Q. I wish to say that I have oranges, apples, and pears, and all of the oranges, apples, and pears have recently arrived at the supermarket. I write the following sentence: “I have oranges, apples, and pears, recently arrived at the supermarket.” Does the comma before “recently” mean that the words “recently arrived at the supermarket” apply to each of the oranges, apples, and pears? If I removed the comma before “recently,” would the sentence now mean that only the pears had recently arrived at the supermarket?
A. It might, but it wouldn’t be clear. (You know this; it’s why you’re asking.) When meaning depends on such subtlety, being technically correct is of little value. If you want shoppers to know what you mean, you’re going to have to say it. Actually, you did just that in your very first sentence. For concision, you could tweak it: I have oranges, apples, and pears, all of which recently arrived at the supermarket.