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Futurehuman11 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Do I need a comma before 'building'?

I'll be rolling around in the mud building a new fence with which to keep my animals from escape.
  

Top answer

Hi, Do I need a comma before 'building'? I'll be rolling around in the mud building a new fence with which to keep my animals from escape. Otherwise, it looks grammatically like 'building .

— Clive

  • Hi, Do I need a comma before 'building'?
  • I'll be rolling around in the mud building a new fence with which to keep my animals from escape.
  • Otherwise, it looks grammatically like 'building .
  • .
  • ' qualifies 'mud', although of course that would be rather nonsensical in terms of meaning.
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5 Answers
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Hi,

Do I need a comma before 'building'?

I'll be rolling around in the mud building a new fence with which to keep my animals from escape.




Yes.Otherwise, it looks grammatically like 'building . . . ' qualifies '
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The way I understand your sentence, I’d say no, you don’t have to.
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I agree with Clive. With a comma, the sentence is clearer as we tie the same subject to rolling and building.

I'll be rolling ....., building .....

Best Regards,
Hoa Thai
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Futurehuman11I'll be rolling around in the mud building a new fence with which to keep my animals from escape.
I once used a grammar book that had a chapter on punctuation called "Punctuation For Meaning". Throw out all the "rules" and look at this example of meaning. Is it "mud building" or "buiding a new fence"? Here, the comma makes all the differ
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You need a comma.

But
>I'll be rolling around in the mud
is strange, it means you're lying on the ground and moving by rotating about yourself (rolling)

Also, IMO:
>a new fence with which to keep my animals from escape.
a new fence to keep my animals from escaping.
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