Commas and You

It's come to my attention that unnecessary and overuse of commas is running rampant through the forums, so being the humble servant of the people that I am, I decided to take it upon myself to provide anyone who wants it with a quick refresher on comma usage. Now, I'm not saying I'm without fault of abusing the comma, and I don't mean to go all Space Grammar Nazi Hitler on you all, but this is something I think we could all use (myself included) to better ourselves, the lovely denizens of KHV.

Also, I understand that not everyone's first language is English, so if that's you please don't be offended.

• Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. "He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base." You may have learned that the comma before the "and" is unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things. However, there are situations in which, if you don't use this comma (especially when the list is complex or lengthy), these last two items in the list will try to glom together (like macaroni and cheese). Using a comma between all the items in a series, including the last two, avoids this problem. This last comma—the one between the word "and" and the preceding word—is often called the serial comma or the Oxford comma. In newspaper writing, incidentally, you will seldom find a serial comma, but that is not necessarily a sign that it should be omitted in academic prose.

• Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses, as in "He hit the ball well, but he ran toward third base." Contending that the coordinating conjunction is adequate separation, some writers will leave out the comma in a sentence with short, balanced independent clauses (such as we see in the example just given). If there is ever any doubt, however, use the comma, as it is always correct in this situation. One of the most frequent errors in comma usage is the placement of a comma after a coordinating conjunction. We cannot say that the comma will always come before the conjunction and never after, but it would be a rare event, indeed, that we need to follow a coordinating conjunction with a comma. When speaking, we do sometimes pause after the little conjunction, but there is seldom a good reason to put a comma there.

• Use a comma to set off introductory elements, as in "Running toward third base, he suddenly realized how stupid he looked." It is permissible to omit the comma after a brief introductory element if the omission does not result in confusion or hesitancy in reading. If there is ever any doubt, use the comma, as it is always correct. If you would like some additional guidelines on using a comma after introductory elements, click HERE.

• Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements, as in "The Founders Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River, is falling down." By "parenthetical element," we mean a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of that sentence. The parenthetical element is sometimes called "added information." This is the most difficult rule in punctuation because it is sometimes unclear what is "added" or "parenthetical" and what is essential to the meaning of a sentence.

• Appositives are almost always treated as parenthetical elements.

• Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. You could think of this as "That tall, distinguished, good looking fellow" rule (as opposed to "the little old lady"). If you can put an and or a but between the adjectives, a comma will probably belong there. For instance, you could say, "He is a tall and distinguished fellow" or "I live in a very old and run-down house." So you would write, "He is a tall, distinguished man" and "I live in a very old, run-down house." But you would probably not say, "She is a little and old lady," or "I live in a little and purple house," so commas would not appear between little and old or between little and purple.

• Use a comma to set off quoted elements. Because we don't use quoted material all the time, even when writing, this is probably the most difficult rule to remember in comma usage. It is a good idea to find a page from an article that uses several quotations, photocopy that page, and keep it in front of you as a model when you're writing. Generally, use a comma to separate quoted material from the rest of the sentence that explains or introduces the quotation:

• Use commas to set off phrases that express contrast.

• Use a comma to avoid confusion. This is often a matter of consistently applying rule #3.

• Grammar English's Famous Rule of Punctuation: Never use only one comma between a subject and its verb. "Believing completely and positively in oneself is essential for success." [Although readers might pause after the word "oneself," there is no reason to put a comma there.]

• Typographical Reasons: Between a city and a state [Hartford, Connecticut], a date and the year [June 15, 1997], a name and a title when the title comes after the name [Bob Downey, Professor of English], in long numbers [5,456,783 and $14,682], etc. Although you will often see a comma between a name and suffix — Bob Downey, Jr., Richard Harrison, III — this comma is no longer regarded as necessary by most copy editors, and some individuals — such as Martin Luther King Jr. — never used a comma there at all.

• As you can see, there are many reasons for using commas, and we haven't listed them all. Yet the biggest problem that most students have with commas is their overuse. Some essays look as though the student loaded a shotgun with commas and blasted away. Remember, too, that a pause in reading is not always a reliable reason to use a comma. Try not to use a comma unless you can apply a specific rule from this page to do so.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm

 

****, you I don't do, what you tell, me,

But in all seriousness this is good advice that I probably should adhere to >.<

 

Commas save lives.

"Lets go eat Grandma!" turns into

"Let's go eat, Grandma!"

Will you donate a comma today??

 

Commas can really be used any where you want a pause or a separate thought. I mean, that rule requires comma sense, but there's a lot more issues with sentence structure and typing in general here that require focus.

I remember back in the good ol' days of the internet where you could pick on someone for typing like a complete idiot. It's the reason I don't type "u" anymore.

 

mandatory reading for all humans

 

Yo it's ok I'll balance out everyone's abuse of commas by NEVER USING THEM AT ALL

Semicolon is my shit

 

or we can just not use any form of punctuation because if nobody can get it right its not even worth the time effort and intellect to use them in the first place

 

I've actually decided to hold you to this. I'm going to respond to all of your future posts containing commas with this post.

Good luck. Only you can save us.

 

An English professor wrote the words :

"A woman without her man is nothing"

on the chalkboard and asked his students to
punctuate it correctly.

All of the males in the class wrote:

"A woman, without her man, is nothing."

All the females in the class wrote:

"A woman: without her, man is nothing."

Punctuation is powerful. ^,^

 

*

 

They should be thankful, not offended.

 

This has been comma lessons with Below -- otherwise known as Amaury 2.0.

 

I try to balance out commas with semicolons.

I admittedly am tempted to become that, "NEIN ZAT ISH NOT HOW YOU USE COMMAS!" grammar nazi, but I've learned to just keep to the rules myself. If I were to pick out every misplaced comma, I'd probably blow a gasket.

 

Legit though I don't type properly at all I type how I speak

Capslock is my life run-on sentences are my choices

I definitely CAN type properly, I mean I am an English major

but fuck that noise you only live once me bret'ren

Gotta roll around in the mud at least a little bit kna' mean?

 

No.[DOUBLEPOST=1372691821][/DOUBLEPOST]

I know, I do similar things sometimes as well. It's just that it seems like so many people are using commas where they shouldn't, so I figured that if they're going to use them they might as well use them correctly. They can use them or type however they want, but this is here if they want it.

 

Yes.

 

Amaury, hatok is your twin, not Below.

Calm down.

 

Beløw is the new Britishism get with it