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Commas Commas are used before the relative pronouns which or who only in non-identifying relative clauses where the information given is clearly extra to that given in the main clause. In identifying relative clauses, where the clauses are a necessary part of the nouns they describe, they are not used. Example: This book, which was discovered in the ruins of a castle in Knossos, is over four thousand years old. The boy who introduced me to the man I married has now married my cousin. In conditional sentences, they are used after the if clause when the subordinate clause comes first, but if it comes second, they are not always used. Example: If Christos rings, tell him I’m not at home. I decided I would not answer the phone if he rang. Commas are used to separate items in a list, but not between the last two items. Example: As a student, I am always short of money, so when I go to the supermarket, I can never afford to buy lemons, grapefruit, potatoes, veal, ice cream or chocolate. Adverbial clauses, phrases and expressions are separated by commas, particularly when they are placed at the beginning of sentences. As is the case in all of these examples, they reflect pauses in speech: Example: Easter week, as we all know, changes from year to year. This year it is very early. Dashes or brackets: - or ( ) ? Dashes and brackets perform similar functions. They are useful for separating off parts of a sentence that introduce less important information that could be omitted. Dashes are used more in informal writing and newspaper reporting. Example: Otzi, as he is known, is by far the oldest mummy discovered - those from ancient Egypt are 1000 years younger - and was unearthed by a couple climbing in the high peaks of Italy's South Tyrol. After high school I went to a university far away from home (my parents were opposed as they wanted me close by) to study psychology. Dashes also introduce afterthoughts, particularly those of a surprising or unexpected nature. Brackets cannot be used in this way. Example: Everyone turned up for my twenty-first birthday - including Yiannis and Christina from Australia.
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