Could you please help with the following sentence?  I was dirty after my journey so they took me to a water treatment works.  I suppose 'so' here joins two independent clauses, but why is there no comma before so? Is it necessary to place one?
120845
I am confused with the usage of so.  Consider some examples from Oxford and Meriam-webster        It was still painful so I went to see a doctor (Oxford).   We were bored with the movie, so we left (MW).   There are no more chairs available, so you'll have to stand (MW).      So is a conjunction in all the above sentences. But I don't understand when to place a comma before it. So is one of FANBOYS. Thus, we have use a comma when it connects two independent clauses, which I think contradict the first sentence.  Is the placement of comma before so depends on a style guide? For example, Americans prefer a comma while the British doesn't.
93936
Possible Duplicate:                 I heard that "but, and, so" are not supposed to be used at the beginning of a sentence.  I have noticed, however, a lot of sentences use "but, and, so" as the first word of the sentence.  Are the words at the beginning of the sentence grammatically correct?
123307
I have the following sentence: "The swimmer next to Cavic arrives just before he." My question is why can't we write "The swimmer next to Cavic arrives just before him"? Isn't "just before..." an prepositional phrase that modifies "arrives"? Thus, wouldn't what follows be the object of the preposition, and thus one would have to use the objective case "him"? I know that "he" is correct, but why is it correct, and why can we not use "him"?
117607
We are currently in the process of finishing planning for the outage.    It the preceding sentence grammatically correct?    Is the preceding sentence ideally structured?   If not, what would be a better way of saying it?
87964
I have the following sentence:     If T had still been alive, there is the great possibility that either T or C ...   My teacher says that the word "then" must appear after the comma, but I think that it's implied and unnecessary. Who is right?
67005
As a result, I am able to be understanding and accommodating to the people that I work with, including clients, which I believe is an important asset for a professional to have.   I wanted to make sure it is absolutely known that I mean to acknowledge clients as a class of people I can work with. Is this the right way to include it with commas?
14623
I have seen many sentences like this:     "Capitalism, Socialism, and Anarchism"   and this:     "She was happy, and cheerful"   Do we have to use a comma before "and", or is it incorrect?  If it is not, then why?
94583
I am having trouble figuring out when to use commas to set off &quot;nonessential&quot; information.  Sometimes it's obvious:  Bob, who is thirty years old, is an alcoholic.  But other times I'm not sure:  The day he quits drinking * he will start a llama farm He has his heart set on owning El Duderino ranch * in New Mexico.  In the first case, my ear says that there should be a comma at *, even though information before it seems essential to me.  In the second case, the stuff after * is not essential, and yet it seems a little much to use a comma. Even that last sentence I wrote confuses me.  &quot;In the second case&quot; seems essential but I used a comma.  Is this correct? Does it depend on personal style and the length of the clause?  Or perhaps I'm misinterpreting the meaning of &quot;essential&quot; in this context?
96479
I have a doubt about the following sentence how it should be made correctly.     "I'm happy when you're beside/s (of) me"   Beside or besides, me or of me?
33151
I am trying to say sentences like:  Then by doing this thing, this happens Now after selecting this option, this happens By doing this, now we can do this  Should they get comma after &quot;then&quot; and &quot;now&quot;:  Then, by doing this thing, this happens Now, after selecting this option, this happens By doing this, now, we can do this
22770
I am always confused about where to put adverbs in sentences. For example, consider the questions below:        Why did they target us specifically?   Why did they target specifically us?   Why did they specifically target us?      I believe all these sentences mean the same. Am I correct? I am always confused about where to put adverbs such as always and specifically, etc. Is there a particular grammar rule for this?  Funny, you see, I can even form the above sentence in different ways.         I always confuse where to put this kind of adverb   Always I confuse where to put this kind of adverb
110501
I read this  and this one is different because the second clause is in present tense.  I'm born and brought up in India. - too commonly practiced in India.  I was born in India is correct over I'm born in India. I am pretty clear on that, but then if I want to include brought up which is still effective (present), how do I say that?  I was born and brought up in India. - does not relate the sentence to the present time then. As both are in past I was born in India + I was brought up in India. - no. I AM brought up in India, I'm still here.
7603
I cannot make much sense of one in the following passage from :  Now the various species of whales need some sort of popular comprehensive classification, if only an easy outline one for the present, hereafter to be filled in all its departments by subsequent laborers.  If  is a noun in this passage, then  must serve here as a pronoun. If so, isn't the sentence lacking in punctuation? Rewriting would make it less ambiguous:  Now the various species of whales need some sort of popular comprehensive classification, if only an easy outline, one for the present hereafter to be filled in all its departments by subsequent laborers.  Furthermore, I can't help thinking that one is not needed here at all:  Now, the various species of whales need some sort of popular comprehensive classification, if only an easy outline for the present, hereafter to be filled in all its departments by subsequent laborers.  If Melville correctly worded this sentence, what is the function of one in it? What are your thoughts on my modifications?
33436
If I have a sentence that starts with additionally, finally, consequently, etc. do I always have to put a comma after it? Or is there a different rule?
8514
I often see people on the Internet using a comma before and in many cases (not adversative cases). Is it ok? In my language it is stricly prohibited to use a comma before an and except for adversative cases or when an apposition is in the front of that and. Examples (which I consider not ok):  He is a great player, and he prefers to play Counter-Strike. John joined the Army, and George joined the Marines.  What I consider exceptions:  Yes, and what is the problem? I called John, my brother, and now I’m speaking with him.
95062
In the last few years, I've noticed a growing usage of the word "so" to begin a sentence, especially in the context of higher education.  For example:   Interviewer: "What is the nature of your research"  Researcher: "So, what we wanted to find out is..."  It seems to be a replacement the word "well", or, more informally, "ok".  Has this usage of the word been around for a long time and I'm just now noticing it?  Do you think that is a valid use of the word?
26335
Men, particularly, spend hours of their leisure time installing their own fireplaces, laying out their own gardens; building garages and making furniture.   I do not understand the use of the semicolon (";") after "gardens" in the sentence above, could someone help?   Thanks