However it may sound, this is exactly the case with this “rather mobile” punctuation mark. Before one and the same conjunction, a comma may or may not appear – and this is quite a common situation in our language. Before what do we put a comma? – let’s demonstrate this with a few examples:
Do we put a comma before a?
- I bought a coffee and then went to gambling database the park – a comma is unnecessary before a , because it acts as a connector in the coordinate sentence.
- I wanted to leave the house, but it started raining ” – a should be put before a , because it appears in the opposite coordinate sentence.
- The lecture was short and accessible – here the a serves as a connecting word in a single sentence.
The situation is similar with the conjunction ani . In the sentence: He did not write nor call – a comma is unnecessary before ani , but in another example: He did not buy neither butter nor bread – the punctuation mark is necessary because it appears before the repeated conjunction.
So do we put a comma before?
- He forgot his notebook, so he there is a very practical and simple way to do wrote on a piece of paper – so it appears here as a resultative conjunction connecting the coordinate sentences.
- He forgot his notebook. So he had to write on a piece of paper – in simple sentences there is no need to add a comma before so .
Do we put commas before how?
- He did it the way I wanted him to. / He didn’t say how he did it – we are dealing here with subordinate clauses, in such cases commas appear before how to separate the component clauses.
- Do it as you always do – this marketing list expression is a comparative construction and does not require separation. Before like a comma is unnecessary in this situation.
- In the forest there are trees such as pines, spruces and oaks – here we are dealing with a certain linguistic nuance: in this situation we can put a comma before an expression such as , because a longer enumeration requires a pause.
Is a comma necessary or not after the salutation with expressions of respect ?
Many difficulties arise from polite expressions used in official letters. These include phrases such as: with respect, with respect . A comma is unnecessary in these cases, because it results from the structure of the text, not from the rules of punctuation.