Thanks for looking at the paragraph. I really appreciate your input. As for the independent clause issue, you are correct. I have found several grammar and style manuals that emphatically state that you must have a comma in that situation.

Unfortunately, I posted this topic without realizing that I was not logged in. Since anonymous posts have to be moderator approved, I have two threads going on this question. See also:

The passage in question is part of a disjointed narrative from a character passing in and out of consciousness. AP style would remove the commas that separate the bold phrases, but I'm torn. The commas, in this case, seem to convey a

I guess I'm starting from the assumption that when you join two independent clauses with a conjunction, you need a comma to separate them. I guess it boils down to this question. Is it a compound sentence with a conjunction (requiring a comma)

Davkett wrote: If the question, "What do you think of the president?" refers to a specific president of the United States, it would be written, "What do you think of the President?" Agreed. In that case, you would capitalize

Again, pardon the lack of sleep. I guess I'm having trouble with the underlying rule on this one. Isn't a clause with an implied subject still considered independent? I know this should have a comma: The doctor finished the shot, and

The context of the surrounding sentences would probably remove any ambiguity. Without it, I read it as some killers murder easily. That said, it could just as easily be read as some victims are murdered easily.

Thanks in advance for your help. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, but I'm over thinking commas in compound sentences where the second clause has an implied subject. Which is correct? a) The doctor finished the shot, and removed the

a) You do not capitalize government unless it appears as part of the name of a specific organization. b) President follows the same rules as other nouns functioning as personal names. You capitalize them when they function like names

MrPedantic wrote: Welcome to English Forums, Reaver! These seem fine to me: the participle clauses don't dangle, as their subjects match the subjects of the main clauses. And as cakes don't