Comma, Coordinating Conjuncations, and the 'so if' Construction

Question

I received a rejection letter pertaining to a writing position and decided to analyze the letter's grammar for practice. Please keep in mind that I didn't receive my college degree in English or linguistics, so I may make quite a few mistakes. I'm also prone to over analysis and hypercorrections. I would also like to add that I typed the 'clauses' below into Word 2010 they were not flagged as dependent clauses. In the example, "and know you would work very hard in the position," I believe Word thinks that it's a complete sentence; the clause has 'you' and 'would' which are misconstrued as the subject and verb of the clause.

A couple things of my concerns:
1) "and know you would work very hard in the position" doesn't appear to be a complete sentence. The author is attempting to imply the subject, which is 'I know you would' but from my understanding, in order to place a comma before a coordinating conjunction, it must combine two independent clauses (with the exception of imperatives)Is this clause missing an appropriate subject?
2) "and keep you in mind if something comes up" same as my question above.
3) "and be a valuable addition to any company" same as my question above.
4) In the last sentence, 'so if' bugs me. Can you put a coordinating and subordinating conjunction back to back? Is the 'so' technically introducing the whole clause (and therefore appropriate), or is it introducing the dependent clause which appears first (therefore incorrect).

LETTER
I wanted to let you know that I was extremely impressed with you, and know you would work very hard in the position; however we have decided to bring on someone with more direct experience.
I will certainly keep your information on file, and keep you in mind if something comes up.
I have no doubt you will find a great career, and be a valuable addition to any company.
I have a lot of contacts, so if you want referrals, I am happy to do so.

Dimsumexpress · Accepted Answer

Hi,
From one who loves English but also with no non-linguistic credential, I would like to share my two cents with you.

Anonymous1) "and know you would work very hard in the position" doesn't appear to be a complete sentence. The author is attempting to imply the subject, which is 'I know you would' but from my understanding, in order to place a comma before a coordinating conjunction, it must combine two independent clauses (with the exception of imperatives)Is this clause missing an appropriate subject?

I agree that # 1 is not a complete sentence, simply because a subject can not be assumed and implied. In order for # 1 to be a valid sentence, a complex grammatical structure must be accompanied with a comma before " and know...." .

Rather than using my owner words to explain, I believe this link can do a much better job. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm

Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. "He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base." You may have learned that the comma before the "and" is unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things. However, there are situations in which, if you don't use this comma (especially when the list is complex or lengthy), these last two items in the list will try to glom together (like macaroni and cheese). Using a comma between all the items in a series, including the last two, avoids this problem. This last comma—the one between the word "and" and the preceding word—is often called the serial comma or the Oxford comma. In newspaper writing, incidentally, you will seldom find a serial comma, but that is not necessarily a sign that it should be omitted in academic prose.

AnonymousLETTER I wanted to let you know that I was extremely impressed with you, and know you would work very hard in the position; however we have decided to bring on someone with more direct experience.I will certainly keep your information on file, and keep you in mind if something comes up.I have no doubt you will find a great career, and be a valuable addition to any company.I have a lot of contacts, so if you want referrals, I am happy to do so.

This is just my observation. This letter has almost no issue in terms of grammar, though there are punctuation and "space" issues. Avoid semicolon if possible. Many contexts don't need it and usually a comma is sufficient. That being said, the tone of this letter comes off as awkward to me as a professional correspondence.

In the US, this type of letter may sounds something similar to this:

Dear Mr. XYZ,
Thank you for your interest in our company. After a careful selection process, we were impressed with your resume and had come down between you and another candidate. However, we regret to inform you that we've decided on the other candidate based on direct experience. Your resume will be kept on file for positions that may come up in the future. We wish great success in your job search.

HR

CalifJim · Answer

I wanted to let you know that I was extremely impressed with you and know you would work very hard in the position; however, we have decided to bring on someone with more direct experience.
I will certainly keep your information on file and keep you in mind if something comes up.
I have no doubt you will find a great career and be a valuable addition to any company.
I have a lot of contacts, so if you want a referral, I would be happy to write one for you.
___________________

I've placed my recommended changes in red.

If a second subject is not present, you don't use a comma.
If a second subject is explicitly stated, you use a comma.

John got in the car and drove off.
John got in the car, and he drove off.

The juxtaposition of conjunctions in the last sentence is fine.

CJ

Comma, Coordinating Conjuncations, and the 'so if' Construction

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions