Russian is as beautiful as it is difficult. And both for foreigners, and sometimes for those who speak it from early childhood. The biggest difficulties arise with a stylistic combination of words, spelling and, of course, punctuation. Many rules are complex in that they have many nuances and exceptions. For example, a comma before the union “either”. This article will be devoted to a detailed analysis of this rule.
What are unions in Russian for?
This service part of the speech performs a syntactic function, providing the connection of words in the sentence. Unionless combinations are also possible, but do not convey many important elements of meaning.
The classification of these parts of speech is very extensive. They are simple and compound, single and double, paired and unpaired, etc. According to their function in a sentence, they are divided into two more groups - composing and subordinate. And in meaning, they can be divided into more than 15 types, including explanatory, mode of action, goals, connecting, opposing, dividing, and many others. The last of these types we will consider in this article. And we will focus in detail on one example of separation unions, as well as the rules for its punctuation.
The meaning of the union
In meaning, this word conveys separation or opposition. Such a union is used when it describes the situation excludes another.
For example, two objects or phenomena are contrasted:
She will buy milk or kefir.
The signs of any objects may be shared or opposed:
Either he is brave or crazy.
Often the object of opposition are actions:
Open the door, or we will break it!
Most likely, you managed to notice that in some of the above examples, the word “either” is preceded by a comma, while in others it is not. What influences this? First of all, features of the offer itself.
Single union with homogeneous members
In a simple sentence , a situation often arises when its individual members answer the same question and refer to the same word. These can be two (or more) predicates, definitions, additions, circumstances. Such terms of a sentence are called homogeneous.
They can be separated by commas:
A soft, gentle, melodious sound was heard.
They may have a colon before them:
There was tableware on the table: cups, plates, teapot.
Also, the unions “and”, “a”, “but” are often used. In some cases, homogeneous members are joined by a separation union. The meaning of this proposal is to share something similar (objects, signs).
Let's look at examples of how a comma is placed before “either” in such cases, and whether it is placed at all.
In good weather, they usually went on a picnic or walked around the neighborhood.
He was going to go to Paris or to London.
The application can be printed on a computer or written by hand.
As we see, the union with the separating function connects various types of homogeneous members of the sentence. Is a comma preceded by “or” in such cases? No, not set.
Single union in a complex sentence
The grammatical basis - subject and predicate - can be present not only in a single quantity. If a sentence has two (or more) such foundations, it is called complex. Two parts can be connected both as a union-free method, and with the help of various unions, including dividing ones. Do I need a comma before “or” in a complex sentence? Let's look at some examples.
Tomorrow we'll go to the Petrovs, or they will visit us.
It is necessary to act now, or it will be too late.
The examples clearly show that the comma before “either” connects the parts of a complex sentence (two grammatical foundations united by semantic unity). Between such parts this punctuation mark is always necessary.
Double Union ("either ... or")
Some sentences express an enhanced contrast or separation of certain objects, actions, qualities. This function is a double separation union. As, for example, in the saying:
Sink or swim.
In this case, “or” is preceded by a comma, since a double union is used. You can give an example with a simple sentence that has homogeneous members:
It will either rain or hail.
In the same way, a comma before “either” is necessary if we have a complex sentence:
Either you calm down, or I leave.
In the latter case, you need to put this punctuation mark for two reasons:
- type of sentence (complex, two grammatical bases);
- double dividing union.
So, do you need a comma before “either” if this union is double? Yes, always. This rule is not affected by the accompanying grammatical circumstances.
When a comma is not set
We sorted out a few difficult cases. But a logical question arises: is a comma always placed before “either”?
As we already understood, in a simple sentence this union does not require separation by a punctuation mark. For instance:
The food could be tasty or tasteless.
What other similar cases are there?
For example, in a complex sentence, when there is a common element uniting all parts.
Look at the clouds: it will rain soon or there will be hail.
Separation is also not required if the constituent elements of a complex sentence are indefinitely personal or impersonal sentences that have the same predicate form. For instance:
I wanted to sleep or it just got cold.
It was getting dark or getting light - it was difficult to make out what time of day.
Sometimes there are cases when intonation acts as a unifying factor. For example, interrogative:
Will it be better to return tomorrow or postpone until the day after tomorrow?
In the cases described above, there is a certain common element uniting the parts of the sentence. Under such conditions, you do not need a comma before “either”.
Now consider other dividing unions. Many of them mean the same thing as the service part of speech, which became the topic of this article.
The similar meaning of the union "or"
This part of the speech may well replace the word “either”, as it expresses the same meaning: an alternative in the form of two (usually opposite) phenomena, properties or objects. For instance:
Will you have tea or coffee?
I do not like when it is too hot or too cold.
They can wait for you or go by themselves.
She spends the summer in the city or in the country.
This union has cases of isolation or non-isolation. This will be described in more detail below.
When a comma is set
The isolation of this union is similar to the rules by which a comma is placed before the word “either”. These are the cases:
- double union "either - or";
- difficult sentence;
- double name for the work of art.
For each of these situations, you can give an example:
Either he is stupid, or he is pretending (double union).
We need to get off early, or the bus will leave without us (a complex offer).
“The Golden Key, or The Adventures of Pinocchio” (title of the work).
When a comma is not set
There are also rules that govern the punctuation mark in cases with a union that is similar in meaning. It is not necessary to isolate the “or” in the following situations:
- a simple sentence in which homogeneous members are joined in a single union;
- a complex sentence with a common element for all the component parts (sentence member, group of words, intonation).
An example of a sentence that fits the first case:
Everyone has already gone outside or gone to bed.
The second situation can be illustrated by the following examples:
Let's bake something for tea: cake, rolls or cookies.
Is it quiet or did we just stop noticing noise?
As we can see, dividing unions are similar not only to expressed semantic meaning, but also to their grammatical functions and interaction with punctuation rules.
Other separation unions
In addition to the service part of speech and its double version, which became the topic of this article, there are a number of similar unions that carry the same meaning. Here they are:
- or;
- otherwise;
- and then;
- whether - whether;
- not that - not that;
- this - that;
- li - li;
- or or.
Examples of sentences with these parts of speech clearly demonstrate that they are quite similar in meaning to each other. Compare:
She will cook fish or chicken.
Leave in a good way, otherwise you will be kicked out.
Hush, otherwise the child will wake up.
Either nobody is at home, or they don’t want to open the door.
Outside the window is not rain or snow.
One or the other bothers him.
Whether you want it or not, it doesn’t matter.
He is either very brave or crazy.
We see that the rules for placing commas in separation unions are also very similar.
conclusions
The comma before “either”, “or” and other dividing unions is a rather complicated question. Not in all cases it is possible to unambiguously determine whether this punctuation mark is needed here or not.
If we are talking about a simple or complex sentence without any accompanying signs, then the solution is more or less clear.
With homogeneous members, a single union “either” is not isolated. The exception is when the union is double.
In a complex sentence, a comma before a separation union is usually required. But some factors (general intonation, a unifying word or a group of words, impersonal and indefinitely personal types of sentences) may create exceptions to this rule.
For this reason, it is necessary to carefully analyze the sentence and check the appropriateness of the punctuation marks. In controversial cases, it will be useful to consult a guide to punctuation. A classic version of this was written by Professor D. E. Rosenthal.