Comma placement

Question

Where do the commas go in this sentence: When a piece of jewellery such as a ring begins to rust it will lose some value.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

You make an attempt first, Anon.

Anonymous · Answer

When a piece of jewellery, such as a ring, begins to rust it will lose some value.

Persian Learner · Answer

AnonymousWhen a piece of jewellery such as a ring begins to rust it will lose some value.

You have two clauses in this sentence; one is independent and the other is dependent:

Independent: "it will lose some value".

Dependent: "When a piece of jewellery such as a ring begins to rust".

You need a comma after the dependent clause when it precedes the independent clause.

When a piece of jewellery such as a ring begins to rust, it will lose some value.

Otherwise, no comma is put between the two clauses:

A piece of jewellery such as a ring will lose some value when it beings to rust.

And the phrase "such as a ring" doesn't need to be set off by commas, because you are giving just one example (a ring), not a list of examples.

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