When a comma is put before "and", in which cases?

Union "and" is the most common in the Russian language. And although at first glance the punctuation rules associated with it seem very light, in fact it is not. It is far from always clear whether a comma is appropriate or not before this union, because there are many pitfalls, even if it is a syntactic unit of simple construction. So, when to put a comma before "and"? Let us consider this issue in detail.

Simple sentence. Situations when the comma is not relevant

When is a comma before "and" in simple sentences? The union "and" in the simple sentence is most often used to connect homogeneous members. And if there are only two, then they do not separate the comma. Here is an example: "In winter and in summer - one color".

In addition, the unions "and" can connect different groups of homogeneous members. And then, despite the repetition, this does not stand out in writing. For example: "In the house, under the decrepit and dirty table and sofa lay piles of garbage."

Still there are situations when two closely related homogeneous terms are connected by means of "and" to the third one - homogeneous grammatically, but carrying a different semantic load. In such sentences, a comma will be an error. Here is an example of such a design: "She crossed the threshold and entered the room and dressed laid down on the bed."

Simple sentence. Situations where a comma is appropriate

As noted above, in the simple type, the "and" union is used to link members that are homogeneous. So when is the comma before the "and"? Below - a number of such situations:

• A comma before "and" is required if this union is used several times and serves to connect three or more homogeneous members. For example: "And the mountains, and the forest, and the lawn with motley flowers reminded of the spring."
• The comma before the union "and" is put, if there is a division of a double union "like that", "when that", etc. For example: "She spoke quickly, enthusiastically, emotionally, and when she took breaks, she always could not catch her breath for a long time."
• Before the letter "and" a comma is placed in a simple sentence, if two homogeneous terms are separated by a complicating construction. For example: "The kitten ran to the boy, loudly meowing, and imploringly looked into the eyes."
• All the homogeneous members of the sentence are divided by commas in the sentences of this type: "The kid was presented with cubes, and a designer, and a huge bear, and a tasty, preticious cake." One of the most common mistakes is the absence of a punctuation mark before the second homogeneous term, which joins the first with the help of "and". But just by saying this sentence aloud, you can understand that before "and the designer" a pause is asked, which means that the comma is appropriate.

Complicated offer. The comma is put

When is a comma before "and" in sentences of compound type? In most complex syntactic units with a cohesive bond, the union "and", connecting their parts, is separated on the letter by a comma. For example: "A strong wind blew, and the sailboat literally flew along the waves."

In this case, like him, the union shares two completed thoughts, which may well exist as separate sentences, why the common sense would not change. It is this moment that must be taken into account first of all when the question arises: "Do you need a comma or not?" If a compound sentence can be divided painlessly into two or more, then yes - a comma is required. Here is an example when the repetitive union "and" combines three parts of a compound syntactical construction: "And the leaves fell, whirling, and the rain dripped sad, and the cranes of the farewell sent a cry." This is a classic situation, when you can not do without a comma. Exceptions can not be here.

Complicated offer. Cases when the comma before the union "and" is not needed

Many people who are not very sophisticated in grammar think that if the sentence is complex, then its parts are always separated by some punctuation mark. But this is not true. A comma before "and" in compound syntactic units is not put under the following circumstances:

• In simple structures in the compound compound there is a common term. As a rule, it is a circumstance of time or place. For example: "In the morning it was cold and the rain poured like a bucket."
• Parts of compound construction are impersonal sentences. For example: "It's cold and uncomfortable." Or: "We need to move the furniture and have to take it out of the room."
• A comma between several parts of a compound sentence is not required if they express a question, exclamation or motivation for action. For example: "He came in and you cried?" Or: "Sing your crown and let everyone die of delight!" Or: "Love brings joy and there is no more important feeling in life than it!"
• The sentence parts have a common opening word or expression. For example: "Of course, the investigation is over and the case is referred to the court".

Offers with a subordinate link

In what cases is a comma before "and" in complex sentences? It begins with the fact that "and" is a writing union, and it is impossible to link parts that are in subordinate relations. It occurs in syntactic constructions of this type, only by linking several subordinate clauses. And a comma between them is not needed if the subordinate are homogeneous and have a common main part. For example: "The brother said that he thinks about changing jobs and that this plant he already sits in the liver."

If there is no homogeneous dependence, then the comma should be applied. For example: "My brother said that he thinks about changing jobs, and my mother was happy." In this case we have a complex construction of a mixed type, which includes both the subordinate and the compositional connections.

Also, commas are appropriate between homogeneous subordinate parts, connected by a repeated union of "and". For example: "Such unrestrained laughter engulfed a couple of times that both knees shook and real tears poured from his eyes."

Turn on the logic

Even if you do not know the rules, which there is a very large number, then you can just think logically. There are two patterns:

• The comma almost always exists in place of pauses (we say the sentence aloud).
• The comma is divided into parts with different semantic content (think logically).

Thoughtful and attentive approach to the business will necessarily give good results! And it helps to avoid mistakes.

Conclusion

Rules that specify in which cases a comma is put before "and", and in which - no, very much. And it is probably impossible to learn everything. But even a dvoechnik can write a sentence without errors if he utters it aloud (or about himself) and connects the logic. Then he will not have a question: "When is the comma before" and "?" Be careful and try to avoid mistakes.