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)
2007-01-20 02:14:16 · 6 answers · asked by Dan L 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
i would say commas, im a student myself and average at grammer but commas look right to me and i don't believe you always use the same punctuation marks.
2007-01-20 02:18:40 · answer #1 · answered by berkolli05 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ignore the second answer because it's wrong. simply incorrect. I am an English teacher so I have some limited authority here!
If you say it out loud and it sounds right it is. That's the best test!
so, for your first one - a comma is not neccessary. A better way to say it would be:
"When I go to the mall i'll get it for you if i see something like it."
That way is less awkward. And it's not an American bastardised form of the English language as your two sentences are. That's why you're having trouble!
The second one's better form / structure would be:
We gathered around the coach after we scored a touchdown. With his input we felt a lot more confident"
If you must use the structure you've quoted (and I can see no reason or situation where you would, quite frankly), it would be better like this:
"As we gathered around the coach after we scored the touchdown, we began to feel more confident".
hope this helps!
2007-01-20 10:54:45 · answer #2 · answered by jarrah_fortytwo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The previous answerer has re-worded the sentence. That is not what you are wanting, is it? You just want to know where to place the comma in the sentence as it is.
The placement of the comma all depends on how the meaning can be facilitated.
With the two sentences you have given:
Put a comma after 'mall'.
Put a comma after 'touchdown'
.
2007-01-21 06:36:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but why would you WANT to start a sentence with two dependent clauses? It's weak structurally... If this a question given by another teacher, the dc's would require a comma and thew ic's would obviously end with a period.
2007-01-20 10:18:58 · answer #4 · answered by jake78745 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As we gathered around the coach, after we scored the touchdown, we began to feel more confident.
If you take the phrase in quotes out, the sentence is still complete. thats how you know
2007-01-20 10:18:48 · answer #5 · answered by bwassinger 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I go to the mall, if i see it, i will buy it for you.
As we gathered around the coach, after we HAD scored the touchdown we began to feel more confident.
2007-01-24 10:06:18 · answer #6 · answered by ocumancer™ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋