Comma rules of the Spanish language

The Spanish comma ( coma ) differs significantly in use and its syntactic function.

The comma ( Spanish coma ) is one of the Spanish punctuation marks ( signos de puntuación ) and is used in the written language to separate parts of a sentence from one another. This gives texts a clearer structure that is adapted to their meaning, which makes reading easier. The functions of the comma are diverse, for example it clarifies the construction of the sentence by separating an addition or a subordinate clause from the main clause. Conversely, this means that the use of commas requires the writer to understand the different structures of sentences.

Classification

The comma is one of the punctuation marks , signo de puntuación . These are special characters of a font , the structuring and also the sense gebung of sentence structure serve. The setting of the punctuation marks is called punctuation or punctuation , puntuación . The most important punctuation marks in Spanish are:

punto . Point
Coma , comma
Comillas "" quotation marks
Dos puntos : colon
Punto y coma ; semicolon
Signos de interrogación ¿? Question mark
Signos de admiración ¡! Exclamation mark
Paréntesis, corchetes, llaves, comillas angulares () [] {} «» Brackets round, square and curly brackets, guillemets

Explanation

In spoken text, language characters and thus punctuation are irrelevant. The intonation of what is said determines the accentuation. In the writing of the text, the non-verbal components such as intonation, pauses, speaking speed and volume had to be marked. The punctuation served primarily to structure a text.

In the spoken language, commas indicate pauses in speech , a meaning that is important in Spanish, while in German the use of primarily syntactic rules is less important. In the Spanish language, the comma mostly stands as a graphic symbol for pauses in speech and speech melody .

Differences in the use of the German and Spanish commas

In the spoken language, commas indicate pauses in speech , a function that is significant in Spanish, whereas in German, commas primarily follow syntactic rules. While in the Spanish language the commas mostly serve as graphic symbols for pauses in speech and the modulation of the speech melody .

In German grammar , the comma is used to structure the sentence and separates certain elements from one another: In German, commas are placed between main clauses and subordinate clauses , but also between individual elements of a list. Similarly appositions and adjustments separated by commas from the rest of the sentence. Therefore comma errors are not trivial, but grammatical errors . The comma divides a German sentence primarily grammatically.

The comma in German

In German, a comma follows differently than in Spanish:

Infinitive clauses
Content sentences
- that is, subject sentences;
- Object sets;
restrictive relative clauses;

* Venga a mi pabellón de caza cuando quiera. Kommen Sie zu meiner Jagdhütte, wann (immer) Sie mögen. Imperativo + Presente de subjuntivo

adverbial subordinate clauses.

The comma in Spanish

In Spanish, the comma is used, colocar a la coma often or regularly:

mostly after the preceding subordinate clauses. - example:

  Si quieres, te acompaño en el camino. Wenn du möchtest, begleite ich dich auf dem Weg.

before introductory words and their abbreviations, such as etcétera , followed by a list. - example:

  Observa la dirección de sus manos, piernas, pies, etc. Be(ob)achte die Richtung seiner/ihrer Hände, Beine, Füße usw.

after a salutation and naming in the sentence. - example:

  Juana, quiero andar por tu mismo camino y observar las cosas que tú ves. Juana, ich möchte den gleichen Weg wie du gehen und die Dinge beobachten, die du siehst.
  Te dije, Juana, que yo tenía razón. Ich sagte dir, Juana, dass ich Recht hatte. Pretérito indefinido de indicativo + Pretérito imperfecto de indicativo

used to separate one or more words in a list . - example:

 Quizá me engañen la vejez y el temor, pero sospecho que la especie humana —la única— está por extinguirse y que la Biblioteca perdurará: iluminada, solitaria, infinita, perfectamente inmóvil, armada de volúmenes preciosos, inútil, incorruptible, secreta. Vielleicht trügen mich Alter und Ängstlichkeit, aber ich vermute, dass die Gattung Mensch – die einzige, die es gibt – im Aussterben begriffen ist, und dass die Bibliothek fortdauern wird: erleuchtet, einsam, unendlich, vollkommen unbeweglich, gewappnet mit kostbaren Bänden, überflüssig, unverweslich, geheim.

in conditional or conditional clauses whenever the conjunctions , conditional conjunction (subordinate conjunction), conjunciones condicionales that introduce the conditional or conditional clauses are at the beginning of the sentence or are inserted. - example:

  Si nieva, no iré. Wenn es schneit, werde ich nicht gehen. Presente simple de indicativo + Futuro simple de indicativo

If a sentence is started by introductory, explanatory words or word combinations, a comma is placed. - example:

  Es decir, todo esto fue mi culpa. Das heißt, alles das war meine Schuld. Infinitivo + Pretérito indefinido de indicativo
  Los manos, o sea, las antenas de los hombres. Die Hände, oder mit anderen Worten, die Fühler des Menschen. Presente de subjuntivo

normally, relative clauses are not separated by a comma. However, this only applies to the necessary relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses , oración especificativa o restrictivo . The non- necessary relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses , oración explicativa, are separated from the main clause by a comma . The same applies to the shortened relative clauses - example:

  María, que lleva pantalones verdes, está en mi casa. Maria, die grüne Hosen trägt, ist in meinem Haus.

the Spanish is one of the languages in the use of number words comma as the decimal separator used.

  5,433 dieciséis coma tres

literature

Hans-Georg Beckmann: New Spanish grammar. dnf-Verlag, Göttingen 1994, ISBN 3-9803483-3-4 .
Helmut Berschin, Julio Fernández-Sevilla, Josef Felixberger: The Spanish language. Distribution, history, structure. 3. Edition. Georg Olms, Hildesheim / Zurich / New York 2005, ISBN 3-487-12814-4 .
Wolfgang Halm: Modern Spanish short grammar. Max Hueber, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-19-004020-6 , p. 262
Ernst Pelzing: Punctuation. A comparison of Spanish and German comma rules. Living Languages 31 (1986), 36-38

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Claudia Moriena, Karen Genschow: Great learning grammar Spanish: rules, examples of use, tests; [Level A1 - C1]. Hueber Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-19-104145-8 , pp. 54-57
^ Helmut Berschin , Julio Fernández-Sevilla, Josef Felixberger: The Spanish language. Distribution, history, structure. 3. Edition. Georg Olms, Hildesheim / Zurich / New York 2005, ISBN 3-487-12814-4 , pp. 156–157.
↑ also restrictive, classifying / determining or specifying relative clause
^ Holger Siever: Translate Spanish into German. A work book. Narr study books, Gunter Narr, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8233-6391-0 , pp. 117–128.
↑ also explicative, appositive, explicit, explanatory, coloring or qualifying relative clause
^ Hans-Georg Beckmann: New Spanish grammar. dnf-Verlag, Göppingen 1994, ISBN 3-9803483-3-4 , p. 337.

[1] Claudia Moriena, Karen Genschow: Great learning grammar Spanish: rules, examples of use, tests; [Level A1 - C1]. Hueber Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-19-104145-8 , pp. 54-57

[2] Helmut Berschin , Julio Fernández-Sevilla, Josef Felixberger: The Spanish language. Distribution, history, structure. 3. Edition. Georg Olms, Hildesheim / Zurich / New York 2005, ISBN 3-487-12814-4 , pp. 156–157.

[3] so restrictive, classifying / determining or specifying relative clause

[4] Holger Siever: Translate Spanish into German. A work book. Narr study books, Gunter Narr, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8233-6391-0 , pp. 117–128.

[5] so explicative, appositive, explicit, explanatory, coloring or qualifying relative clause

[6] Hans-Georg Beckmann: New Spanish grammar. dnf-Verlag, Göppingen 1994, ISBN 3-9803483-3-4 , p. 337.