There are three main types of commas that are commonly used, and frequently trip up an unwary writer: 1. In a list 2. Joining with a conjunction 3. Instead of brackets *Commas are NOT meant to be used “wherever you would pause”. Even if you’ve been told this in the past, it is not correct. There are specific rules for using commas , and they don’t include anything about pausing or taking a breath. 1. Commas in a list These are the commas we're most familiar with. Every item on the list is separated by a comma. I bought apples, oranges, grapes, and pears. 2. Commas used with a conjunction This type of comma joins two sentences together with a connecting word such as and, or, but, while, or yet. The comma is placed before the conjunction. We will go to the match, but Jack will go home early. 3. Commas used like brackets If an extra portion of a sentence could be placed in brackets it can be placed between commas instead. A way to test it is to read the sentence without the extra port...

Hello again, dearies! It's been a while since I've had a few moments to visit. Life has a way of taking us in down paths we had not planned. Ah, but I am here now, and a grammatical issues has again surfaced that needs to be addressed. What is it? The lowly comma. Back in November of 2016, I addressed the Oxford comma , that pesky little piece of punctuation that often inspires great dispute. Having proven the necessity for that very important comma to avoid ambiguity and/or raised eyebrows, I want to bring to your attention some other uses for this all-important punctuation. More and more, books, both traditionally and self published, are deviating from long established rules put into place for the purpose of clarity and flow. Our authority will be The Chicago Manual of Style Seventeenth Edition ,  recently updated by the University of Chicago to address changes in reading habits, research options, the use of  new technologies that facilitate writing and publishing, a...

This post was first published here on March 20, 2009 If you use several descriptive words in a row, where do you put commas? Or do you? Here are a couple of my theories on that subject. First, if you can put the word and between the words, you should use a comma between them . For example, Mary is an impish-looking, animated, slim white girl. This sentence easily could read this way: Mary is an impish-looking and animated and slim white girl. But you wouldn’t say she was a slim and white girl. So, according to that example, you put a comma where you use each and . Here’s my second theory. If you can rearrange the descriptive words, you should use a comma before each of the words that you can move . Using the same example, you could write that Mary is a slim, animated, impish-looking white girl. However, it wouldn’t work to say Mary is a white, slim, animated, impish-looking girl. The word white needs to stay next to girl because it is an integral part of her basic descri...

Hello, dearies. I’m so glad you stopped by. I have a pitcher of fresh tea in the refrigerator to cool us off on this hot day, so make yourselves comfortable. I’ll get out the glasses, ice, and sugar; and I just sliced a lemon. Speaking of lemons, I must share with you something that leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. The AP Stylebook has recently been reissued in celebration of its 60 th birthday. The updated 500-page volume boasts 90-plus changes and additions, yet it fails to validate the need for a mandatory Oxford comma in a series – as has been determined by the Chicago Manual of Style . Proponents on both sides of this ongoing debate concerning whether to use that vital comma cite arguments to support their positions, but some of them simply don’t make grammatical sense when it comes to the issues of clarity and consistency. What’s the Oxford comma? you may wonder. It’s that comma before the coordinating conjunction that separates a series from its last element. At M...

The comma is the most common punctuation mark inside sentences. Although they seem to be thrown by the wayside more and more these days, a simple comma can change the meaning of a sentence entirely as in: The July 2nd Thursday meeting will be held … Is it on July 2 or the second Thursday? Commas are used to separate complete sentences connected by a coordinating conjunction: and, but, for, because . The bat is a nocturnal animal, and it sleeps during the day . I thought I could stay up all night, but I fell asleep about 4 a.m. The comma should not follow the and or but (such as T he bat is a nocturnal animal and, it sleeps during the day .) The only time I let that one slide is occasionally in dialogue if the speaker is pausing for effect: “He is a completely self-centered man, and, he is a jerk.” However, there are better ways to show this. Use a comma to set off most introductory phrases. A simple definition of a Phrase: A word group that lacks either a subject or a predicate or b...

My question: The dreaded semicolon. When I work in MSWord, it is forever telling me to replace a comma with a semicolon. I usually obey the MSWord wizard because I don’t seem to know what I’m doing. Is there some way to tell (some rule of thumb?) if what I have is two sentences—that should be broken up rather than use a semicolon? Thanks for your time. Billie A. Williams The Capricorn Goat Billie, A lot of writers find the semicolon mysterious. I’d like to see you take charge of your writing and not let the MS Word wizard boss you around about it. In order to do that, you need to view punctuation as a set of communication tools that you can use to signal your reader how you want them to interpret what you’ve written. The three basic punctuation tools are a comma, a semicolon, and a period. I often think of them as traffic signs. When I see a comma, I slow down. A semicolon tells me to yield, and a period shouts, “Stop.” It’s that simple. Think of one of your sentences wh...

There are only four specific uses for a comma according to R.L. Trask in his Guide to Punctuation : Listing, Joining, Gapping, and Bracketing. If the comma you want to use doesn't fit into any of those categories then the comma is the wrong choice of punctuation. This is my interpretation and summary of Trask's section on commas. Listing Commas These are the commas we're most familiar with. Apples, oranges, grapes, and pears The serial (or "Oxford") comma (the comma before "and") is not compulsory, but it does help to avoid ambiguity, such as in the infamous example: I'd like to thank my parents, Ayn Rand and God. It is only important to be consistent in your choice to use, or not use, the serial comma. If one of your sentences contains an ambiguity that requires a serial comma, you must edit every other sentence that contains a list where the serial comma has been omitted. Joining Commas A joining comma joins two sentences together w...

Nowadays commas are on the decline in contemporary prose. Almost an endangered species. And there are many differing opinions about the use of them. This will not be an “official” essay on the correct use of commas. Dear lord, I would dare not presume to be of such authority to instruct you as to where, when, and in what order to include, place, and feel correct in your use of the useful, often necessary, but more often than ever before in literature shunned punctuation, the comma. I just intend to lay out some thoughts of my own on the subject and share some experiences I’ve had dealing with the ponderous and mighty question, “to comma or not to comma?” over the past several years. From Maryann - I was going to edit your opening paragraph, then I realized it is a joke. I hope everyone gets it. When I was writing my first manuscript intended for publication, I ROMANCED THE STONE (Memoirs of a Recovering Hippie), I was living in the same house with a young man, a recent college graduat...

Commas are the single worst thing about being an editor. How can such a tiny little piece of punctuation cause so much time-sucking anguish? The rules are both inflexible and squishy at the same time.  Rule One: Two independent clauses separated by a conjunction need a comma. So the following sentence (with two subjects: he and it) is punctuated correctly with a comma.  He started the car, and it made a noise.   This next sentence (with only one subject: he) is also punctuated correctly without a comma.  He started the car and drove around town for a few hours but soon got bored and went home to clean out the garage and mow the lawn.   This drives writers crazy because these examples make no visual or auditory sense. Nobody wants a comma in the first example, and everybody wants to put a comma between “hours” and “but” in the second example.  Here’s the squishy part. Technically, the comma in the second example isn’t necessary, but many editors and publis...