Quote:
Originally Posted by David L.  Can you give an example? |
Really long ago my student asked me about the use of a comma before "because". I explained that although traditional grammarians tell us never to use it, sometimes we need it to indicate a pause inside the sentence. At that time I was just speaking from my instinct. Just now I keyed in "comma because" and googled it and found some buddies supportive of my claim. Here's a post at
Comma before because:
'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.
On the same webpage, there's another post by someone anonymous:
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. I think this example makes sense. And we can find numerous such examples elsewhere and anywhere.