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Lingua Espresso Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
How Many Clauses Can Be Serialized by An AND?
I would like a definitive and authoritative answer on the following question: How many clauses can be serialized by an AND?
I know for sure more then three nouns can be serialized with an AND, as in, "bread, butter and milk." The same could be said of other grammatical elements, which all end up in parallel structures.
I am, however, not sure if it applies to clauses. I am positive that the following sentence with just two clauses is grammatical:
The sun shines and the wind blows.
However, what if three or more clauses are serialized, like nouns are:?
The sun shines, the wind blows, and the river flows.
Someone told me this is grammatical. I do see this kind of sentence structure, but I am not sure if this is technically grammatical. I would think the clauses have to either be broken up into multiple sentences, or be combined with semi-colons, not with commas.?
Please give me a reliable answer, preferably with a reference. Thanks.
I know for sure more then three nouns can be serialized with an AND, as in, "bread, butter and milk." The same could be said of other grammatical elements, which all end up in parallel structures.
I am, however, not sure if it applies to clauses. I am positive that the following sentence with just two clauses is grammatical:
The sun shines and the wind blows.
However, what if three or more clauses are serialized, like nouns are:?
The sun shines, the wind blows, and the river flows.
Someone told me this is grammatical. I do see this kind of sentence structure, but I am not sure if this is technically grammatical. I would think the clauses have to either be broken up into multiple sentences, or be combined with semi-colons, not with commas.?
Please give me a reliable answer, preferably with a reference. Thanks.
Top answer
Grammatically there is no limit on the number of coordinate clauses that can be serialized-- and nothing other than commas are necessary. Style and skill are what limit the process to only a few.
- Grammatically there is no limit on the number of coordinate clauses that can be serialized-- and nothing other than commas are necessary.
- Style and skill are what limit the process to only a few.
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2 Answers
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Grammatically there is no limit on the number of coordinate clauses that can be serialized-- and nothing other than commas are necessary. Style and skill are what limit the process to only a few.
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Lingua EspressoThe sun shines, the wind blows, and the river flows.They were right.
Someone told me this is grammatical.
Lingua EspressoI am not sure if this is technically grammatical.Where did you get that idea?
Lingua EspressoPlease give me a reliable answer, preferably
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