LANGUAGE 



189 



in it. It is only when used in the former sense 

 that they require to be set off by commas; e. g., 

 <)n this assistance, then, you may rely. Then 

 I believed you, now I do not. 



4. Independent adverbs at the beginning of 

 the sentence should be set off by a comma; as, 

 Well, I will go. Why, you may if you want to. 



NOTE. Used in this way it would be better to omit 

 them from all sentences. 



5. The nominative, the infinitive, and the 

 participle used absolutely, should be set off by 

 commas: The wind having gone down, we may 

 go sailing. To tell the truth, I must remain here; 



rally speaking, he is a good fellow. 



6. Nouns in apposition are set off by commas : 

 George, my brother, can do it for you. We, the 

 people of the United States, do ordain and es- 

 tablish this constitution. 



7. If the subordinate clause in a complex 

 sentence comes first, it should be followed by 

 a comma: If I go, you must remain; While he 

 stays, you must stay. 



8. A series of words used in the same con- 

 M ruction should be separated by commas; .as, 

 I lysses was wise, eloquent, cautious, and in- 

 trepid, as was requisite in a leader of men. He 

 stood, walked, ran, and jumped. 



If the words are used in pairs, only the pairs 

 should be separated ; as, Ulysses was wise and 

 eloquent, cautious and intrepid, as was, etc. 



9. When two statements, each with its own 

 subject, verb, and object, are put in one sen- 

 tence, the comma should be used to show their 

 distinctiveness, even when the sentence is very 

 short : as, You may go, and I will stay. 



10. Use a comma oe tween two words in the 

 same construction when they are differently 

 modified; as, He sold a horse, and wagon of 

 wood. If the comma is omitted, the horse 

 was of wood. 



1 1 . When the subject consists of two or more 

 nouns not joined by a conjunction, use a comma 

 before the predicate; as, Riches, pleasures, 

 health, become evils to those, etc. 



12. A comma is put before a relative clause, 

 when it is explanatory of the antecedent, or 

 presents an additional thought. 



But the point is omitted before a relative ; 

 clause which restricts the general notion of the 

 antecedent to a particular sense. 



To make clear the difference between an 

 additional and a restrictive clause, let me use 

 this sentence: Her entrance was unnoticed 

 by the officer who sat gazing in the fire. \\ < 

 restrict when we wish to separate one object 

 from other objects of the same sort. If there 

 were several officers in the room, an<l you wi>h 

 me to know that her entrance ffitj IfflDOtioed 

 by but one of them, you wish to separate or 

 distinguish him from the oth.-i . Thru tin- 

 clause is used n-trictively and -hould not be 

 .111:1. Hut' if then- was but <>ne 

 olliri-r in tin- ro.ini. you Use tin- same clause 

 to tell an additional fact about him; then it i- 

 used additionally ..nd should be set off by com- 



Much confusion ari-i- in t his sort of sentence 

 because authors on punctuation say that a 

 descriptive or additional clause should be set 

 off by commas. A descriptive clause may be 



used to express either an additional or a re- 

 strictive thought. Bring me the dress that is 

 made of red silk. This sentence requi; 

 comma because there are several dressses there, 

 and I want the red silk one. Bring me the dress, 

 which is made of red silk. Here I have used the 

 same descriptive clause, but the use of 'which' 

 and the comma shows that that is the only 

 dress there. 



*? < I! r .? :: T Jl ? i al l restrU * iv * relative clauses, the pronoun 

 that should be used; and in all additional rrl.-nive 

 clauses use "who " when referring to people and "which " 

 when referring to animals or inanimate object". If 

 writers would Dear this use of these pronouns in mind, 

 the matter of the comma would be immaterial because 

 the pronoun would sufficiently indicate the use of the 

 clause. 



13. One good authority says do not use a 

 comma after whereas, It appears, etc.; Re- 

 solved, That, etc.; Ordered, That, etc. He 

 also says, Do not use a capital after these words. 

 Write, Resolved that women, etc. 



14. When a clause is used as the subject of 

 a verb, it should not, even though long, be fol- 

 lowed by a comma, unless it ends with a verb; 

 as, That the governor of this great State of 

 Illinois should make this unworthy appeal to 

 the passions and prejudices of the foreign-born 

 citizens of the nation must always be a cause 

 of mortification to every lover of his country. 



The second part of the rule is illustrated by, 

 Whatever is, is right. 



15. A comma is used before a short direct 

 quotation: He said, "I will go." 



NOTE. A colon is used before a long direct quotation. 



16. The comma shows the omission of words; 

 as, Her address is 718 Norwood Ave., Rochester, 

 N. Y., which means in Rochester, in the State of 

 New York. Reading maketh a full man ; writ- 

 ing, an exact man. 



NOTE. The latest authority says omit the comma in 

 the last sentence because no misunderctandhm can 

 arise thereby; but custom still uses it. 



Semicolon. This mark is used to sep- 

 arate such parts of a sentence as are somewhat 

 less closely connected than those separated by 

 a comma. 



1. When two clauses are joined by for, but, 

 inttl, or an equivalent word, the one cl. 



feet in itself, and the other added as a matter 

 of inference, contrast, or explanation. they 

 are separated by a semicolon: Economv i 

 disgrace; for it is better to live on a little than 

 to outlive a great deal. 



2. When the parts of a compound sentence, 

 even though they are short, are not closely 

 nected in thought, they should be separated 

 by a semicolon; as. 1 live to die; you .lye to 

 live. 



3. Use the semicolon to separate the parts 

 of a compound sentence. \\ h.u one or not h 

 members contain comma*: Men are not jud 



by their looks, habits and appearances; but 

 by the character ..i their I i\ e* and conversations, 

 and by their works. 



I If a scries -ions depend on a com- 



mencing or concluding ;ortion of the sentence, 

 they should be separated by a semicolon: Phi 

 losophers assert, that nature is unlimited in 

 operations; that she has inexhaustible treasures 

 m reserve; that, etc. Also in such a sentence 



