B2 — upper-intermediateOrthography and punctuation

Commas in clauses

Lesson opening

This is the first part of the lesson. The rest, the exercises and the reviews are in the app.

Commas in complex sentences: the whole system

You already know the main principle (the lessons “Basic punctuation” and “Subordinate clauses overview”): the Serbian comma is placed by meaning, not mechanically “before every conjunction”. There is none before da “that” after “know, think, say”, and none before a koji “who, which” that tells you which person or thing is meant. Now we assemble the whole system of commas between clauses: every case where the comma is there, every case where it is not, and the places where Serbian leaves you a choice.

We will take five knots one at a time: a clause placed before or after the main clause; a koji clause that defines or only adds; apposition and parenthetical words; direct address; and finally the conjunctions that link equal parts (i, a, ali). Careful English punctuation runs on much the same logic, so a lot will feel familiar; the lesson shows exactly where English habits lead you astray.

A clause first takes a comma; after the main clause, usually none

This is the clearest rule, and it is the same for clauses of time, condition, reason and concession (kad, ako, jer, iako, dok…). If the subordinate clause comes in front of the main clause, a comma follows it. If it comes after the main clause, there is usually no comma. English does exactly the same: “When I arrive, I’ll call” but “I’ll call when I arrive”.

Examples

Clause first: comma	Clause after: no comma
Kad dođem, javiću se.	Javiću se kad dođem.
Ako možeš, pomozi mi.	Pomozi mi ako možeš.
Iako je umoran, radi.	Radi iako je umoran.
Dok ti spavaš, ja radim.	Ja radim dok ti spavaš.

The logic: a fronted clause is a run-up to the main thought, and the comma marks where the run-up ends; a clause trailing behind leaves nothing to cut off. This holds for jer “because” too: usually there is no comma before it (Ostajem kod kuće jer pada kiša “I’m staying home because it’s raining”). A comma appears when the reason is tacked on after a pause, as an afterthought (Ostajem kod kuće, jer pada kiša, roughly “I’m staying home; it’s raining, after all”). Other clauses after the main one work the same way: Vidimo se sutra, kad završim posao. “See you tomorrow, when I’ve finished work”, with the time added after a pause. Writers differ here, and in texts you will also see a comma before jer and kad where there is no pause. Reasons, conditions and concessions get a lesson of their own, “Causal, conditional & concessive”.

A da clause nearly always follows the main clause, and there is no comma before da, whatever it means: “that” (Znam da dolaziš “I know you’re coming”, Rekao je da ne može “He said he couldn’t”) or “in order to” (Idem da kupim hleb “I’m going to buy bread”). The same goes for što after “glad, thanks, sorry” (Drago mi je što si došao “I’m glad you came”) and for a question inside a sentence (the lesson “Indirect questions”): Ne znam gde je “I don’t know where he is”, Pitam se da li dolazi “I wonder whether he’s coming”. If such a question is moved to the front, it takes a comma, like any clause placed first: Gde je, ne znam. “Where he is, I don’t know.”

Deeper grammar

A comma before a, a space before i

Serbian splits the conjunctions that link equal parts into two camps, and the comma guards the border. The contrastive ones, a “and, whereas”, ali “but”, and nego and već “but rather” after a negative, set two thoughts against each other, and the clash is marked with a comma. The joining ones, i “and”, ili “or”, ni and niti “nor”, just string things together, and there is nothing to cut.

Half of this is familiar: English, too, writes “clever, but lazy” with a comma before but. The tricky one is a. English has no single word for it: it comes out as “and”, “while” or “whereas”, always with a contrast inside, and between two clauses Serbian wants its comma: Ja radim, a ti spavaš “I’m working, and you’re sleeping”. The mirror image is i: no comma before it, not even at the end of a list (hleb, mleko i sir “bread, milk and cheese”), so no Oxford comma, and not even between two clauses, where many English style guides put one before and. A mnemonic: a, ali, nego, već are “arguers” and get a comma in front when they link two clauses; i, ili are “fellow travellers” and get only a space. Between single words the arguers may go without a comma.

Cheat sheet

The cheat sheet — everything essential from the lesson on one page. In the app it opens at any time.

Commas in complex sentences

The Serbian comma (zarez, zapeta) is logical: it marks what is fronted, inserted or contrasted, not every clause boundary.

Clause first: comma; after: usually none

Examples

Before the main clause: comma	After it: no comma
Kad dođem, javiću se.	Javiću se kad dođem.
Ako možeš, pomozi mi.	Pomozi mi ako možeš.
Iako je umoran, radi.	Radi iako je umoran.
Dok ti spavaš, ja radim.	Ja radim dok ti spavaš.
Gde je, ne znam.	Ne znam gde je.

So too jer: Ostajem kod kuće jer pada kiša. A comma after the main clause only for an afterthought after a pause (Vidimo se sutra, kad završim posao); writers differ. None before da or što: Znam da dolaziš, Idem da kupim hleb, Drago mi je što si došao.

Defining vs non-defining koji

Defining (“which one exactly?”): no commas.
Non-defining (an extra detail): two commas; at the end, one before koji.
Test: drop it. Meaning breaks: no commas; only a detail lost: commas.

Apposition, parentheticals, address: in commas

Examples

What it is	Example
Apposition (apozicija)	Marko, moj komšija, svira gitaru. Marko, my neighbour, plays
Parenthetical inside: two commas	On je, naravno, bio u pravu. He was, of course, right
Parenthetical first: one	Dakle, sve je jasno. So, everything is clear
Direct address: always	Đorđe, javi mi se kasnije. Đorđe, get in touch later

naravno of course, međutim however, dakle so, nažalost unfortunately, izgleda it seems, na primer for example (npr.): in commas when said as an aside. Close what you open.

Between clauses: comma before a, none before i

Examples

Contrastive: comma	Joining: no comma
a, ali, nego, već	i, ili, ni, niti
Ja radim, a ti se odmaraš.	Kiša je prestala i deca su izašla napolje.
Umoran je, ali nastavlja.	Kupujem hleb, mleko i sir.

Single words: your choice (Lepo je, ali skupo; ne danas nego sutra). Usually none in Nije samo lepa nego je i pametna. None before nego “than” (Stariji je nego ja) or in ni kafu ni čaj.