with

[navi tasan]

Are these sentences correct:
1-I had to go back to my old house with its leaking roof.
2-I had to go back to my old house, with its leaking roof.

3-I had to go back to my old house with its leaking roof and broken windows.
4-I had to go back to my old house, with its leaking roof and broken windows.

I think they all work. The comma does not seem to change much. In "1" and "3", "my old house with its...." seems to form a unit. In "2" and "4", the part after the comma seems to have been added on as an afterthought.

Gratefully,
Navi.

 

[billmcd]

Do the commas help with understanding? I think not. I must admit that I am a comma conservationist. :lol:

 

[SoothingDave]

I, on the other hand, would probably use the commas. Particularly with the compound clause in #3.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Are these sentences correct:
1-I had to go back to my old house with its leaking roof.
2-I had to go back to my old house, with its leaking roof.

3-I had to go back to my old house with its leaking roof and broken windows.
4-I had to go back to my old house, with its leaking roof and broken windows.

I think they all work. The comma does not seem to change much. In "1" and "3", "my old house with its...." seems to form a unit. In "2" and "4", the part after the comma seems to have been added on as an afterthought.

Gratefully,
Navi.

I would use the commas in both versions. Without the commas it can sound as if you are taking the roof and and windows with you as you go.

 

[5jj]

I would use the commas in both versions. Without the commas it can sound as if you are taking the roof and and windows with you as you go.

Hardly. That might be a possibility in I had to go back to my old house with its new front window, but I don't think anybody is likely to believe that you are carrying a leaking roof back to your old house.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Hardly. That might be a possibility in I had to go back to my old house with its new front window, but I don't think anybody is likely to believe that you are carrying a leaking roof back to your old house.

I agree, once they finished the sentence. But it is possible to stumble on it on the way to the end.

 

[bhaisahab]

I wouldn't use the commas in either sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can't fathom why but I would use the comma in the second variant where there are two aspects of the house's condition mentioned, but probably not in the first. To clarify, I think I would use:

I went back to my old house with its leaking roof.
I went back to my old house, with its leaking roof and broken windows.

Actually, I've just realised something. I would be unlikely to use "its". I would be far more likely to say "I went back to my old house with the leaking roof". I would probably only use "its" if I were starting the sentence with that information:

With its leaking roof and broken windows, my old house was a bit of a disaster area!

 

[MikeNewYork]

I can't fathom why but I would use the comma in the second variant where there are two aspects of the house's condition mentioned, but probably not in the first. To clarify, I think I would use:

I went back to my old house with its leaking roof.
I went back to my old house, with its leaking roof and broken windows.

Actually, I've just realised something. I would be unlikely to use "its". I would be far more likely to say "I went back to my old house with the leaking roof". I would probably only use "its" if I were starting the sentence with that information:

With its leaking roof and broken windows, my old house was a bit of a disaster area!

Comma use is variable among writers. The rules are not set in stone.

 

[emsr2d2]

Comma use is variable among writers. The rules are not set in stone.

It's variable but I can't explain why I would use it in one and not the other. Most people either go for commas or don't.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It's variable but I can't explain why I would use it in one and not the other. Most people either go for commas or don't.

Such is the life of the comma.

 

[Tdol]

I agree, once they finished the sentence. But it is possible to stumble on it on the way to the end.

Hmm- it's not such a long sentence.