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Comment by Marla Sharp on May 24, 2009 at 16:07

I agree with Brenda and Diane. A comma is not necessary for clarity. People use and read double words all the time and understand their usage. Adding a comma would put an unnecessary speed bump into the works.

By the way, this would've been an excellent discussion to add to the "comma" discussion above so that people could easily find it later.

Comment by Brenda Rogers on May 23, 2009 at 13:46

Exactly, Diane!

I think the clarity "rule" was referenced a couple of times in this discussion. Commas would lead to confusion in these examples. Commas between identical words for "clarity" need to be used very sparingly.

Comment by Brenda Rogers on May 22, 2009 at 7:22

"I wish there was a rule I could find about this conundrum!"

Jennie, what you need is a rule to USE the comma, not a rule to leave it out. In these sentences, there's no grammatical reason to use it. "Looks strange to my eye" -- not sure you can find a good hard rule for that one. ;)

Comment by Jennie Ann on May 22, 2009 at 6:04

Thanks, Christine, for the response.

It is so nice to have a place like this where I can ask these kinds of questions. I feel so isolated sometimes, and to have a forum where I can ask seasoned veterans how they handle these kinds of situations is wonderful.

Comment by Christine Kirley on May 22, 2009 at 4:21

Jennie,
I would have to agree with Marla, Brenda, and Diane. I would leave the commas out.

Comment by Jennie Ann on May 22, 2009 at 1:59

Thanks, Brenda, Diane, and Marla for the response.

It just came up again this morning, and if I leave out the comma, it looks strange to me.

Example 1: That would complement what's going on, on Gallaudet's campus.
Example 2: That would complement what's going on on Gallaudet's campus.

The two "on" words, right in a row, look strange to my eye. I wish there was a rule I could find about this conundrum! :>)

Comment by Marla Sharp on May 21, 2009 at 18:21

There is a rule that you can put a comma between double words if it helps make it clearer, but it's a silly rule if you ask me.

Comment by Brenda Rogers on May 21, 2009 at 15:13

What Diane said. No grammatical, or even clarifying, reason for commas there.

Comment by Jennie Ann on May 21, 2009 at 14:59

Comma or no comma, that's the question! :>)

Example 1: We do do that kind of work.
Example 2: We do, do that kind of work.

Example 1: He got in in the nick of time.
Example 2: He got in, in the nick of time.

Do you place a comma between words when the same word is spoken twice in a row?

Comment by Jennie Ann on May 15, 2009 at 14:49

Thanks for all the replies. I think I understand most of the replies, and, Kyung, I appreciate your kind reply, though I am not sure I understand it fully. It was nice of you to write such a lengthy reply, though! :>)

Marla, I do have that Castilaw book. I am going to pull it out more often. I like the Rule 260 and 266 references.

I like to see how others handle some situations like that, and with all the great responses, it helps me learn to produce a better transcript. Thanks again to all!

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