The word "often", meaning the same as "often", "often", causes many difficulties in punctuation. Are commas required before and after "often"? What does it depend on and what rules do you need to know in order not to make a mistake?
Rule
Complexity arises from the fact that "often" at first glance is easy to mistake for an introductory word. However, their main difference lies in the lack of grammatical connection with other members of the sentence. That is, it can be removed from the proposal. It is impossible to ask a question to the introductory word.
"Often" answers the questions "when?", "how often?" and in a sentence is usually a tense adverb. It is part of a subordinate phrase like "adjacency" as an invariable dependent word.
So "often" is an adverb. It does not require isolation, if there are no other grounds for punctuation marks. For example, a comma is placed before "often" if it isis at the beginning of a participial or participle turnover.
Examples
"He often did not understand me and did not listen to my opinion." No punctuation is required here.
"The chief of plans did not consider it necessary to make plans in advance, often acting spontaneously and unpredictably." The sentence uses a gerund, so a comma is needed.
"Often being a reasonable and pragmatic person, my friend did not participate in conversations about love." In this case, the commas are due to the presence of a participial turnover - "being a reasonable and pragmatic person." The circumstance "often" as a secondary member of the sentence refers to the predicate "did not participate".
"The student was frustrated by stupid mistakes in his work, often due to inattention, not ignorance." A comma is placed before the participial phrase.
As you can see from the above examples, the word "often" itself does not affect the placement of punctuation marks.
