English Grammar: Mastering Comma Usage

How to be a Comma-Kazie

By Cassandra Senior

The comma has always been a punctuation favorite, used at least as much as its cousin the period. It might be because it is not as flashy as its punchy friend the dash. It might be the comma's quiet elegance. It might be the fact that commas seem so unthreatening. It might, and let's face it probably does, come down to the fact that without commas our sentences would be quite indiscernible.

Since the comma is so important in writing, it pains me to see inexperienced writers and professional writers alike who think a comma is like confetti. They are not little hooks to be placed wherever writers deem necessary. They are also not a way to spice up an otherwise punctuation barren blob of text. Commas come with rules just like every other form of punctuation and learning those rules should not only be the job of an editor or copywriter.

I know that we are writers not mathematicians, but don't head for the hills as I tell you I'm going to present a little formula here. No actual numbers are involved, I promise. What I want to point out is that clean copy saves editing time and saving editing time saves money. If editors love money, then your clean copy will beat out the mistake ridden one for publication, all other things being equal. Now doesn't that make you want to learn to use a comma?

Here are a few of the AP's rules for comma usage:

1. Use a comma to separate elements of a series, but do not put a comma before a conjunction: The flag is red, white and blue.
2. Use a comma before a conjunction if a conjunction is also an element of the series: I bought celery, eggs, and pork and beans.
3. Use a comma to separate equal adjectives, but do not use a comma to separate noun phrases: a fur coat. a lovely, green dress.
4. Use a comma to set off nonessential clauses.
5. Use a comma with an introductory phrase: When he arrived in New York, he tried to get a taxi.
6. Use a comma to introduce direct quotes and before an attribution

One rule I suggest you ignore? Place a comma where you naturally pause. OK, it is an unofficial rule, but it is still one that gets cited a lot. I say this because it tends to lead to commas being sprinkled rather than placed delicately. If you consider that everyone has different speech patterns, you realize that we stop to breath, swallow or give dramatic emphasis at points where commas should not go according to AP style.

For example: Returning that library book late [pause] will give you fines.

Placing a comma where that slight pause is would break a cardinal rule of grammar. Do not separate a subject from its predicate using a comma.

If these rules seem second-nature to you, kudos. I feel grammar is not being taught in schools like it used to be, so I congratulate your teachers or your self-motivation on a job well done. I myself was not taught a lick of grammar until I took an elective writing course my senior year of high school. Even in college, I only received grammar instruction in my journalism classes. That leaves a lot of folks out there who think they know but really have no idea. So take these rules and spread the word to the masses, and from now on, only get your confetti from party stores.