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Can we use a comma before "and" if it precedes a dependent clause?

English Language & Usage Asked by Victor.C on November 28, 2020

Here is an example from Longman dictionary,

We are new to the London area, and would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others.

My question is that since the second clause “would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others” is a dependent clause, why add a comma before “and”? From my understanding, we do not use comma before a coordinating conjunction if it precedes a dependent clause.

I feel it’s correct to write like this:

“We are new to the London area and would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others.”

OR

“We are new to the London area, and we would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others.”

One Answer

There are no dependent clauses in that construction (ignoring the ones headed by like...,to eat... and to visit...), but there are two coordinations:

We [[are new...][and [ would like to [[eat in restaurants][or [visit pubs]]] with others ]]] .

are new to the London area and would like to ... with others

eat in restaurants or visit pubs

The comma in the sentence makes sense as it marks off the two elements of the first coordination.

Answered by DW256 on November 28, 2020

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