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In a sentence like this:

Her hands adorned with bracelets moved swiftly.

Should there be a comma next to hands? Should I separate the phrase "adorned with bracelets" or just leave it as such?

I am of the understanding that any additional information has to be separated by commas. When the phrase within commas is removed, the sentence still has to have a meaning and stand alone. But the additional information when is of importance to the complete meaning of the sentence, should the comma be placed at all?

I am really struggling to understand this. Can anyone suggest a rule guide which specifically addresses this?

I have already asked a question about replacing "that is" with commas. < Comma in the place of that is > I sort of understand the answers given to me there in that thread. However, I am not sure if I should apply the same logic here. My question regarding this was moved to chat and I didn't know how to receive any answers there. I was the only one in the room. Kindly assist.

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    When the phrase within commas is removed, the sentence still has to have a meaning and stand alone. Well, "Her hands moved swiftly" is a perfectly good sentence, isn't it? It's not as if she had several pairs of hands so you had to identify which ones you were talking about!
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 26, 2022 at 15:26
  • Unless the additional information is about specificity I don't need to add commas. Am I right?
    – Ammu
    Commented Oct 26, 2022 at 16:27
  • 2
    You don't need commas if the phrase helps to identify the subject, you do need them if it's just extra description.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 26, 2022 at 16:40
  • @KateBunting Could you please take a look at my previous post and comment on that as well?
    – Ammu
    Commented Oct 26, 2022 at 16:57
  • The same applies to that question, but I have added a comment.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 26, 2022 at 17:46

1 Answer 1

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Use commas to set off non-restrictive clauses

Adding commas helps the reader to read the sentence fluidly.

In this case, 'adorned with bracelets' is not necessary, merely extra information and thus needs commas.

If you wrote 'She put the hand adorned with bracelets on the table', commas would not be needed.

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