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"and" VS "comma+and"

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by rx_11 » Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:41 pm
Hi, everyone,

I have some questions about "and" & "comma+and". Can you help me clarify whether the following sentences are correct or not?

1. Jim washed the bedroom, and he cleaned the window

2. Jim washed the bedroom and he cleaned the window

3. Jim washed the bedroom, and cleaned the window

4. Jim washed the bedroom and cleaned the window

Which of the sentense is correct? Experts plz help
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by e-GMAT » Thu Nov 18, 2010 4:53 am
1. Jim washed the bedroom, and he cleaned the window - CORRECT - Two independent clauses are connected using , AND

2. Jim washed the bedroom and he cleaned the window - INCORRECT - Since these are two independent clauses, they should be connected using , AND

3. Jim washed the bedroom, and cleaned the window - INCORRECT - Since this is a list of only TWO verbs, it should be connected using AND

4. Jim washed the bedroom and cleaned the window - CORRECT - Two verbs are connected using AND

5. Jim washed the bedroom, wiped the furniture, and cleaned the window - CORRECT - More than TWO elements in a list are connected using ,AND


Your question relates very closely with the sentence structure - i.e. how are clauses connected. I just posted my response in the post below and you will benefit from it. Essentially in the Free Preview of e-gmat Sentence Correction course, we have added two new concepts that explain "Sentence Structures". Feel free to access those concepts to gain better insight into punctuation required for connecting clauses.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/comparison-n ... 63543.html

Thanks,

Payal
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by littlebunny » Thu Nov 18, 2010 1:34 pm
I always thought a comma before the 'and' was wrong english. Is there a difference between american english and british english, and do you need to know one, over the other, for the GMAT?
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by e-GMAT » Sat Nov 20, 2010 1:26 pm
I am not sure if British English differs from American English from the standpoint of usage of ,and to connect two independent clauses.

In any case, from GMAT perspective, use of comma and is absolutely correct
1: to connect two independent clauses
2: to connect a list with more than 2 elements.

Thanks,

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by Isaac@EconomistGMAT » Tue Nov 23, 2010 4:50 pm
Yes for the GMAT a comma should be placed before the 'and' (and the last item on the list); this is the Serial Comma. Outside of the US that comma is not necessary.

Same applies to comma separating clauses. It is not always necessary - it is not a 'must have' for independent clauses that are short and clear but GMAT likes it there in terms of 'preferred usage'. (Looking at British books you would definitely get different answers).
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by BellTheGMAT » Wed Nov 24, 2010 12:35 am
rx_11 wrote:Hi, everyone,

I have some questions about "and" & "comma+and". Can you help me clarify whether the following sentences are correct or not?

1. Jim washed the bedroom, and he cleaned the window

2. Jim washed the bedroom and he cleaned the window

3. Jim washed the bedroom, and cleaned the window

4. Jim washed the bedroom and cleaned the window

Which of the sentense is correct? Experts plz help
For further explanation, refer to "https://www.beatthegmat.com/ultramodern- ... tml#318083" post
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by kapur.arnav » Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:12 am
e-GMAT wrote:1. Jim washed the bedroom, and he cleaned the window - CORRECT - Two independent clauses are connected using , AND

2. Jim washed the bedroom and he cleaned the window - INCORRECT - Since these are two independent clauses, they should be connected using , AND

3. Jim washed the bedroom, and cleaned the window - INCORRECT - Since this is a list of only TWO verbs, it should be connected using AND

4. Jim washed the bedroom and cleaned the window - CORRECT - Two verbs are connected using AND

5. Jim washed the bedroom, wiped the furniture, and cleaned the window - CORRECT - More than TWO elements in a list are connected using ,AND


Your question relates very closely with the sentence structure - i.e. how are clauses connected. I just posted my response in the post below and you will benefit from it. Essentially in the Free Preview of e-gmat Sentence Correction course, we have added two new concepts that explain "Sentence Structures". Feel free to access those concepts to gain better insight into punctuation required for connecting clauses.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/comparison-n ... 63543.html

Thanks,

Payal
I'm not clear on the #5 mentioned above....
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by gmat_perfect » Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:11 am
[quote=

5. Jim washed the bedroom, wiped the furniture, and cleaned the window - CORRECT - More than TWO elements in a list are connected using ,AND cleaned the window.

I'm not clear on the #5 mentioned above....[/quote]

In case of more than two items, we need to use AND before the final element of the list. The list may be a list of verb, noun, adjective etc.

Example:

The boy is tall, strong, and healthy.

The man is reading a book, seeing a a picture, and scolding the boy.

Thanks.
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by kapur.arnav » Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:16 am
gmat_perfect wrote:[quote=

5. Jim washed the bedroom, wiped the furniture, and cleaned the window - CORRECT - More than TWO elements in a list are connected using ,AND cleaned the window.

I'm not clear on the #5 mentioned above....
In case of more than two items, we need to use AND before the final element of the list. The list may be a list of verb, noun, adjective etc.

Example:

The boy is tall, strong, and healthy.

The man is reading a book, seeing a a picture, and scolding the boy.

Thanks.[/quote]

is this a DEFINITE RULE... if we use x,y and z... is it incorrect?
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by DanaJ » Mon Nov 29, 2010 3:20 pm
You know what's weird though? Where I come from it's considered a huge mistake to put a comma before "and" because both the comma and the conjunction have the same purpose (i.e. stringing together bits of a sentence). It's a pleonasm according to Romanian and French (as far as I know) rules. I even received a bad mark because I put a comma before "etc" once! The teacher argued that "etc" (et cetera) already implies "and," so it's wrong to use a comma before it.
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