THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
of commas
I
have written earlier in this manual about why a liberal use of commas,
especially while trying to show a pause of some kind, leads to rejection by
agents and editors.
The
Chicago Manual of Style, 17th
edition, 2017, has twenty pages devoted to commas. Other manuals have similar girth.
To make comma rules easier to remember, I’ve boiled down Chicago’s twenty pages
to a quick, essential list.
I.
Commas nearly always are placed on both sides of an added thought or a name in
a sentence. Remember, a simple sentence has one thought. Rule: Add a thought;
add a comma. Or two commas if the thought doesn’t end with a period. Hardly
anyone understands the rare exceptions to this rule, so forget about it.
Examples:
The
boss entered the room.
The
boss, Matt Green, entered the room.
The
boss, who was supposed to be somewhere else, entered the room.
Yes,
sir. [not: Yes sir.]
Yes,
sir, boss.
II.
Commas are used to separate three or more items or thoughts. The last thought
or item is usually preceded by an and or an or. When not preceded
by an or or and the author is implying more items are not going
to be mentioned, at least in this sentence. Note here that, in fiction, commas
should be used instead of brackets, parentheses and sometimes em dashes. Using
an em dash highlights the phrase or clause and is the author’s choice. Brackets,
em dashes, and parentheses do much the same thing as a comma. They all separate
two or more thoughts.
Examples:
Kathy
brought grapes, crackers, and cheese to the meeting.
Kathy
might read from her blog, short story, or novel.
An
exception occurs when the adjectives say much the same thing, or they refer to
a cultural expression, such as: little bitty pretty one… Note: little and bitty
are much the same but pretty is different and would normally merit a comma if
not at the end of the list Not that song lyrics or titles follow the rules of
fiction or any other norm. By the way, not putting an and between bitty
and pretty implies there’s more to this gal or it didn’t match the beats. Good enough,
right?
III.
Commas are used between two items or adjectives modifying a noun unless the
adjectives describe much the same thing.
Examples:
She
is a productive, popular writer. Not using an and between the two
adjectives implies there is more.
She
is like an little bitty doll. Some authors might choose to place a hyphen
between little and bitty but that is getting small.
On
July 4, 1776, a nation was born.
He
lives at 1234 Main St., Anywhere, USA.
IV.
Dependent clauses after a main clause should not need a comma, unless the
dependent clause is supplementary or parenthetical. There is a vast army of
writers who get this wrong. Editors and agents usually don’t ding the writer
for this.
Example:
We’ll
agree to not talk politics at the meeting unless we have extra time. […unless
we have extra time is the dependent clause.]
Example
of a supplementary idea:
At
last he arrived, after the vote was taken.
Example
of a parenthetical idea:
He
has a point, whether you agree or not.
V.
Using that or which in a sentence. That has no comma before it and
generally is used to start a restrictive clause. Along with that one
might see or use who, whom or whose to introduce the
restriction. Which does have a comma before it and is not usually the
beginning of a restrictive thought.
Examples:
The
chapter that was required, was informative.
The
chapter, which was well written, was well received by the critique group.
Exception:
Who, whom &
whose will merit commas if used in a nonrestrictive way. [Using &
instead of and in the previous sentence shows a minor exception to commas in
series. With the & you don’t need one.]
Example:
The
writer, who was drunk while reading, nonetheless managed. [The clause starting
with the word who, described the writer but did not restrict the subject
of the sentence.]
VI.
Clarity rules all comma usage when trying to figure out sense or whether to use
or not use the normal rules.
Examples:
The
writer, reading his scene, stopped and threw his pages into the circular file.
Writers
reading their scenes should not stop even if they hate them.
VII.
One doesn’t always have to put a comma after an opening adverbial phrase if it
is completely clear without the comma.
Example:
Before
the writing group stood a writer of great fame.
VIII.
A comma should follow an introductory yes, no, okay, well, and similar words or
phrases.
Examples:
Oh,
you’re right.
Exception:
Oh
my God! [If you use an exclamation point, the comma isn’t necessary, but you
might as well not submit your manuscript.]
IX.
Use a comma before or after a she said or she replied, etc.
She
said, “that was the worst scene I’ve ever heard.”
“Was
that the worst scene you’ve ever heard,” she asked?
She
replied, “you’re just jealous.”
An
exception occurs when using an indirect quote:
She
said something to the effect that you were just jealous.
X.
Commas are not usually used to connect independent clauses. Usually a
semi-colon or period is used unless the clauses are very short and have the
same subject. Why? Well, maybe the two clauses shouldn’t really be in one
sentence.
Examples:
The
car has a full tank. All we need is a place to go.
Okay, for those of you who are grammarians
or are blessed with a photographic memory. You might say I forgot a bit, such
as, appositves, antithetical clauses, attributive compounds, elliptical
constructions… Stop. Stop. Remember, Jesus, basically boiled down the ten
commandments to two. Love God. Love your neighbor.
Being profane, I’ll make this simpler.
Regarding commas:
Separate the sentence thoughts and items
with commas but always err on the side of clarity.
