Sentences can be either simple or complex. Simple ones are those that have the same grammatical basis. Complex ones are those in which there is more than one grammatical basis. Complex sentences, in turn, are divided into compound and complex sentences. In the first, the grammatical bases are equal, and the connection between them is only coordinative.
Secondly, there is one main grammatical basis, and the rest are subordinate to it; accordingly, the connection between the predicative parts is subordinate. The spelling of such complex sentences has its own characteristics and is subject to the following rules.
1. A comma is always placed between the main and dependent parts of complex sentences. If a dependent construction breaks the main one, then it is separated by commas on both sides. For example:
- I walked forward, completely unaware of where this road led.
- I kept sitting and waiting for her to come.
- We did everything in silence so as not to scare off future prey.
2. In sentences where the subordinate clause follows the main clause and the conjunctions “because”, “due to the fact that”, “due to the fact that” are used, a comma is placed only before the entire conjunction (once). For example:
- I wasn't upset because I didn't care about his feelings.
- We sat on the corner of the bastion. So everyone (Lermontov) could see in both directions.
- You believe everything they tell you because you can’t verify anything yourself! And you don't want to do it.
3. In sentences where the subordinate part with the same complex conjunctions is in position before the main part, complex conjunctions are also not separated by commas. For example:
- As she cried, her grief went away.
- Because they didn't see you, so you passed by.
Note 1. However, sometimes the very meaning of a sentence requires the collapse of a complex conjunction, and then one part of the conjunction remains to fulfill its purpose, while the other goes into the main part of the sentence. In this case, the comma is placed only before the subordinate clause. For example:
- He did not fulfill this intention only because there were too many people on the embankment and near the water itself (Pisarev).
- Raskolnikov built his entire theory about trembling creatures and those who have the right in order to have an ideological basis for the vile crime.
- I asked not to disturb my mother until she came down to us herself.
Note 2. A comma is not placed before “what”, “how”, “where”, “than”, “whose” when these words are part of the stable units “at any cost”, “whose at any cost”, “as in nothing” never happened”, “the devil knows what”, etc. For example:
- You always have to get your way no matter what.
- This is the devil knows what it is!
- If he had belonged to anyone, he would have already been taken away.
4. If in a sentence there are two conjunctions in a row next to each other (subordinating conjunction or relative word + subordinating conjunction; coordinating conjunction + subordinating conjunction or relative word), a comma is placed between them only if the omission of the subordinate part does not require restructuring of the main part. For example:
- They tried to tell her what the doctor said, but it turned out that, although the doctor spoke very smoothly and for a long time, it was impossible to convey what he said (Tolstoy).
- A guide stayed by the fire and prepared dinner while the travelers were hunting.
- She told him that if he was sick, then he needed to be treated (Tolstoy)
- Those who were on time got to the zoo, and those who were late remained at the gate.
Note 1 . If a subordinating conjunction or relative word is preceded by a negative particle “not” or a coordinating conjunction “and”, “yes”, “but”, closely merging with the subordinate part, then it is not separated from the main part by a comma. For example:
- I want to imagine not why this is done, but how it is done.
- He is angry both when he is sick and when he is healthy.
Note 2. If the subordinate part consists of only one conjunction, it is not separated from the main part by a comma. For example:
- Where? I said where (M. Gorky).
- I think I've already explained why.
“Sit down, princess,” said the famous doctor.
He sat down opposite her with a smile, took her pulse and again began asking boring questions. She answered him and suddenly got up angry.
“Excuse me, doctor, but this really won’t lead to anything.” You ask me the same thing three times.
The famous doctor was not offended.
“Painful irritation,” he said to the princess when Kitty left. - However, I finished...
And the doctor, before the princess, as before an exceptionally intelligent woman, scientifically determined the princess’s position and concluded with instructions on how to drink those waters that were not needed. When asked whether to go abroad, the doctor went deep into thought, as if resolving a difficult question. The decision was finally laid out: go and not believe the charlatans, but turn to him in everything.
As if something funny happened after the doctor left. The mother cheered up when she returned to her daughter, and Kitty pretended that she was cheerful. She often, almost always, now had to pretend.
- Really, I’m healthy, maman. But if you want to go, let's go! - she said and, trying to show that she was interested in the upcoming trip, began talking about preparations for departure.
Dolly arrived after the doctor. She knew that on this day there should be a consultation, and, despite the fact that she had recently risen from childbirth (she gave birth to a girl at the end of winter), despite the fact that she had a lot of grief and worries of her own, she left the infant and a sick girl, stopped by to find out about Kitty’s fate, which was being decided today.
- Well? - she said; entering the living room without taking off his hat. - You are all funny. Right, okay?
They tried to tell her what the doctor said, but it turned out that, although the doctor spoke very clearly and for a long time, it was impossible to convey what he said. The only interesting thing was that it was decided to go abroad.
Dolly sighed involuntarily. Her best friend, her sister, was leaving. But her life was not fun. Relations with Stepan Arkadyevich after reconciliation became humiliating. The bond made by Anna turned out to be fragile, and family harmony broke again in the same place. There was nothing definite, but Stepan Arkadyevich was almost never at home, there was almost never any money, and Dolly was constantly tormented by suspicions of infidelity, and she was already driving them away from herself, fearing the suffering of jealousy she had experienced. The first explosion of jealousy, once experienced, could no longer return, and even the discovery of infidelity could not have the same effect on her as the first time. Such a discovery now would only deprive her of her family habits, and she allowed herself to be deceived, despising him and most of all herself for this weakness. Moreover, the worries of a large family constantly tormented her: either the feeding of the infant did not go well, then the nanny left, then, as now, one of the children fell ill.
- What, how are yours? - asked the mother.
- Oh, maman, you have a lot of grief of your own. Lily is sick, and I'm afraid it's scarlet fever. I’ve now left to find out, otherwise I’ll be locked up forever if, God forbid, I get scarlet fever.
After the doctor’s departure, the old prince also left his office and, offering his cheek to Dolly and talking to her, turned to his wife:
- How did you decide, are you going? Well, what do you want to do with me?
“I think you should stay, Alexander,” said the wife.
- As you wish.
- Maman, why doesn’t dad come with us? - said Kitty. - It’s more fun for him and for us.
The old prince stood up and stroked Kitty's hair with his hand. She raised her face and looked at him, smiling forcefully. It always seemed to her that he understood her better than anyone in the family, although he spoke little
A comma is placed between the main and subordinate clauses, and if the subordinate clause is inside the main clause, then it is separated by commas on both sides, for example:
Go on the free road , Where does your free mind take you?(Pushkin). The coachmen tied up the bells ,so that the ringing does not attract the attention of the guards(Pushkin). In a small room ,which Nekhlyudov occupied,there was an old leather sofa(L. Tolstoy). On small farms ,where they mowed with machines,the bread was not in heaps, but in heaps(Chekhov).
When the subordinate clause comes after the main clause, a comma for complex subordinating conjunctions (because, due to the fact that, due to the fact that etc.), as with simple conjunctions, is placed once - before the conjunction, for example:
Fools and narrow-minded people believe everything ,because they can't research anything(Belinsky). We sat on the corner of the bastion , so we could see everything in both directions(Lermontov).
A complex subordinating conjunction is not divided into parts by a comma even in the case when the subordinate clause beginning with such a conjunction comes before the main one, for example:
As I spoke, he came to his senses (M. Gorky).
However, depending on the meaning, a complex conjunction can split into two parts: the first part will be part of the main sentence, and the second will serve as a conjunction; in such cases, a comma is placed only before the second part, for example:
He did not fulfill this intention only because there were too many people on the embankment and near the water (Pisarev). Raskolnikov built his entire theory solely in order to justify in his own eyes the idea of quick and easy money. (Pisarev). Grandfather ordered not to wake up Tanyusha until she wakes up (S. Aksakov). He lost weight overnight until only skin and bones remained. (L. Tolstoy). That’s why we are sad and look at life so gloomily that we don’t know how to work (Chekhov).
Note. There is no comma before what, how, whose, where etc., when these words are part of indecomposable expressions, such as: at any cost, whose just happened, as if nothing had happened, God knows what etc., for example:
We must achieve this at all costs. He fell and stood up as if nothing had happened. They hit us with anything. It works as it should. They said who knows what. He screamed at the top of his lungs.
With two adjacent conjunctions (a subordinating conjunction or a relative word and another subordinating conjunction; a coordinating conjunction and a subordinating conjunction or a relative word), a comma is placed between the conjunctions only if the omission of the subordinate clause does not require restructuring of the main clause, for example:
They tried to tell her what the doctor said, but it turned out that, although the doctor spoke very clearly and for a long time, it was impossible to convey what he said (L. Tolstoy). A guide stayed by the fire and prepared dinner while the travelers were hunting. Today I will be back early, and if necessary, we will have time to go out of town.
She told him that if he was sick, he should be treated (L. Tolstoy). We picked mushrooms and talked, and when she asked about something, she came forward to see my face (Chekhov). Those who arrived on time went by car, and those who were late went on foot.
Note 1. If a subordinating conjunction or relative word is preceded by a negation Not or coordinating conjunction ( and, or etc.), closely merging with the subordinate clause, then the latter is not separated from the main one by a comma, for example:
I want to know not how it is done, but why it is done. He is irritable both when he is sick and when he is healthy.
Note 2. A subordinate clause consisting of only one conjunction or relative word is not separated by a comma, for example:
Where? I said where from (M. Gorky).