.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some common adverbs that denote options or preferences are rather, <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,&nbsp; and alternatively.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Distinguishing &ldquo;instead&rdquo; and &ldquo;instead of&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although having a similar intent which is to denote the meaning &ldquo;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as an alternative to something&rdquo;, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">these words are used differently in sentences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The adverb <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;instead&rdquo; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is equivalent to saying <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;alternatively&rdquo; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which is supposed to be written either at the beginning or at the end of a sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is not advisable to situate <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the middle of the sentence because it would incorrectly function as a conjunction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We call this kind of writing fault a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/common-comma-mistakes\/\"><b>comma splice<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> wherein two independent clauses are joined in one sentence.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&rsquo;s an example.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incorrect: We could have gone to Hawaii, <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> we went to Florida.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this error is not uncommon in oral speech and informal writing, it is still advantageous to know its more appropriate usage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, how about the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/japanese-prepositions\/\"><b>preposition<\/b><\/a> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead of?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distinguishing the preposition <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead of <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from the adverb form is<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-rather\/\"> <b>rather<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> easy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All we need to do is check is the word after it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prepositions are always followed by an object which is a noun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, we also have to remember that a noun may also look like a verb ending in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-ing <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">called a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-gerund\/\"><b>gerund.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, please note the absence of commas right before or after <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead of.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last summer, we went to<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Florida <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead of going<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Hawaii.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We could also remove the gerund to further simplify the sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last summer, we went to<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Florida <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead of <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hawaii.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few more example sentences using the prepositional function.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<b><i>Instead of<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> going to the beach, we could go camping this summer.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I wish you&rsquo;d come with us this summer <\/span><\/i><b><i>instead of<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> your colleagues.<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To sum up, the main difference of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead of <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is the part of speech they belong to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The adverb form is only &ldquo;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead&rdquo; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while the preposition <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;instead of<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&rdquo; is composed of two words taken as one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it is used as an introductory adverb, a comma would be necessary but it has to be dropped when we put <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the end of the sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, as a preposition, an object needs to be placed after <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;of&rdquo; <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which would always be any word acting as a noun and commas are not required at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Instead: Morphology and Meaning<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is morphologically formed by a process known as compounding&ndash;the combination of free morphemes to create a new meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being a free morpheme, the word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;in&rdquo;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may fall into four different parts of speech&ndash;noun, adverb, adjective, and preposition&ndash;depending on how it is used in a sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of the time, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">functions as a preposition of time (in August)&nbsp; and place (in Detroit).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;stead&rdquo;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may function either as a transitive verb which basically means &ldquo;to help&rdquo;, and as a noun which means &ldquo;a substitute&rdquo;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The compounded morphemes turns into <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">instead <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which means &ldquo;as an alternative or substitute&rdquo; to something.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8755 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin.png\" alt=\"Commas with Instead\" width=\"924\" height=\"1386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin.png 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-561x842.png 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-364x546.png 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-728x1092.png 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-608x912.png 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-758x1137.png 758w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin.png\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8755 size-full eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20924%201386'%3E%3Crect%20width='924'%20height='1386'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Commas with Instead\" width=\"924\" height=\"1386\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin.png\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin.png\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin.png 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-561x842.png 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-364x546.png 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-728x1092.png 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-608x912.png 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Commas-with-Instead-Pin-758x1137.png 758w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, you will learn how to use commas with the adverb &ldquo;instead.&rdquo; Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive right in. &nbsp; [toc] &nbsp; Do you need a comma before or after instead? A comma before &ldquo;instead&rdquo; is usually not needed. When instead is used as an introductory adverb at the beginning of the sentence, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1119,1116],"tags":[80,113,112],"class_list":["post-8645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-comma-rules","category-grammar","tag-comma","tag-comma-after-instead","tag-comma-before-instead"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8645","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=8645"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26784,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8645\/revisions\/26784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}