Write On!

• Citation: Vol. 38 No. 2 Pg. 50
• Publication year: 2015
• Pages: 50
• Year: 2015

Write On! Vol. 38 No. 2 Pg. 50 Wyoming Bar Journal April, 2015

Michael R. Smith Professor of Law.

Director, Center for the Study of Written Advocacy University of Wyoming College of Law Laramie, Wyoming

Commas and Clauses

For something so small, the comma sure does cause a lot of trouble. In fact, the misuse of commas is one of the most prevalent problems in writing. In this edition of Write On, I address one very common area of comma confusion: the use of commas with dependent and independent clauses.

In grammatical terms, a clause is a group of related words that contains a subject and a verb. There are two types of clauses: independent (or main) clauses and dependent (or subordinate) clauses. An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence because it communicates a complete thought. A dependent clause also contains a subject and a verb, but it cannot stand alone as a sentence because it is introduced by a word that makes the clause an incomplete thought.^[1]

Commas and Dependent Clauses

If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, the writer should insert a comma after the dependent clause and before the main (independent) clause of the sentence. Consider these examples:

If we are unable to file the pleading by the deadline, we will have to request an extension.

Before the company can break ground on its new building, the bank must...