To Comma or Not to Comma
To Comma or Not to Comma, That Is the Question
Commas really are not living entities that reproduce and decide
where to live and where not to live. Neither are they snow
flakes that land wherever the wind may take them. They are not
decorations to be used or not as a person's fancy may decide.
Commas actually have a vital and exact use in writing stories,
poetry, essays, or articles. Let's visit Comma World and see if
we can discover when and where commas should be used.
We should use a comma to separate words in a series, and
use a comma before the conjunction, too, unless we're writing a
journalistic article. In a newspaper article, no comma is used
before the conjunction. In literary writing, such as essays,
stories, and poetry, one is.
Error: Wolves are found in Alaska Canada and Minnesota.
Correct: Wolves are found in Alaska, Canada, and Minnesota.
Names directly addressed need to be set off by commas.
Error: Don't run on the ice Mary, or you'll fall.
Correct: Don't run on the ice, Mary, or you'll fall.
Commas should be used to set off conjunctive adverbs that
introduce a clause or sentence. However, internal or final
conjunctive adverbs should be set off by commas only when they
interrupt the flow of a sentence.
Error: Meanwhile the Everly Brothers introduced country
harmonies to rock-and-roll.
Correct: Meanwhile, the Everly Brothers introduced country
harmonies to rock-and-roll.
Mild interjections not needing exclamation points will
need to be set off by commas. These interjections include words
such as yes, no, well, okay, and oh.
Error: Well you aren't clear when you write.
Correct: Well, you aren't clear when you write.
Error: When I saw the hole in the offensive line wow I knew the
safety would sack the quarterback.
Correct: When I saw the hole in the offensive line, wow, I knew
the safety would sack the quarterback.
Another place commas are used would be between main
clauses unless they are extremely short clauses. The comma
comes before the conjunction (and, or, nor, but, yet, sometimes
for) joining the main clauses in a compound sentence.
Error: Rabbits usually run when sensing danger but sometimes
they freeze in place.
Correct: Rabbits usually run when sensing danger, but sometimes
they freeze in place.
Equal adjectives should be separated with a comma. One
test is to see if the word {i}and{/i} could be used between the
adjectives. If so, then a comma is needed.
Error: The velvet skirt fell in soft flowing folds.
Correct: The velvet skirt fell in soft, flowing folds. (Test:
The velvet skirt fell in long and flowing folds.)
Adjectives that must in a specific order are not separated by
commas.
Error: They have many, clever ways of surviving.
Correct: They have many clever ways of surviving.
A phrase adding nonessential information should be set
off by commas.
Error: Wolves in pairs or sometimes in packs hunt animals such
as deer and caribou.
Correct: Wolves, in pairs or sometimes in packs, hunt animals
such as deer and caribou.
A comma is needed after introductory words.
Error: To be sure smaller animals can make fierce pets.
Correct: To be sure, smaller animals can make fierce pets.
A phrase that is essential to the meaning of sentence
should not be set off by commas.
Error: Animals, falling into this category, include rodents and
rabbits.
Correct: Animals falling into this category include rodents and
rabbits.
A clause which doesn't add essential information in a
sentence should be set off by commas. (A clause has a subject
and verb that go together.)
Error: Clowns who usually cause people to laugh instill fear in
some people.
Correct: Clowns, who usually cause people to laugh, instill fear
in some people.
One should not set off essential clauses with commas.
Error: The wolf, that is found in Alaska, is called the gray
wolf.
Correct: The wolf that is found in Alaska is called the gray
wolf.
Non-essential appositives should be set off by commas.
(An appositive is a noun or pronoun - word, phrase, or clause -
placed after another noun or pronoun to provide more information
or rename the first.)
Error: The gray wolf a wild species of dog is also called the
timber wolf.
Correct: The gray wolf, a wild species of dog, is also called
the timber wolf.
But an appositive essential to the meaning of the sentence
should not be set off by commas.
Error: The writer, Mark Twain, writes about a young man who runs
away.
Correct: The writer Mark Twain writes about a young man who runs
away.
Sometimes a name can be non-essential, and sometimes it can be
essential. If a person has only one brother, then the brother's
name would be non-essential. If he has more than one brother,
then the brother's name would be essential.
Examples:My brother, Bob, lives in New York. ("I" have only one
brother.)
My brother Bob lives in New York. ("I" have two brothers.)
Punctuation in is the same as in other types of
writing. Commas add to the meaning of poetry and allows the
reader to better understand what the poet tries to say.
Therefore, the answer to the original question is one should
comma when and where needed.
*** Sources: 1. Writer's Companion copyright 1995 by
Printice-Hall, Inc. 2. Literature and Language copyright 2001 by
McDugal Littel. 3. Notes and lesson plans by Vivian Zabel