with

Status
Not open for further replies.

navi tasan

Key Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
United States
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

Key Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Do the commas help with understanding? I think not. I must admit that I am a comma conservationist. :lol:
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I, on the other hand, would probably use the commas. Particularly with the compound clause in #3.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
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

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
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

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
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

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
I wouldn't use the commas in either sentence.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
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

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
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

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
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

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
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

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
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.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top