The Comma and relative clauses

THE COMMA

Use a comma to separate items in a list

In British English 'and' has usually not been preceded by a comma in front of the final member of the list, whereas in American English there is a comma in front of the final ‘and'.

These are labeled limited access, free access, pooling Ø and separating. (UK)

These are labeled limited access, free access, pooling, and separating. (US)

In order to avoid any confusion, however, modern usage puts a comma in front of the final 'and' even in British English. This may be used, for example, when the list items include internal 'and's' or the final item has two parts.

In Europe, individual and small-group researchers as well as industrial and national laboratories for specialized topics have established a strong position in the synthesis and assembly of nanoscale building blocks and catalysts, and in polymeric and biological approaches to nanostructured materials.

The process must integrate the human activity, the tools, and the intermediate and final work products into a coherent flow of actions.

Use a comma in front of 'coordinating conjunctions' to combine two complete sentences

When combining two complete sentences, both Finnish and English agree that you should put a comma before coordinating conjunctions, such as 'and', 'but', 'or', 'nor', and 'yet'. However, if both sentences have the same subject, English tends to delete the second subject, and no comma is then placed before the coordinating conjunctions.

With comma:

These schemes [subject] provide a solution to current traffic problems, and they [subject] are easy to implement.

Without comma:

These schemes [subject] provide a solution to current traffic problems and Ø are easy to implement.

Use a comma to separate sentence connectors or words signalling the writer's attitude from the main clause

To avoid confusion and to help the reader to quickly find the subject of a sentence, English uses the comma to clearly mark and separate any information that comes at the beginning of the sentence from the subject. Typical words that can come before the subject include sentence connectors and attitudinal adjuncts (words signalling the writer's attitude). Notice in the text below how easy it to identify the subjects when the introductory elements have been separated from the rest of the text by a comma.

Sentence connector (e.g., Therefore, Furthermore, Nevertheless)

However, there is a reluctance to introduce new policies or tax regimes without additional information relating to the scale and nature of smaller firms' working capital management routines.

Attitudinal adjunct (e.g., Surprisingly, Undoubtedly, Clearly)

Unfortunately, what is meant by the term varies according to the field of study.

The subject of a sentence has special importance in English, because It tells you what the sentence 'is about'. Unlike Finnish, every sentence in English must contain a subject. Even when no 'agent' can be found for an 'action', English will create a 'dummy' subject to fulfil this need. Thus, in the Anglo-American view of the world, things do not just happen, rather there is always someone or something to 'blame' for any particular action.

'Dummy' Subjects:

Tänään sataa lunta. (who or what is raining?)
It is snowing today. Huoneessa on kolme ikkunaa
There are three windows in the room.

In addition to this cultural and grammatical need for a subject, English lacks specific markers to help readers recognise whether a word is noun or verb; whereas, these functions are often clearly signalled in Finnish through case endings (sijamuodot) or verbal suffixes (verbin päätteet).

The function of the sentence connectors is considered so important in English that even when they are used within sentences, they are specially emphasized and separated from the normal flow of the sentence by commas.

Beware! Many sentence connectors are not only separated by commas at the beginning of the sentence but also when they are placed within the sentence. The most common example of this is 'however'. Compare the two examples below
	However, the evidence shows that this variable does have a significant influence on useability. The evidence shows , however, that this variable does have a significant influence on useability.

Use a comma to separate 'introductory phrases' from the subject

As in rule 3, any introductory phrases that hinder the reader from immediately seeing the subject are marked off by a comma to show the reader where the subject begins. Typically, these groups of words include prepositional phrases (those that begin with a preposition of time, place, manner) or infinitive phrases (those that begin with an To + verb).

Introductory prepositional phrase (In, On, At, Of, With, For)

In firms of all sizes, a basic aim of management accounting routines is to control vital areas and to monitor performance.

Introductory infinitive phrase (To analyse, To implement)

To examine these issues, we adopt transaction cost economics (TCE) as our basic frame of reference.

If the phrase comes after the subject, then no comma is needed:

In Figure 10, the difference between tamper-proofing and other data-hiding techniques is characterized.
The difference between tamper-proofing and other data-hiding techniques is characterized Ø in Figure 10.

To send data, IR remote controls use a sequence of light bursts with different delays between them.
IR remote controls use a sequence of light bursts with different delays between them Ø to send data.

Use a comma before and after 'subordinate clauses' to mark the beginning of the subject

Subordinate clauses function as signals of cause-effect (since, because, as) and contrast (although, whereas, while). These logical connectors require a comma when placed at either the beginning or end of the sentence. Most of these clauses are 'adverb clauses':

Function	Subordinate conjunctions	Example
TIME	after, before, when, until	After adding the hardening agent, the mixture was cooled…
PLACE	where, wherever	Wherever you go, Bluetooth wireless technology connects your devices without adding clutter to your desktop…
MANNER	as, as if	As you enter the room, you will notice immediately that…
CAUSE	because, since, as	Because you go, Bluetooth wireless technology connects your devices…
CONDITION	if, unless	If you go, Bluetooth wireless technology connects your devices…
PURPOSE	so that, in order that, in order to	In order to you go, Bluetooth wireless technology connects your devices…
CONCESSION	although, while, whereas	Although you go, Bluetooth wireless technology connects your devices…
RESULT	so that	So that you go, Bluetooth wireless technology connects your devices...
DEGREE	so that	As strong as America is, it still could not find Osama bin Laden.

Use a comma to separate 'non-essential relative clauses' from the main clause

English has two types of relative clauses: non-essential and essential relative clauses. Unlike Finnish, a comma is only needed when the relative clause contains non-essential information. Notice the different comma usage in English and Finnish in the examples below.

Non-essential information:

At the end of 1999, he was appointed Finance Manager of Carlson Ltd, which was subsequently sold to a third party.

Vuoden 1999 lupussa hänet nimitettiin talouspäälliköksi Carlson-yhtiöön, joka sen jälkeen myytiin kolmanneelle osapuolelle.

Why a comma?

The ‘which' clause only adds extra information or a comment. The main clause, ‘At the end of 1999, he was appointed Finance Manager of Carlson Ltd', makes sense without this relative clause. The information in the non-essential relative clause could be given in a separate sentence: ‘The firm was subsequently sold to a third party,' or left entirely without affecting the main point.

However, if the relative clause is essential or defines a previous word or group of words, then no comma should be used. In other words, you need the relative clause to understand the meaning of the main clause.

Essential information:

The Carlson company offered cash to surfers Ø who agreed to look at advertisements.

Carlson-yhtiöt tarjosi käteistä niille, jotka suostuivat katsomaan yhtiön mainoksia.

Why no comma in front of ‘who'?

The absence of a comma signals that only those surfers who agreed to look at advertisements were offered cash, not all surfers!

A reminder: Don't put a comma in front of 'that', unless the word or phrase that needs to be separated by commas in front of 'that' (e.g., however). Compare the two examples below
	The evidence shows , however, that this variable does have a significant influence. The evidence shows Ø that this variable does have a significant influence.

Use a comma to signal additional, non-essential information within a sentence

Commas are generally also used to mark words or phrases that interrupt the flow of the sentence. Such phrases are usually called 'parenthetical' information because they act as if they were written between parentheses (sulkeet). In the examples below, notice how leaving out the words that enclosed in commas would not change the message. Parenthetical information only adds extra comments.

It has been divided between fourteen cousins, three of whom are of Corsican extraction and thus, according to our French friends, impossible to deal with.

The development of established firms is, increasingly, being put forward as the area that research and policy should be directed towards.

A reminder: Alternative ways of indicating and emphasizing this kind of information are brackets (USA: 'parentheses') and dashes; the latter being the most emphatic.
	It has been divided between fourteen cousins, three of whom are of Corsican extraction and thus (according to our French friends)impossible to deal with. It has been divided between fourteen cousins, three of whom are of Corsican extraction and thus — according to our French friends — impossible to deal with.

Use a comma for 'appositives' (to re-name something mentioned before)
Use a comma before and after Non-finite ‘-ing’ constructions

Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives in front of a noun (when ‘and’ could be used instead of the comma)

Many languages, including Finnish, feel comfortable using 'and' between two adjectives. Although this use might be heard in spoken English, the written form tends to drop the 'and' and, instead, prefers a common to mark this relationship.

Finnish:

Kuten monen muunkin alunperin eksoottisen ja kalliin tekniikan kohdalla on käynyt, kirjoittavasta CD-asemasta on tullut tavallisen käyttäjän arkinen apuväline.

English:

Similar to many other initially exotic, expensive technologies, CD-Recordable drives have become everyday tools for most users.

Use a comma to pause for clarity