I cannot find a rule that I like about when to place a comma between
an equation and the "where" clause that describes aspects of that
question.
For example, if I wrote...
Let J = A/D where A is . . .
some people place a comma after the D because they say that the "A
is..." clause is subordinate/nonrestrictive. However, this logic
doesn't make sense to me. In Strunk and White, I see:
Nether Stowey, where Coleridge wrote _The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner_, is a few miles from Bridgewater.
They state that the parenthetical phrase is clearly subordinate
because that sentence can be split into two, as in
Coleridge wrote _The Rime..._ at Nether Stowey. Nether Stowey is a
few miles from Bridgewater.
In the case of the equation, the "A is ..." is both an independent
clause and seems to be restrictive. That is, I *NEED* the "where"
clause in order for the J=A/D to make sense.
Additionally, it feels like I could write something like...
Where A is ... and D is ..., let J = A/D.
If this sentence makes sense, then flipping it around so that where
follows A/D should let me write it without a comma.
Does someone have some reasoned thinking about these conventions?
Thanks --
Ted
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