Question

Hould there be a comma before the highlighted word?

illy Truscott's band needed a new drummer, so I
agreed to join.
Keep the Comma
Remove the Comma

Answer 1

Keep the comma. In this sentence, so is acting as a coordinating conjunction that connects two independent clauses. An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own as a complete sentence. According to the web search results¹², when so is used as a coordinating conjunction, it should be preceded by a comma. A simple trick to test if so is a coordinating conjunction is to replace it with therefore and see if the meaning stays the same. For example:

Lily Truscott's band needed a new drummer, therefore I agreed to join.

This sentence has the same meaning as the original one, so we can conclude that so is a coordinating conjunction and needs a comma before it.

Answer 2

Answer: Keep the Comma - The sentence flows better with the comma after "band," making it clear that Illy Truscott's band is the subject of the verb "needed."

Remove the Comma - Removing the comma could create confusion about who needed the drummer, as it might imply that someone else was searching for a new drummer. However, if the sentence were rewritten to make this clearer ("I agreed to join the search for a new drummer"), then removing the comma would be appropriate.