wholegrain  +  608636 Mon, 08 Dec 08 10:06 PM Different, and hence conflictual, they are, especially in the present case, as they have irreconcilable principles. I have separated conflictual and different with commas to precise that I only refer to the former when I mention "especially in the present case". Am I making an arguably correct usage, although perhaps a bit too implicit? wholegrain Joined on Thu, Jun 19 2008 Regular Member 534 Commas, Punctuation, Writing, Usages

	Clive  +  608659 Mon, 08 Dec 08 10:54 PM Hi, Different, and hence conflictual, they are, especially in the present case, as they have irreconcilable principles. I have separated conflictual and different with commas to precise that I only refer to the former when I mention "especially in the present case". Am I making an arguably correct usage, although perhaps a bit too implicit? I assume you mean 'They are different, and hence conflictual, . . .', but that you have used a different although valid word order.   I have separated conflictual and different with commas to precise that I only refer to the former when I mention "especially in the present case". Am I making an arguably correct usage, although perhaps a bit too implicit? Perhaps you should make it more explicit. eg They are different, especially in the present case, and hence they are conflictual, as they have irreconcilable principles. I'd say the adjective 'conflictual' is a lot less common than 'conflicting'. 'Hence' in your sentence suggests that things are conflictual because they are different. Do you think that is true? eg A table is different than a chair. A belief is different than a dream. But these examples are not what I'd call 'conflictual'. Thus, perhaps you should say eg They are different, especially in the present case, and they have irreconcilable principles, so hence they are conflictual. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,585 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Word Order, Commas, Punctuation, Adjectives, Writing, Sentences, Usages