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Lundbye95 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
British comma (article from BBC)
Hi!
I read this article on BBC's homepage today (link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/9439055.stm ), and something struck me about the punctuation.
For example this sentence: "I've got a treadmill at home so I'll spend time on it, and I'll be running on the roads around where I live."
Shouldn't there be a comma before 'so' ? (applying the rule: two independant clauses connected by a coordinating conjuction - for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so).
What about this one:
"If you can win comfortably then you can conserve energy."
I would place a comma before 'then' ? (applying the rule: dependant clause before an independant clause = a comma, not in reverse order, though).
There are also a lot of problems in this paragraph (in my opinion):
"Sheffield is a different test(,) but I've been to the latter stages before(,) so I know what to expect. My form has been good recently(,) so now it's matter of making sure I peak at the right time."
My question is where is all the differences concerning British English's (in England, Wales, etc.) comma use compared to the United States? I would really appreciate an answer - I'm learning BrE in the school, not AmE - sorry
I read this article on BBC's homepage today (link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/9439055.stm ), and something struck me about the punctuation.
For example this sentence: "I've got a treadmill at home so I'll spend time on it, and I'll be running on the roads around where I live."
Shouldn't there be a comma before 'so' ? (applying the rule: two independant clauses connected by a coordinating conjuction - for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so).
What about this one:
"If you can win comfortably then you can conserve energy."
I would place a comma before 'then' ? (applying the rule: dependant clause before an independant clause = a comma, not in reverse order, though).
There are also a lot of problems in this paragraph (in my opinion):
"Sheffield is a different test(,) but I've been to the latter stages before(,) so I know what to expect. My form has been good recently(,) so now it's matter of making sure I peak at the right time."
My question is where is all the differences concerning British English's (in England, Wales, etc.) comma use compared to the United States? I would really appreciate an answer - I'm learning BrE in the school, not AmE - sorry
Top answer
Comma use is not as cut and dried as you would like, Lundbye. Length, complexity and restrictivenes of clause, along with the presence or absence of other commas, can influence the writer's options when s/he is also concerned with sentence flow and clarity.
- Comma use is not as cut and dried as you would like, Lundbye.
- Length, complexity and restrictivenes of clause, along with the presence or absence of other commas, can influence the writer's options when s/he is also concerned with sentence flow and clarity.
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1 Answers
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Comma use is not as cut and dried as you would like, Lundbye. Length, complexity and restrictivenes of clause, along with the presence or absence of other commas, can influence the writer's options when s/he is also concerned with sentence flow and clarity.
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