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A student asked me if it is correct to put a comma here in this question:

How can you determine, where the first one is and where the second is?

My instinct is that this is grammatically incorrect, and perhaps the correct sentence is:

How can you determine where the first one is, and where the second is?

Does anyone know which is right, and why?

1 Answer 1

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How can you determine where the first one is, and where the second is?

The comma before "and" is optional. It is a stylistic choice.

How can you determine, where the first one is and where the second is?

The comma before "where" is wrong. We don't use a comma to separate the verb from its direct object - so in the same way that there is no comma in "How can you determine the answer?", there's no comma in this sentence, either. The fact that the direct object consists of a subordinate clause makes no difference.

In non-restrictive relative clauses, "where" is usually preceded by a comma: "The Old Red Lion, where he had left his hat, was still open."

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