Use of and and comma

[mandeepsingh007]

Hi, I have a general question about the use of and and comma

I read Manhattan SC guide and it states

a comma + and is required to join to main clauses

but some where here in the forum i also read that comma is not necessary.

Can you please clarify on this issue.

[Willy]

Hi, I have a general question about the use of and and comma

I read Manhattan SC guide and it states

a comma + and is required to join to main clauses

but some where here in the forum i also read that comma is not necessary.

Can you please clarify on this issue.

In case you want join two Independent clause you always need COMMA + AND (or one of the FANBOYS) or you need the Semicolon.

Can you please point out where on this forum you read that we don't need comma?

[RonPurewal]

people ask about this a lot.

MOST IMPORTANTLY ...
PUNCTUATION IS NOT TESTED ON THIS EXAM!

don't bother with "rules" based on punctuation, because (a) gmac doesn't test them, and, more importantly, (b) the vast majority of such "rules" are, well, not actually rules.

the only time you'll want to mind punctuation, at all, is when it actually differentiates grammatical structures: for instance, "no comma + ____ing" is different from "comma + ____ing". but, those kinds of things aren't really punctuation issues -- they are issues concerning the resulting structures. for instance, the example i just mentioned would be a modifier issue, not a punctuation issue.

--

regarding this whole belief that comma + and/but/etc MUST introduce another complete sentence:
well, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
this "rule" is not really a rule. it's an approximate guideline in most cases, but it's definitely not a strict rule.

* quite often, the comma will be omitted when there are two complete sentences -- if those sentences are short enough to render the comma unnecessary.
since the doors are locked and the windows are latched, we're ready to go.
--> this is fine; there's no reason to separate "the doors are locked" and "the windows are latched" with a comma. indeed, the sentence would become a lot more confusing if you did that.

* also -- again quite often -- a comma will be included even if the structures are not complete sentences, especially if the structures are long enough to make the sentence unreadable without the comma.
for instance:
i shut the windows and locked the doors --> this sentence doesn't need any additional punctuation.
i shut the windows so firmly that i would later have trouble opening them, and locked the doors using both the standard locks and the deadbolts --> these are not complete sentences, but the sentence is still written with the comma because it's absolutely unreadable without the comma. (try it yourself.)

again, this is all of marginal importance, because punctuation is Something You Just Don't Have To Worry About on this exam. that's good news -- one less thing to distract you.

[Willy]

people ask about this a lot.

MOST IMPORTANTLY ...
PUNCTUATION IS NOT TESTED ON THIS EXAM!

don't bother with "rules" based on punctuation, because (a) gmac doesn't test them, and, more importantly, (b) the vast majority of such "rules" are, well, not actually rules.

the only time you'll want to mind punctuation, at all, is when it actually differentiates grammatical structures: for instance, "no comma + ____ing" is different from "comma + ____ing". but, those kinds of things aren't really punctuation issues -- they are issues concerning the resulting structures. for instance, the example i just mentioned would be a modifier issue, not a punctuation issue.

--

regarding this whole belief that comma + and/but/etc MUST introduce another complete sentence:
well, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
this "rule" is not really a rule. it's an approximate guideline in most cases, but it's definitely not a strict rule.

* quite often, the comma will be omitted when there are two complete sentences -- if those sentences are short enough to render the comma unnecessary.
since the doors are locked and the windows are latched, we're ready to go.
--> this is fine; there's no reason to separate "the doors are locked" and "the windows are latched" with a comma. indeed, the sentence would become a lot more confusing if you did that.

* also -- again quite often -- a comma will be included even if the structures are not complete sentences, especially if the structures are long enough to make the sentence unreadable without the comma.
for instance:
i shut the windows and locked the doors --> this sentence doesn't need any additional punctuation.
i shut the windows so firmly that i would later have trouble opening them, and locked the doors using both the standard locks and the deadbolts --> these are not complete sentences, but the sentence is still written with the comma because it's absolutely unreadable without the comma. (try it yourself.)

again, this is all of marginal importance, because punctuation is Something You Just Don't Have To Worry About on this exam. that's good news -- one less thing to distract you.

Thanks Ron!

[tim]

:)