Clauses, Conjunctions, and Closing Comments on Commas
Clauses
Independent Clauses (IC)
- An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and
verb and expresses a complete thought.
- They can live on their own.
- An independent clause is a
sentence.
Jim
studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.
Dependent
Clauses (DC)
- A dependent clause is a group of words
that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought.
- They rely on the rest of the sentence for meaning.
- A dependent clause cannot be a sentence.
- They often depend on a dependent marker word for connection to the
IC.
- Another clue you have a DC is the presence of a subordinating conjunction
(because, since) or relative pronoun (who, when)—see below,
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his
chemistry quiz . . . (What
happened when he studied? The thought is incomplete.)
BONUS TIP!!
Dependent Marker Word
A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an
independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause.
When Jim
studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, it was very noisy.
Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as
if, because, before, even if, even
though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether,
and while.
Connecting dependent and independent
clauses is commonly done with . . .
Conjunctions
Goggle defines conjunction as, “a word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in
the same clause (e.g., and, but, if)”
Coordinating
·
These join equivalent
structures, including any part of speech, phrases, and clauses.
·
FANBOYS! is
an acronym to help remember the most common conjunctions. Jot down your
answers. The solution to this acronym is at the end of this section.
Correlative
These also join equivalent
structures, and they come in pairs: both… and, not only… but also
Subordinating
·
These introduce adverb clauses
(dependent clauses) and signal the relationship between the adverb clause and
(usually) an independent clause.
·
They include words like since, because,
once, and although.
Subordinating conjunctions begin dependent clauses. Dependent
clauses can tell us whether we need a comma.
· Does it come before the
independent clause in the sentence? If yes, you need a comma! (e.g. “Because
Jess likes cats, we stopped to pet the kitten.”)
· Does it come after the independent
clause instead? If yes, you DON’T need a comma. (e.g. “We stopped to pet the
kitten because Jess likes cats.”)
When one of these subordinating conjunctions is used right
before an independent clause, it makes the clause DEPENDENT instead.
A dependent clause cannot stand along as its own sentence;
it must be used with an independent clause.
· If the DEPENDENT comes first,
separate it from the independent with a comma.
· If the INDEPENDENT clause comes
first, no comma is needed before the dependent.
Think of the dependent
clause as a child stepping into the street.
· If the child (the dependent) is in
the street first, you’d ask, “Where is that kid’s parent?” It would give you pause. So give it a comma.
· If the parent steps out first and
leads the child along, it doesn’t give
you pause at all. You leave out the comma.
BONUS! Conjunctive adverbs
·
These connect independent
clauses and frequently act as transitions. Think of them as coordinating
conjunctions with super powers.
·
They include words like however,
similarly, therefore, and finally.
My advice with conjunctive adverbs is to rewrite
your sentence or paragraph and eliminate the need for these terms as often as
you can.
Remember:
FANBOYS!
For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Closing Comments on Commas
You need a comma in all the
following situations. Thanks to OWL from Perdue University for some of this
information. Here’s a link for a more detailed look at comma abuse.
IC, IC (remember the conjunction)
DC, IC (ONLY if the DC comes first)
After an Introductory Phrase: In the
beginning, God
created . . .
Between items in a Series of items:
…lions, tigers, and bears…
Some examples need more than the above shorthand to clear up.
Coordinate adjectives: Can alternate positions
without changing the meaning of the sentence. He was a difficult, stubborn child. http://www.chompchomp.com/handouts/commatip06.pdf
Non-restrictive clause: A non-restrictive clause is
a clause which
is not needed to identify the word it modifies, i.e., it is just additional
information. As a non-restrictive clause is not essential to the meaning of a
sentence, it is offset with commas. For example: Peter Jones , who plays goalkeeper for our village football
team, has worked at his
father's greengrocers for twenty years.
(http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/non-restrictive_clauses.htm)
Appositive phrase: A noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it.
The appositive can be a short or long combination of words. The insect, a
cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table. It renames insect. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/appositive.htm
Parenthetical phrase: Can use parentheses,
commas, dashes or brackets to
include nonessential information. "The three boys, Bob, James and Joey, went out to get some ice cream. https://www.reference.com/education/example-parenthetical-phrase-c1c24aadb333348f
Participial phrase: Always function as adjectives, adding
description to the sentence. The horse trotting
up to the fence hopes that you have an apple or carrot. Trotting up to the fence modifies
the noun horse. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/participlephrase.htm
Contrasting
element: Sometimes you will want to emphasize two strongly contrasting
ideas or points by inserting a comma between them: We should remember the lessons we've
learned, not regret the time we spent on a pirate ship learning them. http://www.crosswaterfarm.com/commas/ce.html
Transitional phrase: These are very important. Important enough for a graphic.
 |
http://www.smart-words.org/linking-words/transition-words.png
|
Ultimately, use commas for
**CLARITY** (…within reason)
A good motto for commas is:
When it doubt, leave it out.
Next Day in the Life of a Science Fiction Writer:
Follow me on Twitter: @CRDowningAuthor
E-mail: crd.author@gmail.com
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