Language & Grammar IV: Clauses

As a technical writer, you have to be careful when using conditional statements. A conditional statement contains a main clause and a conditional clause. Here, the if-clause is the conditional clause, and it may come before or next to the main clause.

The guidelines are:

• Use a colon between two independent clauses to signify their relationship.

• Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses with internal punctuation.

• Do not remove the verb if you use two coordinate clauses from the latter clause.

• Use conditional clauses after main clauses or the introductions.

Recommended examples	Not recommended examples
Click Start; then select a program.	Click Start then select a program.
The command includes an argument flag and we can use it to configure file format.	The command includes an argument flag, and we can use it to configure file format.
Specify the NPM environment. For example, specify Node 14.x	Specify the NPM environment. For example, Node 14.x