by Tricia Amiel

Created on: May 31, 2010   Last Updated: June 01, 2010

The comma: that most dubious and difficult mark.  Unlike other punctuation marks, this one is variable in its usage and serves innumerable functions.  But here’s the thing: commas provide a perfect pause in the stream of our thoughts, one that thought itself does not provide.  And that’s the point, isn’t it—to make our thoughts intelligible on paper?  For those of us who pause to reflect in the middle of a thought, the comma is a perfect remedy.  From hence arrive the comma queens and kings.  For others of us, the rush of our thoughts never pauses, and this is the realm of anarchy in writing; the run on sentence and the comma splice.  If one can get grasp and hold a few comma rules, regality and anarchy can be held at bay.

Never use a comma between a subject and its verb.  Placing a comma after an interrupting thought is ok, though, even if it ends up in front of the verb.  Just remember that it’s there to set off the interrupter, not the subject from the verb.  Interrupters come in the form of appositive phrases, which rename or identify a subject (for example:  My history teacher, Mr. Smith, goes on and on in a lecture), and parentheticals not directly related to the subject (for example:  She goes to school late, by the way, almost every day).  In most cases, a phrase that could be removed and still leave the sentence intact should be set off by commas on either side.

Never use a comma between two long, complete sentences, even if the ideas are connected.  Use a semicolon to keep two complete, related thoughts connected to each other (For example:  He’s crazy; he went running through the party naked).  Between two complete sentences connected by one of the FANBOYS—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so—place a comma in front.  (For example:  It’s my birthday, and I’ll cry if I want to. Using a comma before the AND in a list is up for grabs; it’s right either way.  But think about whether you want to keep the items in your list separate from each other or join the last two items together.  If they’re separate, use the comma.  If not, don’t.

Don’t use a comma before THAT.  THAT introduces a clause necessary to define the subject, so it shouldn’t be set off unless there’s a list of THAT phrases (For example:  She told me that she was tired. vs.  She told

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>