Usage of Pair of Commas on GMAT
Description: In this brief video we will cover the grammatical construction, wherein a pair of commas is used.
Usage of a Pair of Commas on GMAT
In this brief article, we will explain what role a pair of commas plays in a sentence on the GMAT. Understanding this concept will allow you to better parse the meanings of many sentences and eliminate many incorrect answers on GMAT sentence correction.
Use of a Pair of Commas on GMAT
On the GMAT, a pair of commas is used to present extra (non-essential) information in a sentence, meaning information that is incidental to the main meaning of a sentence is included between two commas. To understand this concept better, please take a look at the following example.
Example 1 –
Brussels, a historical city, has many churches.
Here, between the two commas, we have the phrase “a historical city” that conveys information about “Brussels” that is incidental to the core meaning of the sentence. Removing such information should yield a complete sentence. In this case, removing the information between two commas conveys a complete sentence and does not alter the core meaning of the sentence, that “Brussels has many churches.”; thus, this sentence correctly utilizes the pair of commas.
This article has deliberately been kept brief; for a more elaborate explanation, please refer to the Experts’ Global Stage One Sentence Correction videos.
