As in Russian, English punctuation uses a comma. However, the rules for setting this punctuation mark differ from those in Russian. It is needed to prevent something like this from happening:

(Let's eat grandpa. - Let's eat, grandpa.)

1) A comma is used when listing homogeneous members offers:

I bought 1 kilo of apples, 2 tomatoes, 1 steak and 3 bags of crisps.
I bought 1 kilo of apples, 2 tomatoes, 1 steak and 3 packs of chips.

However, if different properties of an object are listed, then a comma is not needed:

She bought an expensive big red sofa.
She bought an expensive big red sofa.

2) Commas highlight words such as however, moreover, for example, as a matter of fact, in other words at the beginning or middle of a sentence:

Apples are delicious. Moreover, they contain lots of vitamins.

Apples are delicious. Moreover, they contain many vitamins.

3) A comma is placed before words and, but, or, nor, so And yet to separate simple sentences within a compound sentence:

He is kind boy, but he is a bit greedy.
He's a good boy, but a little greedy.

4) Dates at the beginning of the sentence are set off with commas:

On May 2, 2016, he first came to London.
On May 2, 2016, he came to London for the first time.

5) Commas highlight introductory constructions and phrases:

As for me, I don’t think it’s a good idea.
As for me, I don't think this is a good idea.

6) Also, introductory constructions that contain a participle or gerund are highlighted with a comma:

Extremely tired, he fell asleep immediately.
Extremely tired, he immediately fell asleep.

7) The comma is used in sentences where there is direct speech:

“I’ll come tomorrow”, he promised.
“I’ll come tomorrow,” he promised.

8) Also, a comma will highlight the address:

John, where were you last night?
John, where were you last night?

9) Commas highlight non-defining relative clauses ( non-defining relative clause s– the part of the sentence separated by commas can be omitted without loss of meaning):

My sister Julie, who is 26, likes ice-cream.
My sister Julie, who is 26 years old, loves ice cream.

However, if the relative clause is determining ( defining relative clause– we cannot omit this part of the sentence without losing the meaning), then the comma is not placed:

A spoon is a tool that we use to eat.
A spoon is a tool we use to eat.

10) The comma is not used in complex sentences with words when, unless, before, if, since, after, until, as soon as:

I'll call you as soon as a get home.
I'll call you as soon as I get home.

11) A comma is also not used in complex sentences before a word that:

Peter suddenly realized that he had forgotten his umbrella at home.
Peter suddenly realized that he had forgotten his umbrella at home.

12) In conditional sentences, a comma is placed only if the sentence begins with if:

If she comes, we'll go to the cinema.
If she comes, we will go to the cinema.

However, if the sentence begins with the main part, then the comma is not used:

We'll go to the cinema if she comes.
We'll go to the cinema if she comes.

Commas help us, first of all, to correctly understand the meaning of what is written.

For example, take these sentences:

If you cook Lisa will wash the dishes.

While we were eating a rattlesnake approached our campsite.

Place a comma after cook And eating, and no one cooks Lisa anymore ( cook Lisa), and no one eats rattlesnake (eating a rattlesnake).

Logic for placing commas in English language radically different from what is generally accepted among us.

The comma is often used to separate simple sentences as part of a complex sentence, but is almost never used to separate simple sentences within complex sentences.

1. You should use a comma to separate simple sentences in a compound before : and, but, or, nor, so, And yet:
   

   Nearly everyone has heard of love at first sight, but I fell in love at first dance.

   There is no need to use a comma if the simple sentences in the complex sentence are short:

   John came and we set off.

2. Use a comma after any introductory phrase that says when or where the action took place. Such phrases represent time or place, and in Russian there is no comma after them.
   

   That bleak December night of 1999, I learned the secret of their house.

   Near the old oak just in the middle of the glade, we found a big mushroom.

   Don't use a comma if the phrase is short:

   In December I learned the secret of their house.

   Near the old oak we found a big mushroom.

3. A comma is needed even after a short introductory phrase if it contains a gerund ( partial).
   

   Thinking about all the problems, he could not fall asleep.

   Puzzled, he stared at her.

4. Use a comma when there are homogeneous members or enumerations in the sentence:
   

   My uncle willed me all his property, houses, and warehouses.

   Please note that, unlike the Russian language, in English there is a comma before the conjunction “and” ( and). Sometimes this comma may be especially necessary to avoid misunderstandings. If, for example, in the above sentence we delete the comma after the word houses, it will change the meaning. It turns out that my uncle willed me his property, consisting of houses and warehouses.

5. When separating homogeneous ones with a comma, the same rule applies as in the Russian language - only those definitions that describe the same property should be separated. For example, such a property could be character:
   

   Mother has become a strong, confident, independent woman.

   And here is an example where all definitions describe different properties, namely: impression, size, color:

   The frightening large gray shapes moved slowly towards us.

6. Do not separate phrases that narrow the meaning of your sentence with commas ( restrictive elements or closes). Usually such phrases cannot be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. For example:
   

   Although the dessert made with fresh strawberries was delicious, the dessert made with cream was too sweet.

   In this sentence we cannot remove phrases made with fresh strawberries And made with cream, therefore, they should not be separated with commas.

   One corner of the attic was filled with newspapers.

   If we remove the phrase dating from the turn of the century, the meaning of the sentence will turn out to be broader than we need (there were simply some newspapers in the attic, and not those that were published at the beginning of the century), which means there is no need to highlight the phrase with commas.

7. Separate qualifying phrases with commas ( non-restrictive closes or elements), which do not narrow the meaning of the sentence and can be deleted without changing its meaning:
   

   For camp the children needed sturdy shoes, which were expensive.

   In this case, clarification which was expensive(which is expensive) can be removed without losing the meaning of the sentence.

8. The following expressions are separated by commas: however, moreover, for example, as a matter of fact, in other words etc.
9. Separate introductory phrases with commas:
   

   Evolution, so far as we know, does not work this way.

10. at the beginning of the sentence they are also separated by a comma:
    

    On April 12, 1994, I came to visit him.

11. Use commas in direct speech sentences:
    

    I said, “It's quite strange.”

    “Unlike you,” she said, “I love ballet.”

    “Please!” she cried. “Stop it!”

    Pay attention to the use of not only commas, but also other punctuation marks in direct speech, as well as how the formatting of direct speech in English differs from its formatting in Russian.

12. Do not separate complex sentences with a conjunction with a comma that:
    

    He right away noticed that she was in a hurry.

13. Be careful! Union and can separate two complex sentences with a conjunction that, you shouldn’t separate them with commas either:
    

    Jane still does not know that he came yesterday and that he is preparing a surprise party for her.

14. Do not separate simple sentences that begin with the words: after, as soon as, before, if, since, unless, until, when. More often than not, these simple sentences are the ones without which your complex sentence would change its meaning completely. From paragraph 6 we already know that such simple sentences cannot be separated with commas as part of a complex one:
    

    Don't visit Paris at the height of the tourist season unless you have booked hotel reservations.

At levels upper-intermediate And advanced When language learners' vocabulary is quite rich and serves to express more complex ideas, correct punctuation becomes essential. Without it, it is impossible to write a good essay, annotation, business letter, article, term paper or thesis. If you often have to express your thoughts in writing or you are going to study abroad, get a reference book ( A Writer's Reference). There are now a lot of such books by different authors. As a rule, they pay attention to editing, typical grammatical and spelling errors. The best option there will be a reference book aimed not at language learners, but at language speakers. I consider it necessary to mention here such an author as Diana Hacker. She has a very simple and understandable style of presentation, and her “ A Writer's Reference” has been my reference book for several years. Some examples in the article are taken from this book.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

The comma in the English language is the most common and, therefore, the most difficult to write. It is in cases where the comma is used that there is greatest number various difficulties and questions, which is often determined by the author’s opinion, personal emotional perception and interpretation of a particular case and situation described in the text. A comma in English, unlike Russian, is not always placed to separate it from the main clause, while in Russian subordinate clauses are always separated by a comma.

When a comma is not used

Commas are not separated in English:

• subordinate subject / predicate / object:

It is important that she should be there on Wednesday.It's important that she be there on Wednesday.

My rule is that you should not drink.My condition is that you don't drink.

I insist that you call him soon.We insist that you call him quickly.

• subordinate clauses, where there is a circumstance when they come after the main clause:

She told her all when she went downstairs.She told her everything as she walked down the stairs.

I had to end my work earlier to aid mother.I had to finish work early to help my mother.

The police may take your car if you park it there.The police may confiscate your car if you park there.

The most typical situations of using a comma

The most typical situations of using a comma.

• The comma in English is always used when addressing.

Waiteress, I would like a menu, please.Waitress, bring menu, Please.

Father, there is no one here.Father, there is no one here.

• The comma in English is used to separate individual items of enumeration:

Purple, lily, red flowers filled several vases.The vases were filled with purple, lilac, and red flowers.

Notrose, went around the table, leaned down and took the little armchair.He stood up, walked around the table, bent down and took a small chair.

She laughs, drinks and speaks too much. He laughs, drinks and talks too much.

It should be remembered that in this case a comma before and can be used, but not necessarily.

• Used (but not necessarily) between 2 main clauses connected by conjunctions and / as / but / and others. The comma is used especially often in English when the first sentence is long:

He will affirm it, and I will help him with his problems. him with his problems.

They stopped to look at each other, and she asked about this hard day.They stopped to look at each other and she asked about this difficult day.

The crowd was stupefied, as the clown tried to entertain with his jokes.The crowd was mesmerized as the clown tried to entertain with his jokes.

• Used after circumstances in subordinate clauses coming before the main clause:

When she went downstairs, she told him that Selena had already come.When she went downstairs, she told him that Selena had already arrived.

To support my sister, he had to leave Moscow.To help my sister, he had to leave Moscow.

Having called Sara, she quickly went to the station.After calling Sarah, she quickly drove to the station.

When in doubt, you should come to see me.When in doubt, come to me.

If you park the car there, the police will seize it.If you park your car there, the police will confiscate it.

• Used after any part of a sentence where there is additional information about the subject:

The waiter, who was old, told that he knew me. .

Subtleties of use

The strict principle of the English language is that the use of a comma between the subject (several subjects) and the predicate is prohibited. This case represents one of the few situations where a comma can be used, but keep in mind that only additional information is underlined by a comma, and on both sides:

The girl who was so pretty, assured that he saw me. / The girl, who was so pretty assuared that he saw me. — Both sentences are incorrect. No second comma .

The girl, who was so pretty, assured that he saw me - Right.

The man, who aided me that night, told that he recognized me.The man who helped me that night said he recognized me. — Incorrect, there is no additional information about the subject here, but only an explanation, no commas are required.

Right : The man who aided me that night told that he recognized me.

The strike at the nuclear plant, which lasted theree days, is already over. — D Additional data is separated by commas, as there is additional information. Strike on nuclear factory, lasted three day, finished.

The woman with whom Tom was in love left him after five years. - P clarification, no commas required . Woman, V which Volume was in love, left his later five years.

The manson, which was empty for three years, has been sold out.The mansion, which had been empty for three years, was sold.

The girl whom I desired to meet was away on vacations.The girl I wanted to meet went on vacation.

Apostrophe

An apostrophe, or in common parlance a comma (in English it is placed at the top) goes together with the letter s in all cases of using the possessive case, except plural objects and things, is formed according to the standard rule (then the apostrophe goes without s):

father's look;

the princess's ring;

men's gloves (man-men);

students" tasks.

Note:

The comma in English is on top when forming the possessive case of proper names ending with a letter -s, you can use both options:

King Charles's wife/ King Charles' wife.

Used in abbreviated forms to indicate missing letters or numbers:

I"m - I am;

he "s - he is / has;

"86 - 1986.

An apostrophe is placed together with the letter -s when forming the plural of letters, numbers or abbreviations (with numbers and in capital letters the apostrophe may be omitted):

In the 1970's /the 1970s;

VIP's / VIPs;

He could not distinguish his L's. He did not clearly pronounce the letter L.

Separation upon handling

The comma in English when addressed is used in the English dialect (in the American dialect a colon is used) when preparing business correspondence, as well as in simple everyday speech.

Dear Mr. Frendick, We have received your letter...

Used in official or business correspondence after the last phrases of the greeting, separating it from the surname and position (between which there is no punctuation):

Yours faithfully, / Yours sincerely, Ranason-.Ltd.A. Simpson Manager.

A comma is used in addresses on an envelope or in the upper zone of a letter (above the text), emphasizing the addressee's last name / organization name / address / (a ​​comma is not required between house numbers and street names):

Stephen P. Denny, 5678 Starling Avenue, Harlem, L.A. 10857.

Also used to separate explanatory words from direct speech if there is no other punctuation:

"How were you?" Nick asked. "He was ok," she replied. "Do you still hurt?" he asked. "No", she said, "not much." He said, "I am not aware."

Comma for introductory phrases and other words

There is no comma before because in English.

He can't get into the house because she had lost the keys.

Because he was strange, I broke up with him.Because he was strange, I broke up with him.

Comma in English after so, well, however, probably, certainly, naturally)

In fact, I had a little chance to do it.

Probably, Tom would come to Paris at 8 pm.

In the presence of those having a participle or gerund:

Heartbroken, he has gone to his cottage.Heartbroken, she went to the cottage.

Used before the word for , if it comes as a conjunction (secondary clauses joined by this conjunction extremely rarely go ahead of the main one):

I begged her to be there, for I had some information to tell her.I asked her to be there because I needed to tell her some information.

I Could tell about this woman, for I had seen him before.I could talk about this woman because I have seen her before.

Features of use

This is just a fraction of the rules that need to be used in everyday life. And this has always helped to be on top when communicating with educated people and, without hesitation, to make contact and discuss topics on forums.

In the English language, or more precisely, in the American dialect used in the United States, everything is much simpler. Americans do not pay as much attention to this grammatical issue as, for example, in Russian grammar.

The fact is that two different teachers can tell you different rules about the correct use of a comma in an English sentence, and both may be right. And all because in America there is no strict, organized system for using commas. But still, there are general rules by adhering to which a person can gain basic knowledge about English punctuation.

Conclusion

In standard English, the comma is a multifunctional punctuation mark, and its modern use is an example of not only transformations in the use of punctuation, but also how the entire target concept of what counts as a normative sentence in English is being modified. Until the very late XIX centuries, authors and writers used a semicolon where a single comma is now usually used, and a comma in cases where no punctuation is now required at all. Throughout the 20th century, dramatic changes have occurred in the punctuation rules of modern English.

Causes a lot of problems for almost everyone. This is due to the fact that in Russian, commas must be used very often, whereas in English the situation is somewhat different. In this article I will try to analyze point by point in which cases it is still necessary to put commas and other punctuation marks, and in which cases it is not. But first, I suggest you learn how basic punctuation marks are translated into English:

dot— full stop or period

comma- comma

semicolon- semi-colon

colon— colon

dash- hyphen

question mark-question mark

Exclamation point- exclamation mark

Punctuation in English

Now let's move on to the rules of comma placement, which help us better understand the structure and meaning of a sentence.

1. Commas are used when listing words of the same type:

His favorite colors are blue, green and white.

2. A comma is placed in a number starting with a thousand:

• 1,000 (one thousand)
• 1,769
• $74,050
• 9,000,000

3. A comma is placed before and after direct speech. In indirect speech - no.

• He said, " I want to help you.»
• « I want to help you"he said.
• He told her that he wanted to help her.

4 . A comma must be placed before but, so, and, nor, for, or, yet. But, if both parts of the sentence are short, then you don’t have to put it.

• They didn't want to go to the party, but they had to do it.
• My sister wants to work as an interpreter, so she is studying English at university.
• She is nice so everybody likes her.

5. Introductory sentences are separated by commas if their absence does not affect the meaning of the entire sentence.

Jensen, my sister’s husband, won’t be able to come.

6. Introductory words such as however, moreover, unfortunately, nevertheless, surprisingly etc. must be separated by commas on both sides.

Moreover, he was late for the lesson.

Today almost everyone learns English in one way or another - but not everyone, even after receiving higher education, can competently write a letter or essay on it. Most likely, the fact is that neither at school nor at university they often explain to us the most important things: how to put commas or quotation marks, how a phrase is structured, how to use specific grammatical phrases. Based on the course of Mt. San Jacinto College (California, USA) “Theories and Practices” has collected nine tips for Russian-speaking authors who want to learn to write in English.

Inflexible Order: How to Use Inversion in English

Translators fiction they say that English syntax almost always needs to be restructured: divided into parts, translated and rebuilt again without losing meaning - this time in Russian. All because English sentence has a strict structure - direct word order: subject, predicate, object. You can say: “I really think you’re right,” but you cannot put the predicate before the subject, as in Russian.

Nevertheless, inversion in English can still be found:

1) in the case of the phrases “there is” and “there are”: “There is a frog in your bed” (“There is a frog in your bed”);

2) after direct speech: “Punk is musical freedom,” said Kurt Cobain (“Punk is freedom in music,” said Kurt Cobain);

3) in sentences that begin with “here”: “Here is your tea, Hatter” (“Here is your tea, Hatter”);

4) in conditional sentences with verbs “was”, “were”, “had”, “could”, “should”: “Had I thought better, I wouldn’t marry her” (“If I thought better, I would did not marry her");

5) in complex sentences that begin with the words “hardly”, “scarcely”, “no sooner”, “never”, “nothing”, “not only”: “Never had I seen such a terrible sofa” (“I’m in I have never seen such a terrible sofa in my life");

7) emphatic inversion is also used within the framework of the phrase “It is / was... that / who / whom”: “It was me who found her lover in a wardrobe”: “It was I who found her lover in the closet”).

Qualifying clause: how to put a comma before “which” and “that”

Among the types of subordinate clauses in English there are the so-called Adjective Subordinate Clauses, which define the characteristics of a noun and begin with the recognizable relative pronouns “who”, “whom”, “that”, “which”, “whose”, “when” " and "where". A clause can be restrictive or non-restrictive. The first reduces all possible characteristics of a noun to one, the most important, and the second simply notes one of the many properties of an object or subject. To understand how such clauses work, you can compare two phrases:

1) “Mary Jane fell in love with a guy who was wearing a strange red and blue costume. It was Spider-Man" (“Mary Jane fell in love with a guy dressed in a strange red and blue suit. It was Spider-Man”). This is a restrictive clause, since it is the strange suit in this case that distinguishes the above-mentioned guy from all the other guys in the city.

2) “Mary Jane fell in love with a guy who was wearing a strange red and blue costume, which was wet. It was Spider-Man" (“Mary Jane fell in love with a guy dressed in a strange red and blue suit that was all wet. It was Spider-Man”). This is a non-restrictive clause, since the author is simply adding an additional characteristic to the description of the costume.

Why do you need to know all this? The fact is that a non-restrictive clause requires a comma, but a restrictive clause does not. Most often, the word “which” indicates the presence of a non-restrictive clause, and the word “that” - the presence of a restrictive one. That is, before “which” a comma is most often needed, but before “that” - most often not.

Inverted clause: why a comma is not needed before “because”, but after it is necessary

Another type of subordinate clauses in English is called adverb subordinate clauses. They define the characteristics of a verb and describe how, when, why, where and under what conditions something happens or someone does something.

Subordinate adverbial clauses can be recognized by subordinating conjunctions

as, because, since, though, although, even, even if, if, unless, when, whenever, while, rather than, in order that, so that, before, once, after, until.

Adverbial clauses require a comma only if they precede the main clause. Compare:

1) “Because he was a freak, I broke up with him” (“Because he was a freak, I broke up with him”). You need to put a comma here.

2) “I broke up with him because he was a freak” (“I broke up with him because he was a freak”). There is no need to put a comma here.

Authors often move the adverbial clause to the beginning of the sentence to add emphasis or clarify their position. However, there are exceptions to this punctuation rule: if subordinate clause located after the main thing, but at the same time contrasts with it or contradicts it, a comma must still be inserted:

“Thor saved the planet again, whereas his brother Loki tried to master it and destroyed New York.”

Thinking like a Foreigner: How to Use Absolute Speech

One of the mistakes that can be made in the process of learning English is to try to understand its grammar at the expense of knowledge about Russian grammar. When learning a new language, you should not often compare it with your native one, even if they belong to the same language group (which cannot be said about Russian and English: the first is part of the East Slavic subgroup, and the second is in the West Germanic subgroup), squeezing foreign grammar into a familiar scheme or translating phrases by words without changing the construction of the phrase.

To sound more authentic, you need to get used to using English grammatical forms right away. For example, an absolute phrase would be suitable - Absolute Phrase. By the way, a phrase in English is a construction in which there is no subject and predicate; a subordinate clause (clause) is a subordinate clause subordinate to the main one, and a sentence (sentence) is an independent simple or complex sentence.

Absolute turnover cannot be translated into Russian literally. “His feet rooted to the spot, Lestrade waited for Holmes to give him a sign”: “Lestrade stood rooted to the spot and waited for Holmes to give him a sign.” Nevertheless, it is convenient to use this technique in speech and writing. An absolute phrase must contain at least a noun and a participle. It can be built on the basis of one of two forms of participle: -ing (Present Participle - present participle) or -ed (Past Participle - past participle). The absolute phrase is especially useful when the author is describing an object or situation that he observes up close.

Do this: verb as subject

A verb in English, as in Russian, can act as a subject, not only in the form of a gerund (“running”), but also in the form of an infinitive (“to run”). Contrary to school instincts that may tell us to always use the gerund, it is worth remembering that English grammar allows for the second option:

“To run a marathon has always been his dream, although he has been born in a tiny mountain village where there are no level roads”: “He always dreamed of running a marathon, although he was born in a small mountain village where there are no level roads.”

Separator: How to Use a Semicolon

In Russian, commas often serve as grammatical or even intonation separators. But in English this is a mistake. In the sentence “I saw a sad man sitting next to the window, it was Jim Carrey” (“I saw a sad man sitting at the window, it was Jim Carrey”) the punctuation mark is incorrect. Here you need to put not a comma, but a semicolon: “I saw a sad man sitting next to the window; it was Jim Carrey."

The semicolon plays a big role in the English punctuation system - it is no coincidence that this sign is placed on one of the easily accessible keys of the Latin computer keyboard, while on the Cyrillic keyboard it is moved to the top, numeric line. A semicolon separates simple sentences into complex ones unless they are separated by a conjunction; nevertheless, even if a union is present, this sign can be placed. To understand whether you can use a semicolon, it is often enough to ask yourself whether you can put a period instead, dividing the sentence into two independent fragments: “I saw a sad man sitting next to the window. It was Jim Carrey" (“I saw a sad man sitting by the window. It was Jim Carrey”).

Crooked speech: how not to make a mistake with quotation marks

The format of direct speech in English differs from the Russian version. Here, the final punctuation mark in a remark - an exclamation mark, a question mark or a period - is placed inside, not outside, the quotation marks. "It was a real shame." (“It was really embarrassing.”)

In addition, in English there is no need to put a colon or dash before or after direct speech: here you can get by with a comma: “It was a real shame,” said Hulk.” will look similar: Hulk said, “It was a real shame.” (Hulk said, "It was really embarrassing.")

Oxford comma: serial comma

Oxford comma (Oxford comma), or Harvard comma (Harvard comma), is a comma that is placed before the conjunction in listings. It can be used if the list of objects contains three or more elements, before conjunctions and, or or nor. "Jason wanted to hit his boss on the head, kick the bejesus out of him, and hang them on a chandelier, but decided to say nothing." but he decided not to say anything").

Despite its name, the serial comma is more common in American English than in British English. Some authors from the UK advise using it only to avoid ambiguity, while American teachers sometimes insist on the mandatory use of such commas.

Interesting proposal: how to build a replica with different types of communication

In English, a sentence can be of four different types:

Simple sentence: subject and predicate;

Compound sentence: two independent simple sentences connected by a conjunction;

Complex sentence: main and subordinate clause connected by a conjunction;

Complex sentence with different types connections (compound-complex sentence): two independent simple sentences connected by a conjunction, one of which is joined by a subordinate clause:

“You could fly to Madrid, or you could go to London by rail since the tickets are so cheap.”

This scheme does not entirely agree with the structure of grammar familiar to a Russian-speaking person, but this is rather a plus: such facts, as a rule, help to switch to a foreign language system and begin to think within its framework. Complex sentences It is especially important to use different types of connections in writing also because they allow you to practice the placement of commas. After all, in an English compound sentence a comma is needed, but in a complex clause (if the subordinate clause is located after the main clause) it is not.

How to distinguish a complex sentence from a complex sentence? There is one trick. In American universities they call it the “FANBOYS list”. Conjunctions that indicate the equality of simple sentences within a complex sentence are easy to recognize:

If your sentence contains one of the representatives of FANBOYS, it is complex, and then you need to put a comma before the conjunction: “I saw a goose on the riverside, and it was very angry” (“On the river bank I saw a goose, and he was very angry ").

A complex sentence, when the subordinate clause in it follows the main one, does not require a comma: “I went away because the goose seemed to be dangerous.” It is worth remembering, however, that if the subordinate clause comes first, then a punctuation mark will need to be added: “Because the goose seemed to be angry, I went away” (“This goose seemed dangerous, and I left”).

Icons: 1), 3), 5), 7), 9) athanagore x, 2), 6) Marek Polakovic, 4) James Fenton, 8) Christian Wad, - from the Noun Project.