Sometimes introductory words may puzzle even an experienced user of the Russian language. One of the most common problems is to determine whether to separate the word with commas. The phrase “in this way” can be safely attributed to the category of doubt. For proper punctuation, you need to find out whether the phrase refers to the introductory, and in what context it is used.
How to decide if a given phrase is introductory
All introductory words and combinations have a distinctive feature that allows them to calculate their belonging to this class. Introductory phrases do not affect the meaning of the rest of the sentence. If you remove them from the context, the main idea will remain unchanged.
For example: “Next Thursday, we may go to the theater.” When you remove the word "possible" from the sentence, the meaning does not change. Introductory words only make additions and clarifications to the existing one.
For further punctuation of the phrase “in this way” it is necessary to determine whether it belongs to the category of introductory words.
Cases where punctuation is required
If the phrase “this way” is an introductory phrase, punctuation is indispensable. You can determine its belonging to the introductory within the meaning. If the phrase is used to summarize, it acts as an introduction. When it is used to draw a definite conclusion, it acquires the meaning of the words “so” and “therefore”.
Wherever the phrase “this way” is located, commas are always needed. Here are 3 options:
- The phrase is in the middle of the sentence. In this case, it is necessary to highlight it on both sides.
- The introductory design is at the very beginning of the proposal. A fairly common case, since this is the most logical location for entry before the conclusion. A comma, sometimes a dash, is placed only after the phrase.
- Combination with the union. If the sentence begins with an insertion phrase, before which there are unions “a” or “and”, the comma is placed only after the phrase.
It is often possible to find a usage where the phrase is an introductory phrase in the context of: “Thus, we come to the conclusion ...”. With this, everything is clear.
The synonyms “in this way” in each case are the following words: therefore, therefore, therefore, from which we can conclude, it follows from here. They are intended to summarize and consistently express thoughts in a sentence, text or speech.
Option without commas
The second option is to use the phrase “in this way” as a member of a sentence. In this case, it cannot be removed from the text, since the main idea or meaning is distorted.
If the phrase is not introductory, then it acts as a simple circumstance, a phraseological turn. In this case, it acquires the meaning “in such a way, in such a way”. More emphasis is placed on the word “image”, which is now used as a way or method of doing something.
A comma or some other punctuation mark should not be used to mark a phrase that is not an introductory phrase.
Context Examples
Learning to distinguish introductory constructions in sentences and to put the correct punctuation marks is possible only in practice.
A good way to consolidate the topic and test your knowledge is to write dictations and arrange your own commas in phrases. You can ask someone to read the examples below, so that it is not possible to spy on the correct arrangement of punctuation marks ahead of time.
Examples with introductory phrases:
- Late in the evening, thus, the suspect was not able to be at the crime scene. He has an alibi.
- It is unlikely that this is likely, and thus, it can be argued that the option should not be taken into account when processing data.
Examples of sentences in which the phrase is not introductory:
- Equilibrium was thus maintained. The cat continued to move along the branch.
- Converted in this way equipment lasts longer than usual.
It can be concluded
To learn how to quickly and accurately place punctuation marks in their places, you need to know the rules well. You don’t have to cram anything, because the best results are shown by those who understand the meaning of grammar and punctuation rules well, and do not memorize them.
An important rule: do not be content with a good understanding of the theory. Better debugged in the memory of what is honed in practice. In addition, only with the help of training on real offers can we accelerate the search for the right option.