2. The second sentence is still grammatical, but it isn’t logical. There's just no need for it. An independent clause is a clause which could stand alone as its own sentence, because it has its own subject and verb. In a series (or list) of three or more items, you can use a comma before or, but this is a preference, not a rule. Writing, grammar, and communication tips for your inbox. Including the final comma in this sentence makes it much more readable. Would you like that martini shaken or stirred? Didi may want to spend her roulette winnings on that Ferrari she always wanted or a luxury vacation. People often get muddled about whether to place a comma before conjunctions like and, so, because, and or. JavaScript is disabled. The comma is omitted in the first example and is included in the second. However, they do not mean the same thing, and so it is important to know how the use of a comma changes the meaning of the sentence. Didi may want to spend her roulette winnings on that Ferrari she always wanted, or she may go on a luxury vacation. I wouldn't use commas in any of your examples. You have been successfully subscribed to the Grammarly blog. Notify your doctor if you experience dizziness, fainting spells, nausea, vomiting, weak or rapid pulse or difficulty breathing.
George cleaned the house, as his wife had asked him to. People often get muddled about whether to place a comma before conjunctions like and, so, because, and or. Notify your doctor if you experience dizziness, fainting spells, nausea, vomiting, weak or rapid pulse, or difficulty breathing. When just two short grammatical elements are coordinated with or, do not separate them with a comma. My suggestion: No comma before "if" Sentence 3 is a bit more complicated: You can substitute dark chocolate for white chocolate or any of your favourite type of chocolate if you prefer. It’s almost always optional to put a comma before and in a list.. Comma Before And in Lists. Thank you very much for your help. In many sentences, if there is no comma before. In short, you only need to use a comma before “where” if the information that follows it is not essential to proper understanding of the whole sentence. Would you like that martini shaken, or stirred? This typically means that the relative clause adds context or additional information that would not lead people astray if it were absent from the sentence. Putting a comma before as in this sentence is a mistake. a. Didi may want to spend her roulette winnings on that Ferrari she always wanted. In sentences with the structure of our example, if there is no comma before as, then as means “in the way that” or “while.” When you insert a comma before as, its meaning changes to “because.”, So, the first sentence above, which contains no comma, can be rephrased as “George cleaned the house in the way that his wife had asked him to.”, The second sentence, which contains a comma, can be rephrased as “George cleaned the house because his wife had asked him to.”.
That said, advocates of the Oxford comma do have a strong argument when it comes to the clarity. I'm probably overthinking this, but it's bothering me.
Check out our guide to comma use. This is the much-debated Oxford comma (or serial comma).
Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause. Didi may want to spend her roulette winnings on that Ferrari she always wanted, or a luxury vacation. 9 Powerful Writing Apps for Any Type of Writing Project, The 5 Best Writing Tools All Writers Need, 5 Clever Ways to Say “Nice to Meet You” in Writing. You may want to use a comma in a series of three or more things. George cleaned the house as he listened to the radio. Some rules for when to use commas are hard and fast (e.g., most introductory phrases), but in situations such as yours, the rules leave room for discretion in order to make your meaning clear; however, your sentences are not confusing without the commas, so there's really no need (in my opinion, of course). For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Whether or not you should use it is a stylistic choice. In a series (or list) of three or more items, you can use a comma before or, but this is a preference, not a rule. George clearly cleaned the house while he listened to the radio, not because he was listening to the radio. It is considered good style to place a comma before or when it begins an independent clause. Thank you for your advice, I'll do my best.
If you are a human, do not fill in this field. When each element separated by or is just one or two words, the reader will have little trouble mentally sorting things out with whichever style you choose. The purdue OWL says to put a comma before "as if," if it's being used as a subordinating conjunction to join independent clauses. Common starter words for introductory clauses that should be followed by a comma include after, although, as, because, if, since, when, while. I agree with you about your first and second sentences. A further discussion and additional examples of correct comma usage can be found in Magnum Proofreading’s Guide to Proper English Grammar and Language Usage. You usually put a comma before and when it’s connecting two independent clauses. For example, this usage of "but" does not take a comma: "To quack but to have no one hear is a sad thing for a duck." Note that, for certain sentences, there is only one correct decision regarding the use of a comma based on the context. Want to learn more about commas? Here's How to Know the Difference Between Miss, Mrs., and Ms. For even more information about the comma and other punctuation marks, I recommend the following books, which are available on Amazon.