Are you talking about the first sentence in the OP’s question? If you are, then you’re incorrect: that sentence has only one clause, and that clause is independent.
“We are enjoying a summertime of relentless rain, and a few really nice days.” is a single clause, with a singular subject (we), a singular simple predicate (are enjoying), a plural direct object (a summertime), and a compound adverbial prepositional phrase (of relentless rain, and a few really nice days).
The comma between “rain” and “and” is unnecessary, but it may remain in the sentence based on the last rule of commas: “Use the suckers where their absence will create confusion.”
That said, I’m not sure that it lessens the confusion: the comma, to me, makes it look as if it’s a compound direct object (a summertime and a few really nice days), but that doesn’t make any sense.
Overall, I think the sentence would be better off totally rewritten. “Our summer has consisted of weeks of rain, interrupted by a few days of sunshine.”
Nope, I was talking about Polycarp’s “But, and” sentence.
As for the OP’s first sentence, a comma should not be used before a coordinating conjunction that links part of a compound predicate. (Resource: Harbrace College Handbook, p 118)
Stylistically I’d agree with you. My grammar alarm is still going off since the coordinating conjunction is creating a dependant clause. It’s becoming a conjunction that’s not conjoining anything.
Of course, I did find this:
So there we have it, it is acceptable to begin a sentence with AND or BUT. But I’m still gonna pout about it tho.
I believe that good grammar is also contingent on good spelling.
If you read the early posts to this thread, the comma was used in the first sentence to indicate a pause (for the sake of cadence). I proposed that a dash or a period would be more appropriate, but that is apparently a matter of style. A sentence can begin with “And” or “But” if a pause is indicated greater than would be indicated by one compound sentence. But again this is a matter of style.
The first sentence should not have a comma. You use a comma to separate two independent clauses. You could write “We are enjoying a summertime of relentless rain, and we are also enjoying a few really nice days.” In the sentence you wrote, “relentless rain and a few really nice days” describes the summertime, as part of a prepositional phrase.
The confusion you have about the second sentence comes from the inversion of subject and verb. You could write “Terrific fruits come with all of that rain,” but as you’ve written it, the subject arrives at the end. By the way, “Of that rain” is a prepositional phrase describing “all”, so neither “rain” nor “rains” affects anything.
The best way to write the sentence with the word “fruits” is “With all of that rain come terrific fruits.” You can say “rain” or “rains,” but you use rain in the previous sentence, so use “rain” in this sentence. By the way, if you use “rains”, you have to use “those,” not “that.”
My professional experience tells me that, if you run into a sticky problem like this, don’t even bother to figure out the grammar. Instead, rewrite the sentence in a form that leaves no questions. You can avoid the whole problem by writing
“We are enjoying a summertime of relentless rain and a few really nice days. With all of the rain comes terrific fruit.” “Fruit” can be used in a collective sense, as a reference to an unspecified number of objects.
Since I am a relentless editor, my version would actually be
“We are enjoying a summer of relentless rain mixed with a few really nice days. With all of this rain comes wonderful fruit.”
Harrumph. Editors. You don’t like “terrific”, huh? It was good enough for E.B. White to use in " Charlotte’s Web", but it is not good enough for you. Well, I declare.
As for some of the later posts in here that remark that a comma is used not to create confusion at all but rather to impart a breath taken. As confessed earlier, i adore commas. I am aware that I abuse them and have taken to reading through emails before sending and removing commas. I write as I speak, and in my brain the use of a comma imparts a slight pause. ( I am aware that this is fairly ignorant, grammar-wise but I’m not an editor. I’m just a guy who wanted to know how badly he was injuring the English Language).
The idea that someone cited a reference declaring that “There is a persistent belief that it is improper to begin a sentence with And, but this prohibition has been cheerfully ignored by standard authors from Anglo-Saxon times onwards. An initial And is a useful aid to writers as the narrative continues.” is fascinating to me. The tail wags the dog yet again.
I wonder if this cite could be used to defent a schlarly work. Probably not, since my OP sentences were far from scholarly presentations, but were rather narrative statements.
:dubious: I’m not sure if you mean me, but hey, I didn’t say it wasn’t good enough, I just prefer “wonderful” to “terrific”. I’m prejudiced towards using words according to their meaning. That probably <em>is</em> worth a harrumph.
Not too badly, in my humble opinion. Your meaning was clear. I have seen writing in print that was vague, confusing, or even wrong because of poor grammar. Yours doesn’t even come <em>close</em> to being in that category.
The only language that I know of that is consistently written with correct grammar is Latin, and thankfully it’s no longer used. Every other language allows the author to play around a bit, and a good author takes advantage of it when possible.
As a technical writer I strive for clarity, which means that I tend towards grammatical correctness and consistency in the extreme. I am, therefore, not the best person to ask about “good writing”. Technical writing, if good, is totally invisible, so that the information comes through clear as glass. In fact, that is the way I describe good technical writing: transparent as glass.
Technical writers love to argue about grammar. Why not? We need to know it to do our jobs, and language fascinates us.
Good ones, too. Relentless is a wonderful way to describe the rain <em>and</em> your reaction to it. Perhaps “terrific” is a good way to describe the fruits as well. I imagine you sitting on by an open window on an evening cooled by the latest thunderstorm, the scent of a freshly bathed world wafting in, as you devour fresh strawberries the size of apples.
No, no, no! A semi-colon is only used to separate two complete thoughts; a comma is used when the thoughts are incomplete sentences. A comma, on the other hand, is primarily used to piss off pedants. Try
“It’s been a rainy summer, but we have some terrific fruit to enjoy while we’re stuck inside!”
Well I’ll be gobsmacked. I have to stand corrected on that one Jurph; Independent clauses are the most common use for semi-colons. But let us not forget the lowly conjunctive adverb; consequently, a comma is usually placed after it as well.
