John the Gardener: Comma or No Comma?

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Punctuation rules in English and Portuguese are inherently similar but somewhat different. For example, where a comma is needed in English, it might not be needed in Portuguese and vice versa.

Here’s one example.

In the title of the story, “John the Gardener,” the English version doesn’t need a comma, but the Portuguese version does.

So, English: John the Gardener

Portuguese: Joao, o Jardineiro

In Portuguese, the additional words “o jardineiro” is referred to as an “explanation.” In Portuguese, an explanation needs to be separated from the subject explained with a comma.

However, in English, we just drive right through and say “John the Gardener,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” etc.

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