Please edit this sentence – comma before “or”, do I need the word “why”?

Need the comma because you are separating independent clauses; why is not needed, it would only cloud the issue.

The use of want is okay where is it is.

There are two attitudes of communicating your idea, and you have to choose one.

You have to choose to speak comprehensively, or you have to choose to speak grammatically.

You have to choose speaking effortlessly or speaking properly.

You have to choose between speaking effortlessly and speaking properly.

Using the above statements as examples, you can see that there are times when you need to place a comma before a conjunction and there are times you shouldn’t.

A or B – no comma when the conjoined items A and B are the same “class” or mode.

For examples,

“Do you wish to have an apple or an orange?”

“Do you wish to play a game after having breakfast or after lunch?”

X, or Y – comma is recommended for clarity when X and Y do not belong to a common mode.

“Please throw the couch out of the house, or I will be yelling the whole day long!”

A comma is also recommended between two conjoined phrases when they are too long or complex, regardless if the conjoined phrases are of the similar mode. There are times when a comma is placed immediately after a conjunction rather than before it.

There has been a movement since the 1980’s to ommit commas as long as the removal would still allow a sentence to be easily understood. At times, removal of commas has been rather excessively done.

“Wanting” is frequently used for describing items in disrepair or that are inadequate.

So said the messenger, “I have visited my people whom I had placed in your care and I have found them wanting.”

Avoid saying “are you wanting” unless you wish to say the other person is inadequate. Using it that way is not “wrong” but confusing.

“Are you not wanting a friendship with your cousin because you have nothing in common, or is it because there is nothing you want to pursue?”

The third phrase in your sentence is quite vague. What do you wish that person to pursue? What is the “thing” in “there is nothing you want to pursue”?

In your previous question, I notice that someone has already provided a rather good answer. However, you have rephrased your statement.

Depending on the situation you are in, here are my suggestions.

“Are you refusing friendship with your cousin because you feel you have nothing in common or, you have no ambitions to pursue? He could make you a manager in his company.”

“Are you not having a friendship with your cousin because you feel you have nothing in common with him, or are you deliberately trying to avoid pursuing a relationship with him? His staring at you scares me.”

“Are you not wishing to have a friendship with your cousin because you feel you have nothing in common with him, or because there is nothing left to pursue. You do not wish to forget his past, and neither do you wish to get involved.”

Although I do not know for 100% sure, I think your sentence is correct as it. The comma is where it should be, and as long as the tenses are the same, which they are, the ‘want’ can remain in the last part of the sentence.

The comma is in the right place. You could also rephrase your sentence to start with, “Do you not want a friendship with your cousin because…” and that can take care of your “wanting” tense question.

I think the sentence is fine the way it is.

But if you want to change it, you can change it to:

“Are you not wanting a friendship with your cousin because you have nothing in common? Or is it because there is nothing you want to pursue?”

I know for sure the comma goes before the or.

as is. but you can simplify it.