A few days ago
ruthzinda

Help with this sentence?

Horoscopes are a part of astrology which is the belief that the stars and other celestial bodies have an influence on human beings interactions, events, and personalities.

So my question is do you think that a comma is necessary before the word which? I don’t feel as if I should pause at that point in the sentence but my teacher is telling me I should have a comma there. What is your opinion or knowledge?

Top 10 Answers
A few days ago
?

Favorite Answer

Yes, put a comma before ‘which.’

There is no need for a comma after events, since you don’t have to use one before ‘and.’

Also, put an apostrophe after ‘beings,’ since you use it in the plural possessive form.

It’s a good sentence, and doesn’t need to be broken down into two smaller ones.

“Horoscopes are a part of astrology, which is the belief that the stars and other celestial bodies have an influence on human beings’ interactions, events and personalities.”

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A few days ago
Anonymous
This is a long sentence. You can do a few things to make this sentence easier to read. One option is to break it up with a comma, as follows:

Horoscopes are a part of astrology, which is the belief that the stars and other celestial bodies have an influence on human beings’ interactions, events, and personalities.

Another option is:

Astrology is the belief that stars and other celestial bodies have an influence on human beings, their interactions, events, and personalities. Horoscopes are an integral part of astrology.

I like the second option better. However, that is a personal preference. If you do not want two sentences, use a comma to make your sentence easier to read.

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A few days ago
Sooner
Yes, in that sentence you would put a comma after “which.”

However, it might be better to break that into two sentences:

Astrology is the belief that the stars and other celestial bodies have an influence on human beings interactions, events, and personalities. Horoscopes are predictions about the future based on astrology.

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A few days ago
Lee
The real issue here is whether the dependent clause starting with which is essential to the message of the sentence or not. Is it a perfectly good, whole sentence with “Horoscopes are a part of astrology” or not? Do you absolutely need the “which…” part?

I agree with your English teacher. Among their many functions in English, commas set off nonessential phrases, clauses, and words, so I would put a comma after astrology because I don’t absolutely have to know the description of it to get the point that horoscopes are a part of it.

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A few days ago
Curious R
Yes, in this case you need a comma to introduce the subordinate relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun ‘which’.

Why?

Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

Here are some clues to help you decide whether the sentence element is essential:

* If you leave out the clause, phrase, or word, does the sentence still make sense?

* Does the clause, phrase, or word interrupt the flow of words in the original sentence?

* If you move the element to a different position in the sentence, does the sentence still make sense?

If you answer “yes” to one or more of these questions, then the element in question is nonessential and should be set off with commas.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_comma.html

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A few days ago
dan chiro
Yes, I believe there should be a comma before the word which. Try reading the sentence with a pause at “which” and without a pause. The pause seems to make sense.
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A few days ago
?
You need a comma SOMEwhere, though an even better thing to do would be to break this sentence down into two sentences. Short and snappy is always more fun to read.

I run on sometimes, so I ought to know.

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A few days ago
picador
I agree with your teacher, the first six words comprise a clause: they could stand alone as a sentence. Also, I think that there should be an apostrophe after beings.
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A few days ago
Anonymous
yeh i think you should have a comma there cos i needed to take a breath when i was reading it
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A few days ago
stefstudy
a comma is not necessary
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