comma before 'as' [conjunction]: scientific papers, as psychologists

6

6kwar

Member
Hebrew
Hi

I am really working hard on the small things to improve my grammar, but there are always small things that I can't understand. This is why I love this forum.

I pretty much understand the use of comma, but I see a lot of new usages that I don't get.

This term would later appear in thousands of scientific papers, as psychologists came to understand the usefulness of ego depletion for explaining a wide assortment of behaviors.
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The first part is the main clause and second part is the subordinate clause. The word "as" is a subordinate conjunction.

According to the Website The Subordinate Clause, I can only use a comma when the subordinate clause is first. (<- like this sentence).

In the other way around, you don't need to add a comma.

main clause + Ø + subordinate clause.

So why the author used a comma if the main clause is in the beginning?

Thank you.
 
    • Personally, I stick a comma in whenever I feel that it is going to clarify the meaning of my sentences. Rules are made to be broken; just don't overdo it. In the case of your example sentence:

    "This term would later appear <in thousands of scientific papers> <as psychologists came to understand> <the usefulness of ego depletion for explaining> <a wide assortment of behaviours>".

    According to a strict interpretation of your rule, no punctuation is required in this sentence. I suspect that the author wasn't aware of the "rule", and just thought that a comma would help his readers to understand its complex structure.
     
    You don't need to add a comma in many cases, whether before or after the main clause. There are no rules about it, however. Use a comma when you pause (or more accurately, when your voice drops) at that point - or when it makes it easier to read. I'm not going to look at that website, but I'm going to advise you never to look at it again either.
     
    Modern English uses the comma much less than a couple of centuries ago, and therefore it has more meaning when it is used.

    Ignore the rules. I'm sure I would put a comma in "I can only use a comma when the subordinate clause is first, according to the Website The Subordinate Clause." So that's another one that I can add to my list of rules-I've-managed-all-my-life-without-learning.
     
    I try to follow the exact rules, but every time I see an error, it throws me out of balance because I don't know who is wrong, the author or I.

    Thank you for your quick help.
     
    Try saying this sentence without pausing for breath:

    "This term would later appear in thousands of scientific papers as psychologists came to understand the usefulness of ego depletion for explaining a wide assortment of behaviors."

    It's difficult and unnatural. A speaker would pause somewhere in the sentence to break it up. The most natural place for this comma is between the two clauses (i.e., after "papers"). In speech I might also pause after "depletion", just because this subordinate clause is quite long, but I would not replicate this comma in writing.
     
    The comma in the quoted sentence is neither "right" nor "wrong". I'd use a comma there, as the author did, simply because it's a long and relatively complex sentence, and the pause eases reading.
     
    6kwar said:
    According to the Website The Subordinate Clause, I can only use a comma when the subordinate clause is first. (<- like this sentence).
    Click to expand...
    The article "The Subordinate Clause" on the website "Grammar Bytes" at "www.chompchomp.com" says (red emphasis added by me):
    When you attach a subordinate clause at the end of a main clause, you will generally use no punctuation, like this:
    Click to expand...
    It doesn't say you can't use a comma, but that, in the general case, you don't need a comma.
     
    6kwar said:
    Hi

    I am really working hard on the small things to improve my grammar, but there are always small things that I can't understand. This is why I love this forum.

    I pretty much understand the use of comma, but I see a lot of new usages that I don't get.




    The first part is the main clause and second part is the subordinate clause. The word "as" is a subordinate conjunction.

    According to the Website The Subordinate Clause, I can only use a comma when the subordinate clause is first. (<- like this sentence).

    In the other way around, you don't need to add a comma.

    main clause + Ø + subordinate clause.

    So why the author used a comma if the main clause is in the beginning?

    Thank you.
    Click to expand...

    Hi, I would like to add my 2 cents on the comma argument.

    There are two rules in my opinion that are essential about the use of comma. The firs rule is to always separate two independent clauses with a comma and a conjunction, otherwise it would read totally wrong.

    For example:

    You like this, and your mother don't.

    Try to delete the comma and see what happens ;)

    Another very important rule is to never use the comma to separate the subject and the verb, for example:

    This treatment, should presumably be safe. This is wrong.

    This treatment should presumably be safe. Correct.
     
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