SHOW ME YOU EXAMPLE - Third Conditional

[Dixie]

I would have read Dixie's example if she had written one

[ProfessorVerb]

I think we have a winner!

[Chet Baker]

My EXAMPLE is :

"I could have eaten 10 dozens of hamburger, if i hadn't eaten for 10 days"

Suppsed to be no comma before if in that sentence ;) .

Thank you LennyeTran, I think, generally it is ok, even there is a comma between 2 sentences, as it does not affect the meaning.

[Chet Baker]

I think we have a winner!

Would you tell us who is the winner, Professor?

[ProfessorVerb]

idalia wrote:
I would have read Dixie's example if she had written one

I liked this one very much but I am a wiseacre from way back and may have been swayed ;)

[MissLT]

My EXAMPLE is :

"I could have eaten 10 dozens of hamburger, if i hadn't eaten for 10 days"

Suppsed to be no comma before if in that sentence ;) .

Thank you LennyeTran, I think, generally it is ok, even there is a comma between 2 sentences, as it does not affect the meaning.

This is what I've learned in my English class for formal writing,

" When adverb clauses introduce a sentence, they are nearly always followed by a comma. When they conclude a sentence; however, they are not set off by commas if their content is essential to the meaning of the earlier part of the sentence. Adverb clauses beginning with after, as soon as, before, because, if, since, unless, until, and when are usually essential.
Example: Don't visit Paris at the height of the tourist, unless you have booked hotel reservations. (supposed to be no comma there)
(Without the concluding unless clause, the meaning of the sentence would be broader than the write intended.)

[ProfessorVerb]

The importance of commas and other punctuation was the subject of a recent popular book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss: http://eatsshootsandleaves.com/. The title of the book is based on a joke:

A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down and orders a large meal. After the panda finishes his meal, he stands up, pulls out a gun (from where we don't know) and shoots the waiter. As the panda walks out of the restaurant, a bystander comes up and asks him, "Why did you shoot that waiter?" The panda pulls out a poorly edited nature book (again, we don't know where the panda is storing all this stuff) and points to the entry on panda that says: "Panda, n., eats, shoots, and leaves." Hehe...


A lengthy excerpt is available at: http://eatsshootsandleaves.com/excerpt.html