Question
explain why a comma is needed in this sentance
I love to roller skate, but I tend to fall a lot.
I love to roller skate, but I tend to fall a lot.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
A comma is needed in the sentence "I love to roller skate, but I tend to fall a lot" because it separates two independent clauses.
An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a complete sentence, containing a subject and a verb. In this sentence, "I love to roller skate" is one independent clause, and "I tend to fall a lot" is another. The word "but" is a coordinating conjunction that connects these two clauses, indicating a contrast between the speaker's enjoyment of roller skating and the tendency to fall.
According to the rules of punctuation, a comma should be placed before the coordinating conjunction (like "but") when it joins two independent clauses. Hence, the correct structure is:
"I love to roller skate, but I tend to fall a lot."
Without the comma, the sentence may become harder to read and understand because the reader might not immediately recognize where one complete thought ends and another begins.
An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a complete sentence, containing a subject and a verb. In this sentence, "I love to roller skate" is one independent clause, and "I tend to fall a lot" is another. The word "but" is a coordinating conjunction that connects these two clauses, indicating a contrast between the speaker's enjoyment of roller skating and the tendency to fall.
According to the rules of punctuation, a comma should be placed before the coordinating conjunction (like "but") when it joins two independent clauses. Hence, the correct structure is:
"I love to roller skate, but I tend to fall a lot."
Without the comma, the sentence may become harder to read and understand because the reader might not immediately recognize where one complete thought ends and another begins.