Introductory words play a special role in the language. Their examples are quite numerous. They can be represented by different parts of speech. These constructions have one unshakable rule - they are not members of the sentence, but only, complicating it, make some explanations for the listener or reader of the text. Let's analyze this syntactic phenomenon, commas in the introductory word, examples of other punctuation marks (dashes).
Definition of concept
The purpose of introductory words is to focus on the speech situation, to give an assessment, expressive or modal. Shades of values can be different (we'll talk about them a little later).
Introductory words, examples of which we will analyze, stand "apart" from the meaning of the entire sentence as a whole. That is, if they are excluded from the context, the content will not suffer. Thus, these constructions are not members of a sentence and are necessarily separated not only by punctuation marks, but also by intonation.
Introductory words are not only represented by one lexeme: examples of phrases or sentences are not uncommon. Yesterday - I don't know why - I was terribly unlucky. The introductory construction is expressed by the phrase I don’t knowwhy. As the old inhabitants of the house say, the purest water used to be in this well. The first part before the comma is an introductory sentence with the meaning of indicating the source of the statement.
Grammatically, introductory words are presented very widely: these are nouns (fortunately), and short adjectives or they are in superlatives (most importantly, at most, to blame), and adverbs (of course, of course), and verbs in various forms (it seems they say, they would know), and pronouns (meanwhile), phrases and various types of sentences (we wrote about them above).
Main Meanings: Confidence/Uncertainty
Let's analyze the shades of meanings conveyed by the introductory words. Examples will be given for each group. The following constructions are used to express confidence or uncertainty:
- Of course: We will certainly go for a walk on such a beautiful frosty day.
- Of course: She will look after you, of course.
- Without a doubt: Without a doubt, we will pass all exams successfully!
- Maybe: I might have to enlist Victor's help.
- Obviously: Winter will obviously end in the coming weeks.
- Apparently: You seem to have no intention of reconciling.
- Maybe: Better times may come soon.
Phrase and sentences: Most likely, this child will be very similar to the father. You, I am sure of this, will be a good specialist in medicine.
Feelings and evaluation
To orderintroductory words are often used to convey all sorts of shades of feelings.
Examples of sentences are:
- Fortunately, a gorgeous lawn grew in the yard, so Leonid did not get injured when falling from the attic.
- To our delight, the order was delivered even before the specified time.
- Unfortunately, it will not be so easy to make concessions.
- To the surprise of those present, Anna danced the w altz no worse than the other girls trained in this since childhood.
- It's embarrassing to realize, but we were no longer the same cocky girl with thin pigtails.
The same introductory words can convey the author's assessment of the subject of conversation, oral or written. To convey an assessment of the style of the statement itself, you can also use a separate introductory word. Examples:
- In other words, you must first carefully read the text, and only then make your personal judgments.
- Figuratively speaking, this mountain looked like a fire-breathing dragon that was about to spew its destructive flame.
- We, to put it mildly, did not want to go to the show at such a late hour.
- Leonid, and he directly stated this, did not want to have any business with this contractor.
Ordering and way of thinking
Introductory words also help to give thoughts some structure. Their group is quite diverse.
To name just a few:
- Firstly (firstlysecondly, thirdly, fourthly, fifthly - we pay attention that these introductory words are written with a hyphen), I need confidence that you will not betray me, and secondly, I want to enlist the support of my parents.
- I finally managed to get all the necessary documents.
- You will go to the best medical school, therefore, a good start to your career.
- So, we have planned a good budget for the start of the company.
- For example, you and your brother could move in with your parents.
- Based on the following facts, we propose to terminate the contract with this company.
- She ate soup, a side dish with a good piece of meat, drank compote, in a word, she was completely satiated and kinder.
Source of the statement
The following introductory words indicate information about the source of the statement:
- According to the professor, the work is written quite well.
- Weather conditions will worsen by the weekend, according to media reports.
- This, they say, is a very useful tool for the prevention of all kinds of infections.
- The situation, according to competent sources, has been taken under strict control of higher authorities.
- In my opinion, someone has completely lost his conscience.
- Do you think ignorance of the law justifies such serious violations?
Getting attention
Another function of introductory words is to attract the attention of the interlocutor or reader.
The following words and expressions can be used for this:
- I'm past the age of romantic daydreaming, you know.
- Vladislav, just imagine climbing to the very top of a huge mountain without the necessary equipment at hand.
- Imagine, she never thought that life could change so abruptly.
Punctuation rules
As a rule, commas are required at the introductory word. Numerous examples have been given above. However, there are times when a dash or brackets is required. Consider them.
- Introductory words convey the meaning of any additional information. The day before yesterday - I don’t know why - I was very sad. In this case, the construction conveys additional information, so it would be more correct to highlight it not with commas, but with a dash.
- Introductory constructions explain the reported information. In this case, you can put both a dash and brackets. The Tasmanian devil (if you've met him) is able to sink into the heart with his appearance.
You should also remember a few special clarifications on the separation of introductory constructions with commas. So, a comma is not put at the introductory word, which is included in a separate turnover. Finally, a doctor came out to us, most likely a surgeon. In this sentence, a separate application contains an introductory phrase, most likely.
With special attention, punctuation marks should be used at the junction of the union and the introductory word. Here it is necessary to observe the context. If the introductory word excluded from it does not violate the semantic integrity, then it must certainly be separated by commas on both sides. Also, the construction can be a single whole with the union. In this case, you should not separate them with punctuation marks.
Let's analyze two sentences. We won't go on vacation this summer, but we'll probably travel next. – This village seems very soulful, but according to rumors, not everything in it is so beautiful. In the first sentence, the introductory phrase can most likely be easily separated from the union. The meaning of the sentence will not be violated. The second example is another matter - here the phrase is rumored to organically merge into the context of the entire sentence. If we remove it, we lose the meaning.
Special occasions
There are special cases when introductory constructions are not so easy to distinguish from homonymous members of a sentence. One of these is an introductory word however. Examples will help capture these differences.
Let's analyze the proposals. Alexey, however, was an excellent builder. - We were already close to the house, but the snow fell, so we did not arrive soon. In the first sentence, however, it is an introductory word, it expresses a clarifying meaning. In the second, it is a composing union, easily replaced by another, for example, but. Thus, if however is in the middle or at the end of a sentence, this is an introductory word. In all other cases, it is a coordinating conjunction.
Also, it seems to cause complexity. The introductory word, examples of which we will analyze below, should be distinguished from the predicate in an impersonal sentence. For example:
I think a wonderful winter will come soon. Here the word plays a rolepredicate. Compare with another offer. They didn't seem to notice at all. In this case, there is a sentence with an introductory word. Let us pay attention to the fact that the verb-predicate is easily determined - they did not notice. Thus, it seems to have nothing to do with this member of the sentence.
