comma before 'and' [conjunction]: are volunteers and the firm uses

[郭巨路]

Hi all.

Is it ok to remove the comma from "The people who build the houses are volunteers, and the company uses donated materials and money to keep it going." ?

If the comma is removed, the sentence would read "The people who build the houses are volunteers and the company uses donated materials and money to keep it going."

Any difference between the two sentences above?

Thank you !

 

[Keith Bradford]

I think you should keep the comma. The two halves of the sentence are different enough for it to need a slight pause after volunteers.

 

[Myridon]

Someone reading the second sentence might read it as "volunteers and the company" and think "Volunteers and the company are building the houses" then the word "uses" arrives and confuses everything.

 

[peptidoglycan]

I think, because the two clauses coordinated by "and" are long, you should keep the comma.