English majors or teachers?

Question

When you start a sentence with two dependent clauses, how do you punctuate them?

dependen clause (dc) independent clause (ic)

e.g. When I go to the mall(dc) if i see it(dc) i will buy it for you(ic)

As we gathered around the coach(dc) after we scored the touchdown(dc) we began to feel more confident(ic)

Answer 1

The rule is simple but often hard to apply as you must pay very close attention to what you are writing, to apply the rule correctly, every time.Here is the rule: It does not matter how you begin. You may begin with an interrupter, a dependent clause or an independent clause. Before you insert a comma, however, you must check to see whether there is already a conjunction present. If conjunction is present, you must check to see if what follows is a phrase or a clause. If it is a phrase, and you have begun with something other than an independent clause, and if the phrase begins with a preposition, you need to follow can either separate the phrase from the clause with a comma or join it with a conjunction. Sometimes, because of your style, the conjunction may appear at the beginning of the sentence rather than the middle, where it should be. That is what happens, for instance, in the sentence you have given about the coach and the touchdown. The conjunction that begins the sentence is "As". So, here, you do not need a comma after "coach" because the preposition "after" acts as a conjunction. But you do need a conjunction after "touchdown". That conjunction SHOULD have been the "As" at the beginning of the sentence. However, since "as" is at the beginning of the sentence, you need to indicate where the subordinate clause ends by inserting a comma after "touchdown". BUT you would need no comma in the entire sentence if you were to write, instead: We began to feel more confident as we gathered around the coach after we scored the touchdown."

Answer 2

When two dependent clauses are joined together, no comma is necessary between them.. only after the last one.

So it would be correct to say:
If I see it when I go to the mall, I will buy it for you. (I rearranged this to make more sense, but it is still two dependent clauses).

As we gathered around the coach after we scored the touchdown, we began to feel more confident.

Although, keep in mind that there are better ways to organize both of these sentences.

Answer 3

"When I go to the mall, when I see it, I will buy it for you."

"As we gathered around the coach after we scored the touchdown, we began to feel more confident."

A comma indicates a pause in spoken language; therefore, if you say the sentence aloud, it will be easier to know where to place the comma. This will also help you make decisions about how and when to use other punctuation marks.

Answer 4

if i see it at the mall i will bu it for you

its better to say it that way than with punctuation

after we scored the touchdown; we gathered around the coach and began to feel more confident.