\nI mention coordinating conjunctions in my post from June 30.<\/a> During my research, another point about them came up.<\/p>\n \nI will often use a coordinating conjunction to join two short standalone sentences into a compound sentence, such as<\/p>\n \nBill shouldn’t hesitate or he’ll miss the ferry.<\/p>\n \nHowever, Harbrace Handbook For Canadians<\/em> suggests that one should put a comma before the coordinating conjunction in such a case:\n<\/p> \nBill shouldn’t hesitate, or he’ll miss the ferry.<\/p>\n \nI’ve seen that comma as optional; leaving it out makes the sentence crisper, in my opinion.<\/p>\n \nSource:<\/p>\n Hodges, J.C., Horner, W.B., Webb, S.S., Miller, R.K., Stubbs, A. (2003). Harbrace Handbook For Canadians.<\/em> Nelson Education Ltd.<\/p>\nJack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane,<\/a> Campbell River, BC.<\/em>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tutoring English, the comma is often a source of questions. The tutor mentions a case for it. I mention coordinating conjunctions in my post from June 30. During my research, another point about them came up. I will often use …<\/p>\n