The Magic of the comma in the English sentence

МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ «ГИМНАЗИЯ № 17»                                             МЫТИЩИНСКОГО МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОГО РАЙОНА

РЕФЕРАТ

“THE MAGIC OF THE COMMA IN THE ENGLISH SENTENCE”

                                                Ученицы 10 класса: Панкратовой Татьяны

Мытищи

2014г.

РЕЦЕНЗИЯ

Предметом анализа является реферат ученицы 10 класса Панкратовой Татьяны МБОУ  «Гимназии № 17» г. Мытищи Московской области по теме «Синтаксис: запятая в английском предложении». Актуальность темы обусловлена ростом интереса учащихся как к изучению английского языка в целом, так и необходимостью овладения навыками пунктуации для успешного выполнения заданий С1 и С2 Единого государственного экзамена по английскому языку. По причине значительных различий в правилах пунктуации русского и английского языков, а также из-за того, что раздел английского синтаксиса и пунктуации не освещается должным образом в большинстве учебно-методических комплектов, используемых в российских школах, этот раздел английской грамматики вызывает у старшеклассников многочисленные проблемы и приводит к многочисленным ошибкам на письме. Самые большие трудности в этом разделе вызывают различия в употреблении запятой, как наиболее употребляемого знака пунктуации внутри сложного предложения.                

Целью данной работы является показать сходства и различия в использовании запятой в английском и русском языках, так как сравнительный подход делает понимание различий пунктуации в обоих языках более наглядным и поэтому более понятным для обучающихся. Автор работы не ставила перед собой задачу глубокого теоретического изучения данного вопроса, но очень наглядно и понятно проанализировала самые важные различия в пунктуации двух языков и, что особенно важно, смогла правильно обобщить материал и сделать важные выводы, используя различные печатные источники.                          Структура реферата четко определена научно-практической целью, поставленной перед учеником при подготовке и выполнении данной работы, и отражает  основные закономерности употребления запятой в различных типах предложений английского языка.                                                                                                                                                

Оценивая работу в целом, можно сказать, что тема раскрыта полностью. Суммируя результаты отдельных глав, можно сделать  вывод о соответствии выбранной темы  ее содержанию – каждый блок реферата дополняет другой, наблюдается плавный переход от одной части реферата к его следующей части. Таким образом, в рассматриваемой работе Панкратова Татьяна умело систематизировала материал и обобщила его. Благодаря этому данная работа углубляет представление об исследуемой теме и делает ее интересной для других учащихся с точки зрения пунктуации языка.                                                                                                                                                 В работе присутствуют незначительные недостатки, которые носят локальный характер и не влияют на конечные результаты работы, не снижают ее уровня. Их можно считать пожеланиями к дальнейшей работе. С одной стороны, было бы еще лучше, если бы автор привела больше  примеров, иллюстрирующих случаи употребления запятой в английском предложении. С другой стороны,  следует иметь в виду, что лимит объема реферата не позволяет увеличить количество примеров. Но даже приведенные  примеры делают реферат ярким и интересным с практической точки зрения, демонстрируя случаи употребления такого важного знака пунктуации, как запятая, в английском языке.

В целом работа может быть оценена «отлично», так как удовлетворяет всем основным требованиям.

Рецензия учителя английского языка:                                       Полиновой И.Э.

THESES

When we learn a foreign language, the emphasis is made on learning the vocabulary and grammar of the language. Enormous amount of time in class is spent on practicing pronunciation, memorizing words and learning grammatical structures, as well as on the development of writing skills. And very often we doubt whether to put a comma or not. The comma is perhaps the most difficult punctuation mark in use and the most widespread  in the English language. A good knowledge of Russian grammar cannot help pupils to use English commas. On the contrary, it may play a bad joke on them. All cases of the use of the comma can be divided into four precise categories.  

1. The first category is the so-called listing comma (разделительная запятая) which substitutes the conjunctions “and”, “or” and is used in the following cases:                                                                           a) When they join three or more words, phrases, or even full sentences.                                                Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian (,) and I speak Spanish.

In American English a comma is usually put before “and”, “or”. In British English it is not typical except the cases when an additional comma makes the sentence clearer.                                    My favourite opera composers are Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, and Gilbert and Sullivan.

 b)  The comma is used to separate homogeneous members of the sentence. Such homogeneous adjectives describe the same property (her looks in the given instance).                                               Her long, dark, glossy hair fascinated me.

When attributes describe different properties, no comma is necessary.                                                        She gave me an antique ivory box.

2. The second category is the joining comma (coeдинительная запятая) which joins two independent sentences and is used before “and, or, but, while, yet”.                                                          You must hand in your essay by Friday, or you will receive a mark of zero.

A typical mistake is to put a comma when there are such conjunctions in the sentence.                     (Wrong) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages, the Dutch are famously good at it.                                                                                                                                                   (Right) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages, and the Dutch are famously good at it.                                                                                                                       (Or) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages; the Dutch are famously good at it.

The joining comma cannot be put before the words “however, therefore, hence, consequently, nevertheless, thus”.

3. The third category is the gapping comma (заместительная запятая). It shows that some repeated words are omitted.                                                                                                                     Some Norwegians wanted to base their national language on the speech of the capital city; others, on the speech of the rural countryside.

Gapping commas are not strictly necessary and can be omitted if the sentence does not lose its meaning.                                                                                                                                                            Italy is famous for her composers and musicians, France for her chefs and philosophers, and Poland for her mathematicians and logicians.

4. The fourth category is bracketing commas (обособляющие запятые) – the most widespread and the most difficult simultaneously. They go in pairs and correspond to a short intonation pause in the sentence.                                                                                                                               Darwin’s Origin of Species, published in 1859, revolutionized biological thinking.                                  

I should note that in each of these examples, the word fragments isolated by commas could be omitted without distorting the meaning of the sentence.                                                                     (Wrong) Stanley was a determined, even ruthless figure.                                                                            (Right) Stanley was a determined, even ruthless, figure.

The next instance shows how important for the meaning of the sentence commas are.                                 The people of Cornwall, who depend upon fishing for their livelihood, are up in arms over the new EC quotas.                                                                                                                                                If we mean the entire population, this allocation can be omitted.                                                 The people of Cornwall who depend upon fishing for their livelihood are up in arms over the new EC quotas.                                                                                                                                                  If we mean a certain group of people, this allocation cannot be omitted.

It should be kept in mind that if subordinate clauses are introduced with the conjunction “that”, they are never separated by commas.                                                                                                              The European powers that were busily carving up Africa paid no attention to the boundaries between rival ethnic groups.

If this clause identifies certain European powers, commas are not required. If it refers to the European powers as a whole, then it becomes a semantically autonomous subordinate clause; it requires separation and the conjunction “that” must be replaced by “which”.

When allocation occurs at the beginning or at the end of the sentence, only one comma is necessary.                                                                                                                                                      a) Unlike most nations, Britain has no written constitution.                                                                             b) The pronunciation of English is changing rapidly, we are told.

The bracketing comma is used to separate complex sentences beginning with the words “although, though, even though, because, since, after, before, if, when и whenever”. Yet it is not required if a sentence is easily read without it.

Thus, the listing comma is used to separate words, phrases, and even full sentences where it can be replaced by the conjunctions “and, or”. The joining comma confronts the conjunctions “and, or, but, yet, and while” if they are followed by a full sentence. The gapping comma demonstrates that repeated words are omitted in the sentence. Bracketing commas corresponds to a short intonation pause.

My analysis of the use and function of commas in the English language does not contain any extensive theoretical discussion, but I believe it will help school leavers to avoid punctuation mistakes and improve the results of writing the letter and the essay as a part of the State Exam in English in particular.    

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CONTENTS

              Introduction …………………………………………………………..3

I.        The importance of the correct use of the comma ……………………….4

II.        The use of the comma in English and Russian simple, compound and         complex sentences………………………………………………………………8

1. The use of the comma in the simple sentence……………………………8
2. The comma in the compound sentence………………………………….11                                                                                        
3. The comma in the complex sentence…………………………………….13

              Conclusion…………………………………………………………….15

               List of literature………………………………………………………18

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Introduction

There is a sufficient difference between Russian and English punctuation rules, and the influence of the native tongue often makes this section of grammar pretty confusing for pupils. When we learn a foreign language, the emphasis is generally made on learning the vocabulary and grammar of the language. Enormous amount of time in class is spend on practicing pronunciation, memorizing worlds and learning grammatical structures, as well as on the development of writing skills. And very often we make mistakes in punctuation marks as we do not pay enough attention to the learning of the punctuation system.                                                                                                              The punctuation system is one of the most important systems of a language. Though punctuation itself is not a part of the grammatical structure of a language, it cannot be omitted while learning as it has very important grammatical significance.  When we speak, we use not only words to make the audience understand what we mean. Intonation and pause, facial expressions and gestures also add much to understanding the meaning of sentences, and we expect all the feelings and values put in certain words and phrases to be understood in writing too. All the conversational means, which exist in speech, should be expressed in writing through various punctuation marks. The most widespread punctuation marks are the full stop (.) and the comma (,). English punctuation is a strictly regarded notion, but at the same time it is very creative and learning it needs a lot of work and efforts. My report is about the use of the comma in the English sentence.                                                                                                                                     The comma is a punctuation mark that shows that the sentence is not finished. If we see the comma in the text, we may be sure that the sentence will run on. It helps you to make your sentences more complicated and, thus, your speech becomes more expressive and attractive for people.                                                                                                                                                       The aim of my report is to show the importance of the comma in the English language. The object of the research is the functions and rules of the use of the comma. According to the aim and object I have the followings tasks:                                                                                                                                -to show distinctive features from other languages;                                                                                     -to analyze the principles of the use of the comma;                                                                                           -to show the complexity of the use of the comma.                                                                                          My analysis of the use and functions of commas in the English language does not contain any extensive theoretical discussions, but I believe it will help school leavers to avoid punctuation mistakes and improve the results of writing the letter and the essay as a part of the State Exam in English in particular.                                                                                                                                                                      

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1. The importance of the correct use of the comma

It is very important not to underestimate the importance of the comma. In English punctuation is connected with intonation to a greater extent than in Russian.  In Russian there is a strict principle saying that a subordinate clause is always marked off from its head clause by a comma. Thus, practically speaking, if there is no comma in a sentence, we may be certain that there is no subordinate clause in it. In English, on the other hand, there is no such general principle: sometimes a subordinate clause is not separated from its head clause by any punctuation mark whatsoever. This, for instance, is the case in the following sentence: Only now, because of the fact that she felt that she needed a new hat to go with the coat, she decided to say that it cost one hundred and twenty-five instead of one hundred and fifteen. (DREISER) There are several subordinate clauses here which are not marked off by any commas, namely, (1) that she felt (an appositional clause to fact). (2) that she needed a new hat to go with the coat (an object clause to felt). (3) that it cost one hundred and twenty-five instead of one hundred and fifteen (an object clause to say). The absence of commas here is due to the fact that in actual speech there is no intonation break between the subordinate clause and its head clause in any of these cases (this of course has to be ascertained by phonetic experiment and analysis). There are only two commas in the sentence, namely after now (this comma marks the beginning of the loose adverbial modifier because of the fact... with all the subordinate clauses belonging to it), and another after coat, to mark the end of the whole group. Thus, from the number of commas no deduction could be made about the number of subordinate clauses found within the sentence. This general characteristic of English punctuation as distinct from Russian should be kept in mind in dealing with it.

Commas can, but need not necessarily, be used in pairs. If we have a comma in a sentence, we cannot at once tell whether it makes part of a pair or not: that will only appear as we read on. Two commas occurring at a close interval from each other may or may not form a pair: this will only be made clear by the grammatical and semantic conditions of the sentence.  Here is an example of two commas forming a pair: Life had worn him down on one side, till, like that family of which he was the head, he had lost balance. (GALSWORTHY) The words like that family of which he was the head, consisting of a prepositional phrase and a subordinate attributive clause, may be dropped, and the result would be the loss of additional information

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based upon a comparison between "him" (Old Jolyon Forsyte) and his family: the sentence would run on: Life had worn him down on one side till he had lost balance.

 In other cases, again, two commas within a sentence may have nothing to do with each other, as in this example: His features were wide and flattened, and he had prominent, pale eyes... (MAUGHAM) The comma after flattened and the comma after prominent are not in any way connected with each other, the words standing between them do not form any sort of syntactical unit, and they could not be safely dropped without damaging the syntactical structure of the sentence, as will be seen from the following experiment: His features were wide and flattened pale eyes, which is not grammatically tenable. Indeed the two commas perform quite different functions here: the comma after flattened marks off the first clause of the compound sentence from its second clause, while the one after prominent serves to separate from each other two homogeneous attributes (prominent and pale) to the word eyes.                                                              The number of single commas, that is, commas not connected with one another, is probably much greater than that of commas going in pairs.

 The grammatical significance of the comma is much harder to define. Its uses are so varied that it appears to be practically impossible to give it a general characteristic: it may mark the end of a main clause, or of a subordinate clause, or it may stand between homogeneous members (whether subjects, predicates, predicatives, objects, adverbial modifiers, or attributes), or it may also mark off an apposition, a direct address, etc. The only thing that may perhaps be said about the function of the comma, in general, is that it marks some kind of syntactical division. It will perhaps be best to illustrate this by pointing out contexts in which a comma would not be possible.

These are: (1) The group of attribute and head word (by attribute is meant one that is not loose). No comma would, for instance, be possible after the word one, or after two, or after distinct in the following sentence: At one period two distinct tombs containing Esmiss Esmoor's remains were reported. (FORSTER) (2) The group of subject and predicate. Thus, no comma would be possible after the word Fielding in the sentence: Fielding said no more (Idem), or after the word Weeks, or after eyes, or Philip, or American in the sentence: Weeks spoke seriously, but his gray eyes twinkled a little at the end of his long speech, and Philip flushed when he saw that the American was making fun of him. (MAUGHAM) Commas are also impossible in certain other groups, as between a preposition and a noun. The essential point is that a comma does mark some kind of grammatical division, at least that between homogeneous parts of a sentence or that

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between a loose secondary part and the rest of the sentence.                                                                             The more exact function of a comma in every given case can only be made out by considering its syntactical surroundings. Such, then, would appear to be the grammatical functions of punctuation marks. They might also be shown by a very simple experiment: dropping all punctuation marks from a certain passage in a text and finding out what points in the grammatical structure of the passage are lost or at least obscured by this omission. This would reveal the exact value of punctuation from the grammatical viewpoint.

The comma helps you to explain what you mean and avoid being misunderstood, so when we put commas in the English sentence they completely change the whole point of the text.                                              

It is distinctly shown in the book entitled «Eats, shoots and leaves» by Lynne Truss.  It is based on a funny story when a panda comes into the café, eats a sandwich, shoots the ceiling and leaves. The waiter exclaims what the matter is. The panda throws an encyclopedia over its shoulder and goes away with the words: «Everything is written here». Due to the misplaced comma the article in the encyclopedia says: «The panda is a large black-and-white mammal, looks like a bear, lives in China. Eats, shoots and leaves». Actually, the authors of the encyclopedia meant that a panda eats plants (eats shoots and leaves).

It is obvious that because of the misplaced comma, the main point of the sentence can also be lost. There are some more examples of it below:

Let`s eat Grandma.

You can see that these two sentences have different meanings. In the first case someone is going to eat Grandmother, while in the second case Grandma is being invited for the dinner.

Anna walked on her head a little higher than usual.

These sentences also have two different meanings. In the first sentence Anna walked on her head, whereas in the second case Anna went with her head up.

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The driver managed to escape from the vehicle before it sank and swam to the river-bank.

In the first version, the driver escaped before the vehicle sank and reached the bank of the river, while in the second version the driver had reached the river-bank himself before the car sank.

These examples clearly show why commas are so important in languages. Commas not only change the whole point of the sentence but can even save lives! To prove how powerful punctuation is it is worth reminding the famous Russian phrase «Казнить нельзя помиловать» where the comma can drastically change the meaning of the sentence.

All these vivid examples help us understand the role of punctuation and prove that it can change everything. In other words, certain punctuation marks are always used to achieve a particular goal. But their main objective is to make a written statement clear, logical and complete. That is why punctuation is important.

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2. The use of the comma in English and Russian simple, compound and complex sentences

The comma is not only one of the most widespread punctuation mark but also the most problematic one. The main problem connected with the comma is that you cannot rely on your knowledge of Russian grammar as it differs from English. There are special rules of the use of the comma in both languages but these rules are less difficult in the English language. In the Russian language punctuation depends on the syntactic structure, whereas sometimes you do not have to mark the syntactic borders in a sentence of the English language.

1. The comma in the simple sentence.

                                                                                                                                              Let us start from the similarities in Russian and English punctuation in the simple sentence.

1. Loose appositions are separated by commas from the word they modify. The same is in the Russian language.  

Pushkin, the great Russian poet, was born in 1799.                                                                                 A boy, tall and dark and handsome, was standing near the window.

2. Parenthetical words, groups of words are independent elements of the sentence usually separated by a comma both in the English and Russian languages.

Unfortunately, it has been raining all day long.

In all probability, we will miss our train.

My uncle, I have forgotten to mention, is a doctor.

However, one should remember that introductory words may not match in either language. For example, the English word “therefore” is introductory, although its translation “по этой причине” is not an introduction in its structure. Introductory words may not match in either language.                                                                                                                                                       The words “also” and “in fact” do not take commas either.

3.  Direct addresses/vocatives and interjections are separated from the sentence by a comma both in the Russian and English languages:

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    Ann, how about going to the theatre tomorrow?          

   Porter, take this trunk, please.                                                                                       “Here,” she whispered, “take this!”

 “Oh, Max, this is marvelous!” she exclaimed.

4. The comma is used to separate homogeneous members of the sentence.

She is a young, pretty, blond woman.                                                                                                          (these homogeneous adjectives describe the same property – her looks)

When attributes describe different properties, no comma is necessary.                                                                                                  

               A strange large green bug settled on the autumn leaf.

However, there are some differences in the use of commas in both languages. Unlike Russian, a comma is often used after each of several homogeneous members if the last is joined by the conjunction “and”.          

           She bought eggs, butter, cheese (,) and coffee. There are many museums, theatres, and cinemas in Moscow.                                      

 In the Russian language a comma before “and” is never used in this case.                                                                  Она купила яйца, масло, сыр и кофе.

Nevertheless, if two homogeneous members are joined by the union “and” no comma is used.
            He is tall and slim. She nodded and smiled. He went out heavily and shut the door behind him.                                                                                            

 A Comma is not used before the symbol &/ampersand.

             He sells bread, cookies & muffins.

 If there are several homogeneous members in the English language and each of them is joined to the preceding by the conjunction “and” or “nor”, they may or may not be separated by commas.

              Emily, indeed, said little all the evening; but she looked, and listened, and her face got animated, and she was charming. She was not brilliant, nor witty, nor wise overmuch, nor extraordinary handsome.

5. The comma is used to separate adverbs expressing a point of view at the beginning of the sentence:

      Morally, it is important that he should explain his absence.

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6.  The comma is used in disjunctive questions and in replies.
          You will do it, won`t you?
         Yes, I will. /No, I won’t.
7.  Words and other elements of a sentence, which can be confusing to the reader, are separated by commas.

    After dark, men and women strolled around the square.

              To Mary, the president was very kind.

Without the comma, the reader may think that the word «dark» is connected with men and women.          

8. A comma is used to separate contrasting elements in the sentence. These elements can be letters, numbers, words, phrases and grammatical constructions.

            The word begins with an S, not a C. The answer should be 34, not 43.

However, there are some cases in the use of the comma in the simple sentence which differ in the English and Russian languages.

1. Speaking about English letters the comma is used after the greeting at the beginning of the letter. In the Russian language the exclamation mark is necessary in this case.

 Dear Friend, We have just received your letter…                                                                  

In American business letters they use the colon after the greeting.

      Dear Sir: In answer to your letter...              

The comma is also used before the final phrase at the end of the letter.  

                  Best wishes, Mary

                 Yours faithfully, Tom Weite         

2. It is necessary to use the comma after a long introductory phrase which says when or where the action took place. In Russian there is no comma after them:

 Near the old birch just in the middle of the forest, we found a big mushroom.

3. The comma separates the date from the year. This rule does not work in the Russian language.            He was born on the 25th of May, 1988.
4. The comma is used to avoid repetition when words are omitted.                                                                Smith is a collector of stamps; Jones, of photos; Lee, of coins. 

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5. A comma is used to separate the parts of the address (the name of the addressee, street, city, postal district, country), but not necessarily.

      J. White (,)
    10, High Street (,)
     London, E.C. (,)
     England.

6.  If the last item is longer than the previous ones, a comma is always used in English sentences, whereas in Russian sentences no comma is necessary.                                                                                                                                                                                            

I spent that evening watching TV, drinking beer, and talking about the meaning of life.                                                                                                                                                                                 Я провел тот вечер, смотря телевизор, попивая пиво и рассуждая о смысле жизни.

7. We also use a comma to separate the nominative absolute participial construction, which is similar to деепричастный оборот:                                                                                                                        The manager being absent, the question was postponed. By working hard, he got a promotion.                                                                              

Though formally independent of the English sentence the nominative absolute construction is a logical adverbial modifier of time, cause or condition.  That is why it may not take a comma, contrary to the Russian language.                                                                                                                                                                 The room being practically dark I could not see at first where the speaker was.                                                  The ultimatum delivered she waited for their next move.

2. The comma in the compound sentence.

The use of the comma in the English and Russian compound sentences is very similar, so the rules are quite simple. The comma is used both in the Russian and the English languages in the following cases.

1.  Simple sentences joined asyndetically are separated by a comma when the connection between them is very close.

          The sky was covered with clouds, a cold wind was blowing, a snow-storm began.        Небо покрылось тучами, дул холодный ветер, начиналась метель.

 In other cases the most usual stop is the semicolon.

         Arthur looked at his watch; it was nine o’clock.

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2. Clauses joined by the conjunction “and” may be separated by a comma if the connection between the clauses is close (or a semicolon if the clauses are more independent).

          …a library was a most likely place for her, and he might see her there.

Occasionally a comma is found in coordinate clauses joined by the conjunctions “neither”, “nor” (a semicolonis more common).

           He could not bring them back, nor could he go back to them.

3. Coordinate clauses joined by disjunctive conjunctions are usually separated by a comma.

          Either his going had been again delayed, or he had yet procured no opportunity of seeing her alone, or he was too happy for letter-writing.

4. Sentences joined by the adversative/противительный conjunctions “but” and “while” are separated by a comma (or a semicolon).                                                                                                                                                    

                            He still smoked, but he drank no more. Tom was a Whig, while Esmond was a Tory.

Clauses joined by the conjunctive adverbs “yet”, “whereas”, "still” may be separated by the comma (usually by a semicolon).                                                                                                                                                                     He spent all his time playing computer games, whereas his wife was overloaded with household.

5. Clauses joined by “for”, “as”, “so” are generally separated by the comma.                                                                                                                         Don’t approach me, for I hate you beyond measure.

A comma is not used before the conjunctions “and”, “or” if they introduce a short sentence.      A comma is used in American English before “and, or, but”.

           The contract provided for the prompt delivery of the goods(, ) and the buyers immediately chartered a steamer for their transportation.

6. A sentence containing direct speech consists of two independent clauses. A comma is used after the clause introducing direct speech and quotes. Russian sentences demand a colon.                                                                                                                                               Sue said, “I’ll never speak to him again”. Cью сказала: “Я никогда с ним не заговорю”.  

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3. The comma in the complex sentence.

In contrast to the Russian language, where subordinate clauses are always separated from the principal clause, there are many more cases in the English language where the comma is not used.

1. Subject clauses, predicative clauses and object clauses as a rule are not separated from the principal clause by any stop.

                  How this happened is not clear to anyone.  The trouble is that I have lost his address.

                  He noticed that she was in a hurry.          

Note:  a) However, a comma is found if the subject clause is of some length and if subordinate clause is attached to it.

                   What had saved him from becoming a cross between a lap dog and a little prig,  had been his father’s adoration of his mother.

                   Что спасло его от превращения в нечто среднее между комнатной собачкой и маленьким  педантом, так это обожание  отцом его матери.

1. A comma is often used when predicative clauses are joined with the principal cause asyndetically.

                     My opinion is, she’d come to me.      

2. If the object clause precedes the principal clause, a comma may or may not be used.

                 …and what Browning had done for her, Martin decided he could do for Ruth.                    

                 ... И что Браунинг сделал для нее, Мартин решил, что он мог сделать для Ruth.  

3. The conjunction “and” can separate two complex sentences with the conjunction “that”. The comma is not used in this case either.

                  Jane still does not know that he came yesterday and that he is preparing a surprise party for her.                                                                                                                                                            

2. Attributive clauses.

1.  Restrictive relative attributive clauses as a rule are not separated from the principal clause by stops. Otherwise the meaning of the sentence may change.

In the Russian language they are called “определительные придаточные предложения: индивидуализирующие и классифицирующие”.

                    He did not see the letters which were lying on the table.  

                    The dessert made with fresh strawberries was delicious.   

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2. Non-restrictive relative attributive clauses are as a rule separated from the principal clause by a comma. In the Russian language they are called “определительные придаточные предложения описательные”.

                              He saw a little girl, who was sitting by an open window.

                              We went to the lake, which was very stormy that day.

3. Appositive attributive clauses are never separated from the principal clause.

                              The thought that his adored daughter should learn of that old scandal hurt his pride too much.

                             Мысль, что его любимая дочь узнает об этом старом постыдном факте, сильно ранила его гордость.

3. When adverbial clauses follow the principal clause, no stop is generally used. When it precedes the principal clause, it is separated from it by a comma.

                              If you’re ever in London, come and look me up.

                              Come and look me up if you’re ever in London.        

                         The solicitor addressed me as he descended the stairs.                                                      

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Conclusion

Summing up my research, I should say that the comma is the most widespread punctuation mark in the English language. A good knowledge of Russian grammar cannot help pupils to use English commas. On the contrary, it may play a bad joke on them.

All cases of the use of the comma can be divided into four precise categories.

1.        The first category is the so-called listing comma (разделительная запятая) which substitutes the conjunctions “and”, “or” and is used in the following cases:

                   a)          When they join three or more words, phrases, or even full sentences.

                          Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian (,) and I speak Spanish.

Note:  In American English a comma is usually put before “and”, “or”. In British English it is not typical except the cases when an additional comma makes the sentence clearer.

                          My favourite opera composers are Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, and Gilbert and           Sullivan.

                     b)  The comma is used to separate homogeneous members of the sentence. Such homogeneous adjectives describe the same property (her looks in the given instance).

                          Her long, dark, glossy hair fascinated me.

When attributes describe different properties, no comma is necessary.

                          She gave me an antique ivory box.

2.        The second category is the joining comma (coeдинительная запятая) which joins two independent sentences and is used before “and, or, but, while, yet”.

                          You must hand in your essay by Friday, or you will receive a mark of zero.

Note: A typical mistake is to put a comma when there are such conjunctions in the sentence.

                         (Wrong) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages, the Dutch are famously good at it.

                        (Right) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages, and the Dutch are famously good at it. (Or) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages; the Dutch are famously good at it.

The joining comma cannot be put before the words “however, therefore, hence, consequently, nevertheless, thus”.

4. The third category is the gapping comma (заместительная запятая). It shows that some repeated words are omitted.

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                   Some Norwegians wanted to base their national language on the speech of the capital city; others, on the speech of the rural countryside.

Gapping commas are not strictly necessary and can be omitted if the sentence does not lose its meaning.

                     Italy is famous for her composers and musicians, France for her chefs and philosophers, and Poland for her mathematicians and logicians.

4.        The fourth category is bracketing commas (обособляющие запятые) – the most widespread and the most difficult simultaneously. They go in pairs and correspond to a short intonation pause in the sentence.

                     Darwin’s Origin of Species, published in 1859, revolutionized biological thinking.

                     Rupert Brooke, who was killed in the war at the age of twenty-eight, was one of our finest poets.

                     She groped for her cigarettes and, finding them, hastily lit one.

I should note that in each of these examples, the word fragments isolated by commas could be omitted without distorting the meaning of the sentence.

                     (Wrong) Stanley was a determined, even ruthless figure.

                     (Right) Stanley was a determined, even ruthless, figure.

The next instance shows how important for the meaning of the sentence commas are.

                    The people of Cornwall, who depend upon fishing for their livelihood, are up in arms over the new EC quotas.                                                                                                                           If we mean the entire population, this allocation can be omitted.

                   The people of Cornwall who depend upon fishing for their livelihood are up in arms over the new EC quotas.                                                                                                                                If we mean a certain group of people, this allocation cannot be omitted.

It should be kept in mind that if subordinate clauses are introduced with the conjunction “that”, they are never separated by commas.

                   The European powers that were busily carving up Africa paid no attention to the boundaries between rival ethnic groups.

If this clause identifies certain European powers, commas are not required. If it refers to the European powers as a whole, then it becomes a semantically autonomous subordinate clause; it requires separation and the conjunction “that” must be replaced by “which”.

When allocation occurs at the beginning or at the end of the sentence, only one comma is necessary.

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a)          Unlike most nations, Britain has no written constitution.

                      Although Mercury is closer to the sun, Venus has the higher surface temperature.

                     After capturing the Aztec capital, Cortes turned his attention to the Pacific.

b)        The use of dictionaries is not allowed, which strikes me as preposterous.

                      The pronunciation of English is changing rapidly, we are told.

                      The Rose Parade is held in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles.

The bracketing comma is used to separate complex sentences beginning with the words “although, though, even though, because, since, after, before, if, when и whenever”. Yet it is not required if a sentence is easily read without it.

Thus, the listing comma is used to separate words, phrases, and even full sentences where it can be replaced by the conjunctions “and, or”. 

The joining comma confronts the conjunctions “and, or, but, yet, and while” if they are followed by a full sentence.

The gapping comma demonstrates that repeated words are omitted in the sentence.

Bracketing commas corresponds to a short intonation pause.

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        List of literature:

1. Каушанская В. А. “A Grammar of the English Language”. Ленинград, “Просвещение” 1973.

2. Бархударов Л.С., Штелинг Д.А. Грамматика английского языка. - Москва: «Высшая школа», 1973.

3.  Берман И.М. Грамматика английского языка. - М.: «Высшая школа», 1993.

4. Грамматика современного английского языка / Под ред. А.В. Зеленщикова, Е.С. Петровой. - М.: «Академия», 2003.

5. Грузинская И.А., Черкасская Е.Б., Романова А.Ю. Просто о главном. Грамматика английского языка - М.: «Юнвес», 2000.

6.  Nesfield J.C. Manual of English grammar and composition, Revised edition, Past and Present-Macmillan and Co Limited St. Martin's Street, London

7.  Rosen L.J. Guide to Grammar and Punctuation: A Writer's Handbook. - New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1994.