Which sentence correctly uses an emphatic pronoun without a preceding comma?

Which sentence correctly uses an emphatic pronoun without a preceding comma?

• A. The president himself attended the dinner party.
• B. The president, himself attended the dinner party.
• C. The president himself, attended the dinner party.
• D. The president attended the dinner party, himself.

Answer: (A)

The emphasis is placed correctly when the emphatic pronoun directly follows the noun it emphasizes, with no comma interrupting them. In the sentence The president himself attended the dinner party, himself serves to intensify the subject "the president" without breaking the flow with a pause, so the meaning stays clear and the syntax stays smooth. Emphatic pronouns should not be set off by a comma between the noun and the verb, because that would treat the pronoun as a separate, parenthetical element rather than an integrated intensifier. The other options insert a comma in positions that disrupt this tight connection—between the noun and the verb, after the pronoun, or before the pronoun at the end—making them awkward or incorrect. Therefore, the sentence that uses the emphatic pronoun without a preceding comma is the one that places him self immediately after the noun with no interruption.

The emphasis is placed correctly when the emphatic pronoun directly follows the noun it emphasizes, with no comma interrupting them. In the sentence The president himself attended the dinner party, himself serves to intensify the subject "the president" without breaking the flow with a pause, so the meaning stays clear and the syntax stays smooth. Emphatic pronouns should not be set off by a comma between the noun and the verb, because that would treat the pronoun as a separate, parenthetical element rather than an integrated intensifier. The other options insert a comma in positions that disrupt this tight connection—between the noun and the verb, after the pronoun, or before the pronoun at the end—making them awkward or incorrect. Therefore, the sentence that uses the emphatic pronoun without a preceding comma is the one that places him self immediately after the noun with no interruption.