Big grammar question! See if you can solve!

Test Preparation
1

<p>The (word itself) comes from the Spanish word for dance, baile.</p>

<p>Choices:
no change
word, itself,
word, itself
word itself,</p>

<p>Answer is no change, but I don't understand why??. i think it should be word, itself,</p>

2

<p>Why would you surround “itself” with commas? Try saying it out loud and pausing at the commas, it doesn’t really sound right.</p>

3

<p>I think it should be
The word, itself, comes from…
you can also use dashes
The word - itself - comes from…</p>

4

<p>I agree with no change. Commas are not needed.</p>

5

<p>Phrases like the one given where you are trying to specify one thing among many do not take the comma. You use the comma only when you are trying to specify that there is only the one thing in existence. “Word itself” in the sentence is specifying one word from many that exist and thus no comma. If the sentence read, “The student seemed to know only one word, whatever,” the comma is needed because it is emphasizing that it is the only word that exists in the situation. Other examples applying the rule would be: (a) “My friend Jack plays the piano” which is simply identifying Jack from among the speaker’s friends; (b) “My only friend, Jack, plays the piano,” for which the comma is needed because the speaker is emphasizing Jack is the only friend he has.</p>

6

<p>Commas aren’t necessary because it would make the sentence too choppy. I learned that you put commas where you would naturally have a break in speaking when you read it.</p>

7

<p>@Leapdaybaby that’s a good rule of thumb but it’s shallow and not very empirical. For example, it is incorrect to write “I went to the store, and rode my bike home.” even though you might pause at the comma in speech. Likewise, you put commas in"Visiting Boston, Massachusetts, is a good idea if you want to go to an ivy." where you would not use them in speech, namely after “Massachusetts.” </p>

<p>OP you would put commas around itself if it was an appositive but in this situation itself just seems like an adjective that comes after the noun i.e. The six (inch thick) glass protected the divers." where thick is analogous to “itself”</p>