At the start of a sentence, add a comma after the introductory phrases “in the middle” or “in the middle of...”.
At the start of a sentence, add a comma after the introductory phrases “in the middle” or “in the middle of...”.
In the middle of an argument, she decided to leave.
In the middle or at the end of a sentence, commas are often unnecessary; however, they may be required in particular situations.
The area in the middle is perfectly designed by nature.
Follow the same guidelines with other adverbial prepositional phrases and related expressions, such as “right in the middle”, “in the very middle”, “in the Middle Ages”, “in his mid-twenties”, “in mid-sentence”, etc.
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution.
Contents
1. ‘In the middle’ at the start of a sentence
We generally insert a comma after a long introductory phrase (five or more words) like “in the middle of...”.
In the middle of the night, I got really sick and went to the emergency room.
In the middle of the room, Olivia played the piano for our entertainment
The comma may be dropped, however, if the sentence is clear and the introductory phrase starts with a preposition (even if it contains more than four words).
In the middle of lunch John said that I should always be honest.
But largely, include a comma after an introductory phrase like these to help clarify the meaning of the sentence.
In the middle of the season, he withdrew from the competition because of the pressure affecting his mental health.
2. Using ‘In the middle’ in Mid-sentence
In the middle or at the end of a sentence, we do not typically need a comma before or after an adverbial prepositional phrase, such as “in the middle” or “in the middle of...”.
Her cookies are raw in the middle.
The platform offers a fantastic view of the falls in the middle of the jungle.
There are particular situations, however, where commas can be used. For example, use commas to add a parenthetical expression, separate coordinate phrases, avoid confusion, interrupt the sentence flow, or connect independent clauses preceded by a coordinating conjunction.
John complains about everything. For example, in the middle of a conversation, he often claims that his salary is unfair.
She took a picture, in the middle of the rainy season, to show the hot and humid streets of Bangkok.
We were eating an excellent lasagna and, in the middle of dinner, she received a call from the emergency team.
3. Similar Expressions
Follow the same comma strategy when using 'in the beginning', 'in the end', or other related expressions, such as:
- right in the middle
- in the very middle
- in his mid-thirties
- in the Middle Ages
- in the middle distance
- in mid-sentence
- in the middle of nowhere
- etc.
The player was injured in the very middle of the basketball season.
In his mid-thirties, my uncle James decided to start writing his first novel.
In the Middle Ages, daily life was harsh and dictated by the feudal system.
