SOME COMMA RULES, BLESS US ALL

 

Okay, it's time to get serious on this bloody blog. My prior posts about being specific, being concrete and such are the larky part. That's just talk about style--the frolicking on horseback to learn the woods. Let us now confront one of the dragons in those woods: punctuation. Gird yourself.

Punctuation: The dragon in the woods.

     Below are six basic comma rules. These are not all the comma rules, but they are essential. Understand them, and you'll avoid 90% of the common comma errors.

      I know, I know: You already know where to put the commas because once upon a time your high-school teacher told you just to stick a comma wherever you pause or drop your voice in a sentence. Not bad advice, but it doesn't always work. The problem is, you can pause anytime you want, and what happens if you write a sentence just as your voice hits adolescence?

      It's better to learn the rules. Most punctuation rules are not purely arbitrary. They're there to help the reader. Remember: Punctuation is information. Consider the following sentences:

"I love my girlfriend, who lives in New York."

"I love my girlfriend who lives in New York."

That comma changes the number of girlfriends I have, and girlfriend number one better not read sentence number two!

Bad punctuation can lead to violence.

And consider these sentences:

"I didn't marry her because I like good cooking."

"I didn't marry her, because I like good cooking."

That comma took the wedding ring right off my finger and libeled my lady's culinary ability, to boot.

Well-cooked sentences require a dash of unspoiled punctuation.

So forget pauses and adolescent voice drops. Learn the following comma rules.

1. Put a comma after an introductory clause or phrase that says where, when, how, why, or under what conditions the sentence takes place. (These are sometimes called “introductory adverb clauses and phrases” because they act like adverbs).

   Where: “In the forest behind the house, Hans painted all the trees bright red.”

   When: “After the path grew over with brush, no one ever again cut through the forest.”

   How: “With only a pencil and a piece of paper, Einstein came up with the theory of relativity.”

   Why: “In order to learn the location of the ship, we sailed far into the Atlantic.”

   Conditions: “If you ever remember that girl’s name, please call me immediately.”

                    “Unless it rains before October, all the grass in my yard will die.”

Note: You do NOT usually need a comma when the adverb phrase or clause comes later in the sentence:

   Correct: “Einstein came up with the theory of relativity with only a pencil and a piece of paper.”

   Correct: “We sailed far into the Atlantic in order to learn the location of the ship.”

Punctuation isn't nuclear physics.

2. Put a comma between independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. These conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. The mnemonic device "FANBOYS" might help you remember them. Put the comma before the conjunction. (Note: It's an independent clause if it can stand alone as a sentence.)

   Correct: “My mother cares most about my brother, and my father cares most about me.”

   Correct: “The Goodyear blimp can fly only thirty miles per hour, but it can stay in the air all day.”

   Correct: “Either you will study for this grammar test, or you will lose your entire inheritance.”

Note: Be sure the second part of the sentence is really an independent clause before you use a comma before the coordinating conjunction. The following sentences do not need commas:

   Correct: “My mother cares most about my brother and not so much about me.”

   Correct: “The Goodyear blimp can fly only thirty miles per hour but can stay in the air all day.”

3. Put something stronger than just a comma between independent clauses. If you don’t, you will have a bad mistake called a “comma splice.”

   Comma splice (incorrect): “The survivors tried to swim to shore, many of them died in the effort.”

   Correction: “The survivors tried to swim to shore. Many of them died in the effort.”

   Also correct: “The survivors tried to swim to shore; many of them died in the effort.”

   Comma splice (incorrect): “The survivors tried to swim to shore, however, many of them died in the effort.”

   Correction: “The survivors tried to swim to shore; however, many of them died in the effort.”

   Also correct: “The survivors tried to swim to shore, but many of them died in the effort.”

4. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements (nonrestrictive clauses, phrases, and appositives). Nonrestrictive elements add extra information that is not necessary to identify or limit the thing described. The following sentences are correctly punctuated:

   Nonrestrictive clause: “Our engineering professor, who is from India, brings us Indian desserts.”

   Nonrestrictive phrase: “My new cat, sleeping in the laundry basket, loves warm clothes.”

   Nonrestrictive clause: “Our shed, which is located in our backyard, attracts skunks.”

   Nonrestrictive appositive: “My oldest brother, Terry, lives in California.”

Note: Do NOT put commas around restrictive elements. Restrictive elements are necessary to identify or limit the thing described.

     Correct: “The cat sleeping in the laundry basket loves warm clothes.”

     Correct: “A professor who doesn’t listen to his students will not be a good teacher.”

     Correct: "My brother Terry lives in California." (In this case, the lack of commas tells the reader I have more than one brother, and I need the word "Terry"--an appositive, by the way--to narrow down which Terry I'm talking about.)

Stay awake when punctuating.

5. Place a comma after an introductory participial phrase. I won't try to explain "participial phrase" here. The two examples below should give you the idea.

    Correct: “Waiting for the bus, Chloe decided to write a complaint to the Math Emporium staff.”

    Correct: “Hunted by wolves, the young caribou walked five miles down the creek.”

Do you put commas around a participial phrase that doesn’t come at the beginning of the sentence? It depends on whether the participial phrase is nonrestrictive or restrictive!

   Correct: “Professor Larraby, teaching zoology for the first time, should plan to bring a rat to class on the first day.”

   Also correct: “A professor teaching zoology for the first time should plan to bring a rat to class on the first day.”

 

6. Place commas between items in a list. This one is easy, no?

    Correct: “Cain’s favorite weapons included the bow, the spear, and the club.”

    Correct: “Jerome loved fattening foods such as tortilla chips, cheesecake, Ding-Dongs, and Twinkies.”

    Correct: “I have never played high-contact sports like rugby, football, or soccer.”

Note: The last comma in each example above is optional. Newspapers and magazines often leave that last comma out. Why? To save ink.

Extra note: Notice that there is no punctuation after the words “included,” “such as,” and “like” in the examples above. Some students try to put a colon after those words, but that is wrong. In the following sentences, no punctuation at all should follow "included" or "such as."

   Incorrect colon: “My 18 hours of classes included: biology, math, and music appreciation.”

   Incorrect colon: “I spend most of my money on tennis equipment such as: racquets, balls, and headbands.”

Here’s a sentence where the colon is correct. Can you see why?

    Correct: “I have five classes: biology, math, music appreciation, sociology, and composition.”

Notice how in many of these rules, the commas also help the reader see where they are in a sentence. "Ah," says the reader, "I suspect I've just finished an independent clause and am ready for another one." Or "Ah, that comma tells me I've come to the end of a nonrestrictive clause."

In other words, not only is punctuation information. Punctuation is also a tool of navigation.

Thoughtful punctuation helps the reader navigate your writing.

That's enough coma-inducing comma commentating for one blog post. Beware the fire-breathing dragons.

Below is one of my all-time favorite Dilberts.