Talk:Independent clause: Difference between revisions
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Grammarian required; term ill-defined and examples are in error |
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Wikipedia's <I>Strunk & White</I> entry includes this item in the list of "Elementary rules of usage": |
Wikipedia's <I>Strunk & White</I> entry includes this item in the list of "Elementary rules of usage": |
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<B>Do not join independent clauses by a comma.</B> |
<B>Do not join independent clauses by a comma.</B> S&W also tell us <B>Do not break sentences in two.</B> |
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The original examples did precisely that: |
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The information presented on the <I>Independent clause</I> entry contradicts S&W's advice. I'm nigh useless at grammar and punctuation, though, and literally have no idea whether S&W's advice still stands in the modern age. |
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*I am a bus driver. (simple sentence) |
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*I drive a bus. (simple sentence) |
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*I am a bus driver, and I drive a bus. (compound sentence) |
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*I want to be an astronaut, but I haven't gotten my diploma. (compound sentence) |
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*I am a bus driver, but I want to be an astronaut. (compound sentence) |
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*Go to the store, and get me a copy of [[Planetside|Planetside]]. (compound sentence) (Though a subject is not visible, in [[English language|English]] the subject of an [[Grammatical mood#Imperative Mood|imperative]] is considered to be the [[pronoun]] 'you') |
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The <U>correct</U> examples are properly written as thus: |
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*I am a bus driver. (simple sentence) |
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*I drive a bus. (simple sentence) |
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*I am a bus driver and drive a bus. (compound sentence) |
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*I want to be an astronaut but I haven't gotten my diploma. (compound sentence) |
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*I am a bus driver but I want to be an astronaut. (compound sentence) |
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*Go to the store and get me a copy of [[Planetside|Planetside]]. (compound sentence) (Though a subject is not visible, in [[English language|English]] the subject of an [[Grammatical mood#Imperative Mood|imperative]] is considered to be the [[pronoun]] 'you') |
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I am not at all confident that these are in fact real examples of Independent Clauses. I rather suspect the original author knows little more than I do... and if I knew what an Independent Clause is, I wouldn't have clicked onto this page in the first place! |
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Revision as of 06:07, 28 April 2006
Wikipedia's Strunk & White entry includes this item in the list of "Elementary rules of usage": Do not join independent clauses by a comma. S&W also tell us Do not break sentences in two.
The original examples did precisely that:
- I am a bus driver. (simple sentence)
- I drive a bus. (simple sentence)
- I am a bus driver, and I drive a bus. (compound sentence)
- I want to be an astronaut, but I haven't gotten my diploma. (compound sentence)
- I am a bus driver, but I want to be an astronaut. (compound sentence)
- Go to the store, and get me a copy of Planetside. (compound sentence) (Though a subject is not visible, in English the subject of an imperative is considered to be the pronoun 'you')
The correct examples are properly written as thus:
- I am a bus driver. (simple sentence)
- I drive a bus. (simple sentence)
- I am a bus driver and drive a bus. (compound sentence)
- I want to be an astronaut but I haven't gotten my diploma. (compound sentence)
- I am a bus driver but I want to be an astronaut. (compound sentence)
- Go to the store and get me a copy of Planetside. (compound sentence) (Though a subject is not visible, in English the subject of an imperative is considered to be the pronoun 'you')
I am not at all confident that these are in fact real examples of Independent Clauses. I rather suspect the original author knows little more than I do... and if I knew what an Independent Clause is, I wouldn't have clicked onto this page in the first place!