A comma-usage question.

Question

I find that I want to use commas in Spanish as much as I do in English. But apparently they aren't needed as often.

How would I punctuate this sentence in Spanish?

I do, actually, watch Dora the Explorer with my youngest daughter, whose name is Emily.

I'm willing to bet that this has too many commas:

Hago, en realidad, miro Dora la Exploradora con mi hija más joven, cuya nombre es Emily.

Corrijan siempre mi español si es necesario, por favor. - Tosh, May 24, 2011

I don't think you would say "Hago, en realidad, miro" but "En realidad, miro"... I don't know about the commas, sorry. - Goldie_Miel, May 24, 2011

I know what you mean to say, but I think it can be translated like that. Perhaps: Pues, en realidad, miro Dora... again, I don't know about the commas :red: - Goldie_Miel, May 24, 2011

Even the english version has too many commas, however, I also do, the same thing, but technically, its bad incorrect :) - cheeseisyummy, May 24, 2011

Actually needs a comma before and after it in that example to set it off... and after my daughter, to say what her name is, needs a comma - Tosh, May 24, 2011

just changing word order will make it easier in both English and Spanish. Why not say, "Actually I do watch Dora the explorer with my youngest daughter Emily"? No commas. - Marsviking, May 24, 2011

In Spanish you can say "En realidad miro Dora con mi hija mas joven, Emily. - Marsviking, May 24, 2011

Marsviking... I think if I wrote it that way, I would still want to use a comma after Actually (in English at least). - Tosh, May 24, 2011

The "actually" in your sentence does not actually require commas to set it off. - lorenzo9, May 24, 2011

Answer 1

Hago, en realidad, miro Dora la Exploradora con mi hija más joven, cuyo nombre es Emily.

That emphatic "do" cannot be translated into Spanish; we don't have one, and in that sentence you are not doing anything in the literal sense (i.e. you are not making anything when you say "I do"). A similar emphasis is actually achieved with the presence of "yo", which is only used for this kind unusual of expressive effects: "Yo –de hecho– veo..." You can make it even more emphatic here by saying "sí (que) veo". While you could use commas, ideally you want to use the "long" dash here.

The relative "cuyo" agrees with the following word (nombre), not with "hija". I still make mistakes sometimes in English when I have to use "his" and "her", because my mind does not automatically try to reverse the agreement, so I end up saying "My mother and his friend" if her friend is a man, because in Spanish these possessives agree with the following word, not the previous one. That "cuyo", by the way, is a very formal style. People normally would say "...más joven, Emily".

Awesome tips! Thank you! - Tosh, May 24, 2011

Answer 2

Thanks for the comments... I was trying to come up with a sentence in English that would require several commas... to see if they were all needed in Spanish, because it seems that they are used far less often.

I'm sure someone else will know.

One may, if so inclined, construct a sentence, or a clause, requiring several commas, as well as using other punctuation marks such as: semicolons, ellipses, hyphens and exclamation points. - Lector_Constante, May 24, 2011

Answer 3

"Yo lo hago,actualmente (or en realidad) yo veo Dora la exploradora con mi hija menor,Emily (or cuyo nombre es E, just an example to do it shorter). You know what? In Spanish we don't use a space after commas or any other punctuacion, but actually, it looks good. Just use commas to make a pause and make sense in your writing. I hope to be useful.

So spaces after punctuation?? Say it isn't so!! ;) - Tosh, May 24, 2011

Dora es buena profesora :) - 00a4c226, May 24, 2011

Coquito, that "do" does not mean "hago"; it is just to give more emphasis to the sentence. Also, after comma you should leave a space. - lazarus1907, May 24, 2011

Thank you :) - 00a4c226, May 24, 2011

Hmm, one space after comma, two after period whether required or not - for legibility. - Lector_Constante, May 24, 2011

Answer 4

In my opinion Spanish can and does use more commas than English, without becoming ambiguous; which is what happens in English.

Spanish uses less commas than in English. I keep telling people to remove commas when they write in Spanish all the time. - lazarus1907, May 24, 2011

That's what I've noticed... far less commas. But it's a hard habit to break! - Tosh, May 24, 2011

Putting in unnecessary commas is the second most comma related grammar error i English; the first is the comma splice. - lorenzo9, May 24, 2011

@Lazarus - I bow to superior knowledge. - ian-hill, May 24, 2011

Ouch, Spanish does not use "less" commas (even in a pile of 'em), if uses "fewer" - Lector_Constante, May 24, 2011