punctuation

[hela]

Dear teachers,

In academic / formal English is it possible

1) to have a comma before a subordinating conjunction?
2) to start a sentence with "That's why"?

"I even asked God to help me find a solution 1) , because I was torn between my love for you and my duty to (toward(s) ?) my family.

When I was at the station with you, I was scared. There were so many people. I could only think of my family 2). That's why I ran away at the last minute."

Thanks for the advice.
Hela

[Tdol]

Yes and yes.

[hela]

Is it also possible to say "to have a duty TOWARD / TOWARDS (?) one's family" ?
When are TO and TOWARD(S) interchangeable and when are they not?
Many thanks

[hela]

Dear tdol,

But why do we need a comma before "because"? Isn't that true that we don't use commas before subordination conjunctions?

Another question about punctuation, please:

Is it possible/necessary to have a comma before "where" here? If yes, why?
I remember the day I first met you. I immediately fell in love with you. I was so happy 1. :/. [colon or full stop ?] I could be myself at last and forget my terrible life at home 2. , where I was afraid of my father's violence.

Isn't the adverb "where" directly linked to "home" ?

Thank you for your help.
Hela

[Tdol]

You'll see commas used and nit used- a lot of it is down to how people feel about the clauses- if they are seen to be of equal value, there's often no punctuation.
The coma before 'where' makes sense because it's not defining.

[Tdol]

You'll see commas used and not used- a lot of it is down to how people feel about the clauses- if they are seen to be of equal value, there's often no punctuation.
The comma before 'where' makes sense because it's not defining.