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Which of the following is correct?

  1. No gifts please, we don't need any orchids and we already have a toaster.

  2. No gifts please, we don't need any orchids , and we already have a toaster.

tchrist
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Jason Martinez
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    I'm not a native speaker, but this sentence, if added to the bottom of an invitation, sounds like something between rudeness and humour, doesn't it ? – Centaurus Jul 11 '14 at 23:55
  • Yes. Actually it may sound a bit arrogant to me too. Like saying whatever you may get us, it is either going to be useless, or something of little value (you poor beggar! :-) ), which we already have. A bit rude, as the meaning of a gift is often just the thought, not its material value. If I read that I would think: "I was not going to get you anything anyway" :-) – Pam Jul 12 '14 at 09:57

1 Answers1

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Neither one of your sentences is correct: you are attempting to splice together two independent clauses using a comma alone, which is a big no-no.

Try these instead:

  1. No gifts please. We don’t need any orchids and we already have a toaster.
  2. No gifts please; we don’t need any orchids and we already have a toaster.
  3. No gifts please: we don’t need any orchids and we already have a toaster.
  4. No gifts please. We don’t need any orchids. And we already have a toaster.
  5. No gifts please. We don’t need any orchids, and we already have a toaster.
  6. No gifts please; we don’t need any orchids, and we already have a toaster.
  7. No gifts please: we don’t need any orchids, and we already have a toaster.
  8. No gifts please. We don’t need any orchids. And we already have a toaster.
  9. No gifts please: we don’t need any orchids. And we already have a toaster.
  10. No gifts please. We don’t need any orchids — and we already have a toaster.
  11. No gifts please; we don’t need any orchids — and we already have a toaster.
  12. No gifts please: we don’t need any orchids — and we already have a toaster.
tchrist
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  • Though how big a no-no is open to question Nordquist: 'Though often treated as errors in traditional grammar, comma splices may be used deliberately to create a rhetorical effect of speed, excitement, informality, or confusion.' '"This is the error beloved of composition teachers--easy to identify, just what we need to separate the sheep from the goats. But is it as clear-cut as we tend to think? ... – Edwin Ashworth Jul 11 '14 at 23:59
  • ... The distinction between an impermissible comma splice and a legitimate juncture involving a comma is far less precise, for example, than that between a complete sentence and a fragment." (Anne Klinck)' "The air was soggy, the season was exhausted." (John Updike, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu," 1960) // And compounding offences: 'No Sex Please, We're British'. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 12 '14 at 00:00
  • Excuse me (non-native). Is it ok to start a sentence, after a full stop, with an "And": And we already have a toaster. To me looks a little weird. Is this fine in English ? – Pam Jul 12 '14 at 01:12
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    @Pam It can be, yes. JRR Tolkien, a chaired professor of English, does so 1,667 times across The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. – tchrist Jul 12 '14 at 01:54
  • Thank you tchrist. And... an upvote well deserved! :-) – Pam Jul 12 '14 at 09:49