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MartinHorut Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Comma before and in subordinate clauses
Hi,
if I have two subordinate clauses of the same type joined by "and", do I include a comma before "and"?
e.g. He bought some biscuits which were filled with butter or jam (,) and which turned out to be very tasty.
And what if I have two subordinate clauses of a different type, as in:
He bought some biscuits which were filled with butter (,) because he liked them.
Thank you very much.
if I have two subordinate clauses of the same type joined by "and", do I include a comma before "and"?
e.g. He bought some biscuits which were filled with butter or jam (,) and which turned out to be very tasty.
And what if I have two subordinate clauses of a different type, as in:
He bought some biscuits which were filled with butter (,) because he liked them.
Thank you very much.
Top answer
Martin: I use this handy punctuation guide for clauses. In your first example the 2 clauses (even though they are subordinate) are joined to each other by a coordinating conjunction. They are "equal weight" in importance.
- Martin: I use this handy punctuation guide for clauses.
- In your first example the 2 clauses (even though they are subordinate) are joined to each other by a coordinating conjunction.
- They are "equal weight" in importance.
- So see the rules for punctuation of coordinating conjunctions in the guide.
- In your second example, you have a relative clause and so you have to follow the punctuation rules for restrictive and non-restrictive clauses .
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4 Answers
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Martin:
I use this handy punctuation guide for clauses.
In your first example the 2 clauses (even though they are subordinate) are joined to each other by a coordinating conjunction. They are "equal weight" in importance. So see the rules for punctuation of coordinating conjunctio
I use this handy punctuation guide for clauses.
In your first example the 2 clauses (even though they are subordinate) are joined to each other by a coordinating conjunction. They are "equal weight" in importance. So see the rules for punctuation of coordinating conjunctio
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Thank you, AlpheccaStars,
I have read the linked documents, but I am still in doubt how to correctly write the second sentence, "He bought some biscuits which were filled with butter (,) because he liked them". You see, I am not asking whether to seperate the second clause, "which were filled with butter"; I want to know whether, assuming the second clause is restrictive, I should separa
I have read the linked documents, but I am still in doubt how to correctly write the second sentence, "He bought some biscuits which were filled with butter (,) because he liked them". You see, I am not asking whether to seperate the second clause, "which were filled with butter"; I want to know whether, assuming the second clause is restrictive, I should separa
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If the clause is non-restrictive, put commas around it. It does not matter what follows. That could be another clause, or just a continuation of the sentence.
If the clause is restrictive, then treat it as if the clause were not present.
We bought the biscuits because we liked them.
We bought the biscuits which were filled with jelly because we liked them. (filled with jell
If the clause is restrictive, then treat it as if the clause were not present.
We bought the biscuits because we liked them.
We bought the biscuits which were filled with jelly because we liked them. (filled with jell
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