Part 5: The clause commas

English's busiest mark is the comma between clauses: after the if-clause, before the "and", around the "because", at every seam a sentence has. Phi writes none of them, and loses nothing, because every seam in a Phi sentence is audible three ways at once: something announced the clause going in, the clause's own verb closes it coming out, and whatever follows announces itself. This part is the seam inventory.

Announcers in front

Dependent clauses are declared before they begin: lu for conditions (Slot 0), and the subordinators pheo, phoe, lao, shai, lila for time, cause, concession, and purpose (manual ch19 §4). Where English tucks a comma after the fronted clause, Phi has already told you everything:

pheo mia to theo mia shea phaelo.
POST 1SG PST read 1SG peace feel.
(After I read I feel peace.)

lu thia naphe. mia towe phaelo.
COND 2SG help. 1SG well feel.
(If you help, I feel well.)

Read the first line's seam aloud: theo is the dependent clause's verb, and the moment it lands, the clause is over: verb-final structure makes every clause self-sealing. No mark stands between the clauses because none is needed: when one verb ends, the next clause begins. And the conditional goes one better: lu … . … writes a full period where English writes its most famous comma. Phi spends its one silent mark exactly where English spends its busiest one, and both clauses get to be whole sentences about it.

Closers behind

Embedded clauses get the pair treatment (mena … meno, wela … welo, shola … sholo) and the closer is the audible right-hand comma English never had:

mia mena shia to wepu meno sano.
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE know.
(I know that they left.)

Canon makes the closers required, and the complementizers pamphlet drills them to reflex; here, just hear what meno is doing in punctuation terms: it is the bracket that keeps two verbs from colliding, clicking shut (the primer's phrase) like a well-made box.

Conjunctions between

Coordination needs no comma because the conjunction is the boundary (manual ch17): the first clause's verb arrives, the door closes, and nela, thona, or sola announces another clause is coming.

sorae sulae nai nela howeli phaelu nai.
sun warm be COORD wind peaceful be.
(The sun is warm, and the wind is peaceful.)

The translation's comma is English's; the Phi has a verb and a conjunction standing exactly where it would go, both audible. And lists dissolve English's most litigated mark entirely: nela stands between every item (shiro nela peloru nela whelina.) so there is no final-item attachment for an Oxford comma to disambiguate. A mark that has been argued over in courtrooms corresponds, in Phi, to nothing at all: the ambiguity it patrols cannot be constructed.

Drill: tap the seams

Read each line aloud and tap the table at every clause seam; then name what marked the seam: announcer, verb, closer, or conjunction.

1. lao pheralu to nai lo peloru thuroa.
2. mia wela shia to wepu welo phaelo.
3. mia theo nela thia sheluo.
4. lu pheralu lepa. lo mia mua womu meilo.

Answers: 1. one seam, after nai: announced by lao going in, sealed by the clause verb coming out. 2. two seams: wela opens, welo closes; the frame verb phaelo was never in danger. 3. one seam at theo, re-announced by nela. 4. the seam is a period, plus lu's advance warning; English's comma, promoted to a full stop.