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Comma before because

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Latest post Tue, Oct 13 2009 2:49 AM by Grammar Geek. 27 replies.
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Guest  +  54081 Sun, 07 Nov 04 10:52 PM

I am trying to find a worksheet or just some examples that will demonstrate to my students when they should put a comma before the word "because", and why in most instances there isn't a comma before "because".
thanks
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Mister Micawber  +  54095 Mon, 08 Nov 04 12:47 AM

I couldn't find quite what you are looking for, specific to 'because'. Here is a good basic introduction to COMMAS, and if you google the word, you'll find a lot of sites with more information and examples.

'Because' normally introduces a dependent clause, and dependent clauses are normally restrictive, hence taking no comma. When sentences and their clauses get too long, however, a comma may be necessary for clarity.

Hope this helps.

Mister Micawber
Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004
Yokohama
Veteran Member 30,840
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'
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Related discussions
Anonymous, 4 yr 44 days ago

Hello there!

I came across the following example on the internet, which neatly demonstrates why you often need to think about the contents of your statement before you decide:

I knew that President Nixon would resign that morning because my sister worked in the White House and she called me with the news.

Without the comma, the sentence might suggest that President Nixon resigned because my sister worked in the White House.

CalifJim  +  148220 Sun, 16 Oct 05 12:40 AM
Yes, yes.  Of course we need to think about what we are saying and about what we might accidentally be saying in any given written passage.  And we must insure that unintended meanings are avoided.

On the other hand, we must assume at least a little intelligence and common sense in the reader.
No reasonable person would ever think Nixon was going to resign because someone's sister worked in the White House, for heaven's sake!  Smile [:)]

(Nevertheless, I do agree that the comma helps in this case.)

CJ
CalifJim
Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004
California
Veteran Member 22,465
"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche
Anonymous, 3 yr 301 days ago
Maybe you should find a worksheet or some examples that will demonstrate that you should always include commas and periods inside quotation marks.
Anonymous, 3 yr 290 days ago

Your comment "you often need to think about the contents of your statement" is VERY accurate, and your internet resource has given an excellent example of who people don't think about the contents. The resource has considered the wrong aspect of this sentence. It's these inappropriate examples that cause so much confusion when punctuating. The consideration here is the 'subject' of the sentence.

The reason a comma is not used before "because" is because the subject of this sentence is "I knew", not "President Nixon would resign that morning"

To explain ...

What this sentence is really saying is I knew that 'insert information' because my sister worked in the White House, and she called me with the news. You can clearly see in this case that you would not place a comma before "because." However, in both cases there should be a comma after house as she called me with the news is an independent clause.

The very use of "because" dictates that the following clause will be sub-ordinated in every case, and sub-ordinated clauses are not separated by commas.

I hope I have explained this well enough to clarify your confusion. In short, never use a comma before because*.

**Disclaimer* unless the writer is being 'creative' and knows the rules he/she is breaking

Anonymous, 3 yr 290 days ago
The worksheets you should be looking for are ones dealing with 'Subordinating Conjunctions' ('because' is a subordinating conjunctions)
Anonymous, 3 yr 146 days ago
I'm sure your intended recipient is delighted to be assisted in such a charming and generous manner. To the point, one shouldn't 'always include commas and periods inside quotation marks'. That only applies to American English. British English, for one, places punctuation outside the quotation marks (single in the first instance and often called inverted commas or speech marks) unless the punctuation applies to the quoted material.
Anonymous, 3 yr 41 days ago
wow that nixon thing, it's a GRRREAATTT sentence, it really helped me understand!!! thx Smile [:)] Hmm [^o)] Yes [Y]
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