Blue-eyed Smiler  +  580732 Mon, 27 Oct 08 03:50 PM  What commas do I need to put here?  I always get messed up with putting them before but's. "It is a treatment (?) that slows cell destruction," he explained, "but as Jenny knows (?) there can be unpleasant side effects."  Blue-eyed Smiler Joined on Tue, Aug 15 2006 Full Member 105 I hope I can change myself and others Commas

	Grammar Geek  +  580747 Mon, 27 Oct 08 04:40 PM Hi Blue-eyed Smiler,  Blue-eyed Smiler “It is a treatment that slows cell destruction," he explained, "but as Jenny knows, there can be unpleasant side effects." ” Your comma after "explained" is right, and one belongs after "knows." There's no reason to put one after "treatment" because what follows is essential. When you set things off with a comma before and after, you are saying that it's non-essential information that simply provides more information.   Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,508 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Commas, Before and After

	Eimai_Anglos  +  581115 Tue, 28 Oct 08 05:08 PM Blue-eyed Smiler “I always get messed up with putting them before but's.” You can't put an apostrophe + s with "but". Blue-eyed Smiler “"It is a treatment (?) that slows cell destruction," he explained, "but as Jenny knows (?) there can be unpleasant side effects." ” "It is a treatment that slows cell destruction" he explained "but, as Jenny knows, there can be unpleasant side effects." Eimai_Anglos Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Regular Member 509 Martin - native English speaker and technical author. Commas, Apostrophes

	Eimai_Anglos  +  581117 Tue, 28 Oct 08 05:10 PM Actually, I don't like the look of that. I prefer: "It is a treatment that slows cell destruction", he explained, "but, as Jenny knows, there can be unpleasant side effects." Eimai_Anglos Commas

	Grammar Geek  +  581190 Tue, 28 Oct 08 08:09 PM In the US, the comma always always always goes inside the quotation mark. In this case, I believe even in the UK it would go inside the quoatation mark because if it were written out without the intervening "he explained" it would have a comma there anyway.   Grammar Geek Commas, Quotation Marks