Timeline for If two or more independent clauses share a common part, do they get separated by a comma?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Dec 4, 2020 at 14:26 | vote | accept | Sergey Zolotarev | ||
| Oct 29, 2020 at 12:01 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | Nah. Even my "really simple example" features a "shared common part" - in full, it would be Now I speak and now you listen. But I think what @Jeff says about using "while" is useful. If your context is one where you could reasonably replace conjoining "and" by "while", you probably don't want a comma even if you don't actually do the substitution. Offhand I think there are few if any contexts where you'd put a comma before "while" (unless immediately preceded by a "parenthetical" element delineated by commas). Where "while" doesn't need a comma, assume "and" doesn't either. | |
| Oct 29, 2020 at 1:11 | comment | added | Sergey Zolotarev | @FumbleFingersReinstateMonica Is it dependent on sharing a common part at all? | |
| Oct 28, 2020 at 22:42 | comment | added | James K | Logic has little to do with spelling grammar or punctuation | |
| Oct 28, 2020 at 22:42 | answer | added | James K | timeline score: 3 | |
| Oct 28, 2020 at 15:36 | comment | added | Jeff Morrow | Punctuation is not grammar: it does not exist in the spoken language. What is proper punctuation depends on style guides. Style guides differ. Most style guides recommend separating independent clauses by punctuation. If you are writing for the New York Times and its style guide demands punctuation that offends your sense of style, rewrite the sentence so both guide and style agree. “In the morning, he drives to work while his children take the bus to school.” Problem solved. | |
| Oct 28, 2020 at 15:23 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | Take a really simple example, such as Now I speak and you listen. Some people sometimes might include a comma before and (just as some people would articulate a pause at that point in the spoken version). But it's entirely a stylistic choice, nothing to do with "grammatical rules". Besides which the general trend is towards less punctuation everywhere, so if you just follow your natural (Russian) inclinations you'll be ahead of the curve. Note that to all intents and purposes, the only reason for a comma is to reflect a pause in speech All else is pedantic trivia. | |
| Oct 28, 2020 at 15:05 | history | asked | Sergey Zolotarev | CC BY-SA 4.0 |