It’s easy to impulsively toss commas into our writing like croutons (“Oh yeah, I need some of those…”) instead of intentionally stirring them into our work like some creamy buttermilk ranch, and ignoring a few simple comma rules in the process.
Commas are crucial punctuation marks just longing to be understood. Here are three comma rules that will push you toward a powerful knowledge of these vital dashes and teach you how to wield them well.
1. Avoid the Comma Splice
Andrew Pudewa, founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, takes this up a notch and calls it “The Dreaded Comma Splice.” It is quite dreadful, and is undeniably incorrect.
A comma splice occurs when you use a comma to separate two independent clauses (two phrases that could be complete sentences on their own). Here is an example:
Lane grabbed a hot cookie off the plate, he quickly scampered away.
The second comma is the perpetrator here. It doesn’t work because “Lane…plate” and “he…away” can each be a complete sentence on its own. It is illegal to separate independent clauses with only a comma.
The correct way to do it is with a comma/conjunction combo. In case you forgot, a conjunction is a connecting word like and, but, or or. Here is the sentence rewritten properly:
Lane grabbed a hot cookie off the plate, and he quickly scampered away.
You could also use another appropriate conjunction with the same result.
2. Don’t Use Dangling Modifiers
Laughing uncontrollably as she chased him, Sarah’s puppy flew through the kitchen covered in flour.
We have a problem. Although we can commend the writer for starting the sentence with an “ing” word (one of the “fancier” ways of beginning a sentence), our commendation ends here because the writer has made a colossal mistake. He has ignored the second of the three comma rules and committed the dastardly act of creating a dangling modifier. That’s just the official way of saying he put the wrong noun next to the “ing” word.
The way this sentence is constructed, it is the puppy that is laughing uncontrollably. Although we know it’s actually the puppy’s frazzled owner Sarah who is laughing, grammatically the puppy gets the action because of its placement. The short rule for avoiding dangling modifiers is to put the thing doing the ing-ing as close to the “ing” word as possible—right after the comma.
There is more than one correct way to reword this sentence, but here is one of the non-dangling modifier options:
Laughing uncontrollably, Sarah chased her flour-covered puppy through the kitchen.
( ^ ^ ^ Remember our discussion on hyphens? You can refresh on that rule here!)
3. Use (or Don’t Use?) the Oxford Comma
Wait a second, you might be thinking. Haven’t we already gone over this? Well, yes…but since this article is about commas and there was actually a lawsuit over this particular comma, I couldn’t leave it out!
As a quick refresher, the Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) is the last comma before the conjunction in a list of items. (See our lengthier discussion on it here [it involved donuts].) In the phrase “aardvarks, root beer, and scented candles,” the Oxford comma is the one right before the word “and.”
Anyway, there are two opinions on this: there are those who believe this piece of punctuation is superfluous, and there are others (like myself) who believe it is unremovable.
Because there is actually no hard and fast rule on whether or not to use it, your decision depends on which style guide you prefer and your editor’s instructions. It is a great, unresolved civil war among grammarians. On one side are those striving for writing that is as uncluttered and simple as possible with absolutely no unnecessary black marks. On the other are those striving for writing that is clear and unambiguous with absolutely no unnecessary confusion.
So in the end, it is up to you to decide whether or not to use it. But just know that I wouldn’t have lost $5 million due to omitting it like Oakhurst Dairy did earlier this year. Just saying.
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