1. He was sleeping and his wife was knitting beside him.
2. While he was sleeping, his wife was knitting beside him.
3. He was sleeping his wife knitting beside him.
3-2. He was sleeping, his wife knitting beside him.
4. He was sleeping while his wife was knitting beside him.
[Are the sentences all the same in meaning? What about #3 and #3-2? Do we have to put a comma before 'his wife'?]
Yes, they all mean the same thing, but 3 needs a comma -- thus for 3-2, the comma is needed.
The sentences 1, 2, and 4 are all the same in meaning. They convey the idea that the person referred to as "he" was sleeping, and at the same time, his wife was knitting beside him. In these sentences, the phrase "his wife was knitting beside him" is presented as a continuous action happening alongside the main action of "he was sleeping."
Sentence 3, on the other hand, is different in meaning. In this sentence, the phrase "his wife knitting beside him" is not connected to the main verb "was sleeping." It is presented as an additional action that happened without any temporal relationship to the main action. The sentence implies that he was sleeping, and separately, his wife was knitting beside him, but there is no indication of whether the actions occurred simultaneously.
Sentence 3-2 is most likely a typo or an ungrammatical sentence. It seems to combine the structure of sentence 3 with the comma usage from sentence 4. The result is a sentence that lacks clarity and proper grammar.
As for the comma before "his wife," it is generally recommended to use a comma when the phrase that follows is providing additional information about the subject. In this case, the comma helps to clarify that "his wife knitting beside him" is an additional detail about the wife and her activity while "he" was sleeping. However, the subject of comma usage can vary depending on style preferences and specific sentence structures.