Hi
In retrospect[color=red], [size=84]I shouldn’t have given him the money.[/size]
Should in standard English comma be put after in retrospect (starting a sentence)?
Tamara… I would use a comma in writing that sentence. The phrase “I shouldn’t have given the money” is a complete thought while ‘In retrospect’ is a separate clause adding the extra piece of information that the conclusion you drew came at a later time.
I don’t have the grammatical skills to explain this in the correct terminology… Perhaps some others have other, or more detailed explanations.
Hi
So, it depends?…
OK.
Would you put commas in these ones (and why, if not):
In retrospect I find her advice staggering.
In retrospect all is so much easier.
In retrospect I admit it was an arrogant, unforgivable thing to do and I’ve paid the price for it, emotionally and financially.
In retrospect the debates on the Bill had a curious air of unreality…
Hi Tamara,
I would avoid unnecessary use of the comma. After all (no comma) there is no need for a pause after the expression, is there? Don’t catch the spot plague!
A
Hi Alan
There may be no need for a pause in Tamara’s original sentence, however I do think I would pause after saying ‘In retrospect’ and would also probably use a comma if I wrote it.
Hi Tamara
The problem with commas is that there is some flexibility as to when to use or not use them. There are dangers in both over-use as well as under-use. What I see here in Germany is a tendency for my students to use too many commas. That’s probably because the German language likes commas more than the English language does. :lol:
Amy
Dear Alan
For so long I have been thinking of asking your advice on the use of the comma. Many a time I notice that you do not use a comma where other moderators do. This tells us that, more than a rule, a comma is also a matter of choice…am I right?? Could you please tell us how you look at a comma? One thing that I would like to ask in particular is that the commas that you do not put in your answers here in the threads, would you also not use them if you were writing something more formal?
Tom
Hi Tom,
As usual your questions are to the point and pertinent. I have to beg to differ with Miss Amy on the previous post that Tamara raised. To me the comma is purely and simply there to indicate a pause, a change in grammatical construction or word order, a list (this is one), a condtional sentence, something in parenthesis and otherwise as far as I can think this Saturday morn, to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. If you read what I’ve just wtitten, you’ll see, in a way, what I am on about. When I’ve thought more deeply about it or when someone else points out all the flaws, I might come back.
A
Hi
I always put ‘too many’ commas in my English writing - just because in Russian there are
lots of necessary commas[size=200],[/size][color=red] [size=92](for example, this one[/size]) and the rules are quite strict and formal.
So, each time when I have an intention to ‘lighten’ my texts, I ask for validation about each specific comma – and then omit them, one by one, with fear. 
But next time, with a bit another sentence, I often fall in doubts again. 
‘When in doubt, leave it out.’ is a very difficult rule to apply…
Thank you – for now, in retrospect and in advance!