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What is the meaning of the comma in the following sentence from A Pocket Full of Kisses by Audrey Penn?

Chester grinned so wide, the tips of his silky black mask crinkled upward.

Does "Chester grinned so wide, the tips of silky black mask crinkled upward"

mean

"Chester grinned so wide with the tips of silky black mask crinkled upward" ?

If so, is it grammatically possible to use a comma to mean "with"?

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  • The source sentence (from A Pocket Full of Kisses by Audrey Penn) has the word his in it, which you left out.
    – green_ideas
    Commented Nov 24, 2017 at 4:24
  • The question should be closed because it is asking about a sentence which was quoted incorrectly, with a word left out.
    – green_ideas
    Commented Nov 24, 2017 at 4:26

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No, I don't think it's grammatically correct and no, it doesn't mean "with"; it means "that", but I think the person who wrote the passage isn't the most adept at grammar because he tried to use a comma splice, which is common among native English speakers, but vitiates the rules of grammar:

"Chester grinned so wide [that] the tips of his silky black mask crinkled upwards."

Now it is grammatical.

I hope that might have helped you out. Take care and good luck.

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  • Is it possible to use "," as "that"? Is such an example used a lot? If so, please show me some examples.
    – user22046
    Commented Nov 23, 2017 at 5:57
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    No it's not possible grammatically to use "," as "that". One should use "that" rather than a comma splice (","). I've shown you above that the the comma should be a "that", although the "that" is not mandatory, which is why it is in brackets. Comma splices are used often in English, but it is a sign of poor grammar on the part of the author who uses them.
    – Nick
    Commented Nov 23, 2017 at 5:59

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