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Ducks1160 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Defining Independent clauses
He ran to the store; then, (he) bought a gallon of milk.
If the subject (he) is stated in the second clause, that clause is obviously an independent clause. But if the subject is carried over from the first clause and not stated in the second clause, is the second clause dependent or independent? Because the subject is not stated in the second clause, that clause does not appear to have a subject, so I would think it was a dependent phrase, which causes me all kinds of confusion when it comes to punctuating this sentence.
Can I treat ran and bought as a compound verb, with then treated as an ordinary conjunction, thus not add any punctuation as shown below?
He ran to the store then bought a gallon of milk.
much like
He ran to the store and bought a gallon of milk.
If the subject (he) is stated in the second clause, that clause is obviously an independent clause. But if the subject is carried over from the first clause and not stated in the second clause, is the second clause dependent or independent? Because the subject is not stated in the second clause, that clause does not appear to have a subject, so I would think it was a dependent phrase, which causes me all kinds of confusion when it comes to punctuating this sentence.
Can I treat ran and bought as a compound verb, with then treated as an ordinary conjunction, thus not add any punctuation as shown below?
He ran to the store then bought a gallon of milk.
much like
He ran to the store and bought a gallon of milk.
Top answer
) have the answer for you: YES. If you put a comma after "store," you may call "then" a conjunction simillar to "and": He ran to the store, THEN bought a gallon of milk. My authority is Professor George Curme's famous grammar book.
- ) have the answer for you: YES.
- If you put a comma after "store," you may call "then" a conjunction simillar to "and": He ran to the store, THEN bought a gallon of milk.
- My authority is Professor George Curme's famous grammar book.
- He gives this example of "then" as an ordinary coordinating conjunction: First think, THEN act.
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1 Answers
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Ducks1160: I may (may!) have the answer for you: YES. If you put a comma after "store," you may call "then" a conjunction simillar to "and": He ran to the store, THEN bought a gallon of milk. My authority is Professor George Curme's famous grammar book. He gives this example of "then" as an ordinary coordinating conjunction: First think, THEN act.
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