Puny but powerful, the itsy bitsy comma remains a foe to many folks striving to use good grammar. The comma is among the most confusing and misused punctuation marks in English grammar. Some people place a comma whenever they pause in their proofreading. While this strategy is a good guide, it is not foolproof. Some guys have a vague recollection of grade-school grammar and guess at the comma’s proper placement. The problem here is that the rules get muddled over time. We see commas used incorrectly in print everyday, and for most of us, grammar school was a long time ago. Many folks seem to add commas whenever the mood strikes them, while others avoid commas entirely. For everyone who wants to overcome the comma, here are my 10 comma rules to remember
22 Responses to "Overcome the comma!"
2 | Ward Tipton
You may have to make exceptions for “and” and “but” if you are writing for the AP but still nice to see I am not the only one who recollects the importance and power of the written word. However, as with any weapon, it must be wielded properly in order to utilize its power.
Ward
This is simply, just fabulous, and I absolutely love it, I am now off, to tell everyone “Rob’s Megaphone is where it is at”, thank you, and have a very, very, very, very, nice day!!!
Can we talk; about the proper use; of semi-colons; next?
4 | jcrn
I need to have this one posted above my computer and refer to it often. Of the rules you note, can you list any that you recall any glaring errors being taught in recent years? I do.
I ask this because I had an English teacher who taught some very different rules. There was another English teacher who differed from the first. This led to much confusion. I do wonder how and why rules about commas change. I confess I am more prone to errors when using commas. I get confused about it or am torn between what one teacher told me versus the advice of another teacher. Even the style books get contradictory advice and each magazine or online site seems to follow a particular form unique to that site, leading to even more confusion. Sorry for any comma errors in this thesis of a comment.
6 | chris
oh if you ever saw my grammar. Thanks for the fun and informative post. This was really helpful!
I have 6-10 down. If I could only get 1-5. I would be in good shape.
8 | Pete Nicely
Great list. You number ten is the reason that commas will always be somewhat confusing, as confusing is always in the eye of the beholder.
9 | Raul Hummins
Here’s a simple rule that works for me. The way I see it is that commas remind me of my mother in law. Whenever there’s a place in a sentence where I would put my mother in law I put a comma instead.
10 | OBA
The child enjoys playing baseball, reading comic books, and watching television.
With the writing group I am with they say no comma before the and?? So which is right??
11 | robertstevenson
The comma in the series rule in all English grammar books says to include the last comma in a series. Journalism style books say when writing for newspapers omit the last comma in a series. AP Style rules and English grammar rules don’t always coincide.
14 | timethief
I’m amazed and chagrined to discover how much I have forgotten about the proper use of commas. Thank you so much for this article which I have bookmarked for future reference.
15 | Mark Stoneman
But what are clauses? What are independent clauses? Your advice will help those who are at least aware of these elements of grammar. Far too often, though, I find students in college who are not aware of these concepts. Those who are, though, will benefit. And those who aren’t might now go out and try and figure out what these various grammatical things of which you speak are.
I’m going to add this link to a comment on my comma post, which simply points to other resources on the web, because I haven’t had the nerve to try to write directions myself.
16 | Barry
A cool, comprehensive,categorically linguistic, cornucopia of common comma correctness! (why I used alliteration I have no clue)
19 | Weapons: Swords
Always good to read about baseball and its players, I’ve played since a kid..
Can I ask though – how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive, is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
20 | Anne Coleman
This is a really awesome resource, Rob. I’m the queen of comma overuse. I’m constantly second-guessing myself and this is great to have to refer back to!
21 | Jack Payne
i’m lucky Rob, placing, commas comes, naturally,for me. I don’t know, what it is, but I have a, sixth sense of, where to place commas. It’s like, playing piano, by ear I, guess.
22 | Joanne
What about using a comma before “too” and “as well” when they are at the end of a sentence?
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