The only time you need a comma after but

Like and as well as or, but rarely needs a comma after it. Unfortunately, many people enjoy forcing one after the word called coordinating conjunction in their sentences. It is the way such people burden although with the punctuation mark. Are you one of those who do so? Consider the following expressions where you don’t need the comma in question:


I am planning to go to Abuja tomorrow. But, I have not informed my boss.

The woman has spoken with the principal. But, her husband does not know the boy is not in school.

Moses is still a young player. But, he has resigned from the Super Eagles.

The use of a comma after but in each of the three sentences is wrong. Or, if I may ask, of what use is it? If you remove it, it does not affect the clause in any way.  As I pointed out in this column a few months ago, it is like putting a comma after although:

Although, I was in Ibadan I did not visit him. (Wrong; you don’t need a comma)

He saw James, although, it was in the dark. (Wrong…)

Back to but, however, I guess that those who put a comma after it are motivated by two reasons. First, they believe that there is often a pause any time we mention but in a clause – that is, when speaking. As a result, they erect the illegal comma to indicate this. But the pause, if there is any, is not as obvious as what you have after, say, however – as evident in the way I use the word however at the beginning of this paragraph. We usually use a comma after however because the pause that comes after it is glaring.

Secondly, those fond of using the ‘illegal’ comma are likely to have been coming across it in the same grammatical environment, when they are reading. So, they believe it must be the right thing to do. Thus, they write:


Prof. Yemi Osinbajo took some major decisions when President Buhari was away. But, he should have done something fundamental about the National Theatre.

But, for his quick intervention when the DSS invaded the National Assembly, the gains of democracy might have been eroded.

Watch the use of but in the two statements. Nothing warrants the presence of the commas. You should, therefore, always allow your writing to flow without any obstruction when writing a passage with the coordinator in it.

But when does one need a comma after but? (Consider the way I wrote the question: But when does one need…, not But, when does one need…)The major time you need a comma after but is if the expression that follows it is a parenthesis. This means if the expression is an added piece of information, like an aside, the removal of which will not injure the main sentence with but.

This argument is based on the notion that the extra information, which is like a side comment, can be removed without injuring the main message. In that case, you need two commas to mark out the added piece. Mind you, two commas, not one:

The woman was absent. But, in her absence, we achieved a lot.

The Facebook analyst said, “The governor shouldn’t have demolished the building; but, to be candid, nobody is above the law when it comes to environmental issues.”

You don’t really want to commit any fund to this project. But, as far as I am concerned, it is too late to back out.

Despite the initial no-comma rule after but, you could see that I not only put one after the coordinator in each of the statements above, I added the second a few words after it. Yes, in this context, you really need the punctuation mark. It is necessary because the material enclosed in both commas in each statement is parenthetical. It is an additional piece of info, which should be marked by the commas.

In other words, for clarity purposes and to make your writing very readable, you too should cultivate the habit of putting in the commas in such a grammatical environment:

A man is the head of the family. But, in some other cultures, the woman is supreme.

But, having said that, I think the government has to quickly do something about the welfare of our policemen.

Journalists don’t have holidays. But the management, following an appeal by the editor, has approved a special allowance for those of us who will be here on Sallah day.

Meanwhile, to our numerous Muslims out there, and even to Christians and people of other faiths, Happy Eid-el Kabir!

 Voiced consonant palaver

Not too surprisingly, many people shied away from answering last week’s homework. I have the feeling that they were scared by the rather technical oral English questions that dominate it. Particularly, Questions 1 and 2 border on voiced and voiceless sounds. Anyway, let’s do what we have not been doing in this class by discussing the questions.

In the first, you are required to choose the word that has a voiced consonant among guy, shy, thigh and peep. To get it right, you need to pronounce each of the words loudly. In option 4, the two peeps are voiceless, in the sense that when you pronounce either, there is no rumbling in your vocal cord. In thigh, the only consonant sound (t) present is voiceless. The g that could have been voiced is a silent sound in that particular word. You don’t pronounce it separately at all. Pronounce thigh to confirm this. In shy, the sound given by sh is also voiceless. It is in only guy that you have g, which is a voiced sound.

In the second question, you are looking for the word with the voiceless consonant. In Lord, you have d, which is voiced; in go, g is voiced and in buy, b is voiced. The only one with a voiceless consonant is see, with s being the said consonant.

Many people missed question three too, which is purely grammar:

John, it’s time you … behaving like a kid.

(a) stops (b) stopping (c) stop (d) stopped

‘Normally’, the answer is supposed to be stop. But, in the construction, which falls under the subjunctive mood, the past tense form of the verb is required. Whether the statement says it is high time or it is time…, the verb that follows it should be in the past – despite the fact that the action suggested has yet to take place:

It’s high time you stop behaving like a kid. (Wrong)

It’s time you stop behaving like a kid. (Wrong)

It’s high time you stopped behaving like a kid. (Correct)

It’s time you stopped behaving like a kid. (Correct)

It’s time President Buhari sacks his non-performing aides. (Wrong).

It’s time President Buhari sacked his non-performing aides. (Correct).













Rainbowgist