bhikkhu1991  +  532241 Wed, 25 Jun 08 11:11 AM Hello, Could you tell why the following words 'then' have no commas immediately after them? Are they not connective adverbs and why does Sentence B have no punctuation between independent clauses? Sentence A. Why don't you hire a car? Then you'll be able to visit more of the area. Sentence B. She's been very busy at work and then there was all that trouble with her son. (These two sentences are examples from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th edition.) Thank you. With best wishes. bhikkhu1991 Joined on Mon, Mar 31 2008 Full Member 116 Verbs, Clauses, Adverbs, Commas, Punctuation

	Mister Micawber  +  532346 Wed, 25 Jun 08 02:26 PM . Neither of the rules you suggest is absolute; both are merely guidelines.  Much depends on the writer, the publishing house's punctuation rules, the complexity of the sentence, and the variety of English. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,760 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Commas, Punctuation