Post by Angie on Jun 9, 2007 10:10:21 GMT -5
I have found that many people tend to have trouble combining sentences properly, so here are some rules to help you do it properly more often.
Independent clause - a phrase that can stand on its own as a proper sentence.
*Example 1: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood.
*Example 2: Our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
Dependent clause - a phrase that cannot stand on its own as a proper sentence.
*Example 1: Rather, running around the neighborhood.
*Example 2: Which is quite frustrating for us all.
What we will discuss in this thread is the combining of independent clauses. (I personally don't see why you would have any trouble combining dependent clauses, so I don't really have any rules for that. . .)
1.) Separated by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, yet, for, so [you don't need a comma before "so" if you could grammatically put "that" after it], et cetera). (On a side note: you almost never need a comma before a coordinating conjunction if it is not before the last item on a list or separating two independent clauses.)
*Example: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood, so our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
2.) Separated by a semicolon and no coordinating conjunction (words such as "therefore" and "however" are often put at the beginning of the second clause and succeeded by a comma).
*Example 1: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood; therefore, our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
*Example 2: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood; our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
3.) If a clause begins with a word like "because," "when," "while," "after," "before," etc. in the manner shown below, put a comma after it if it is at the beginning of the sentence, but don't put a comma before it if it is at the end of the sentence.
*Example 1: Our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops because the dog is always running free around the neighborhood.
*Example 2: When they see the dog running around the neighborhood, our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
Are there any more methods that I'm forgetting?
I feel like I'm leaving one out. . .
Independent clause - a phrase that can stand on its own as a proper sentence.
*Example 1: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood.
*Example 2: Our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
Dependent clause - a phrase that cannot stand on its own as a proper sentence.
*Example 1: Rather, running around the neighborhood.
*Example 2: Which is quite frustrating for us all.
What we will discuss in this thread is the combining of independent clauses. (I personally don't see why you would have any trouble combining dependent clauses, so I don't really have any rules for that. . .)
1.) Separated by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, yet, for, so [you don't need a comma before "so" if you could grammatically put "that" after it], et cetera). (On a side note: you almost never need a comma before a coordinating conjunction if it is not before the last item on a list or separating two independent clauses.)
*Example: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood, so our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
2.) Separated by a semicolon and no coordinating conjunction (words such as "therefore" and "however" are often put at the beginning of the second clause and succeeded by a comma).
*Example 1: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood; therefore, our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
*Example 2: The dog is always running free around the neighborhood; our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
3.) If a clause begins with a word like "because," "when," "while," "after," "before," etc. in the manner shown below, put a comma after it if it is at the beginning of the sentence, but don't put a comma before it if it is at the end of the sentence.
*Example 1: Our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops because the dog is always running free around the neighborhood.
*Example 2: When they see the dog running around the neighborhood, our neighbors, who are quite frustrated with the dog's owners, often call the cops.
Are there any more methods that I'm forgetting?
I feel like I'm leaving one out. . .