A to Z Challenge: C is for Comma - Plus the IWSG

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,

depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s a grammar day!

Plus, it the first Wednesday of the month, time for
Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group.
So I'm going to kill two birds with one stone and
post about the one thing I feel totally secure about:
the use of the comma!

__________

C is for comma:  a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence

As an editor, this is probably the one thing I see used incorrectly most often, or, more accurately, not used effectively or even at all.  A comma is used to set off words, phrases, or clauses from the rest of the sentence, especially where there needs to be a slight pause.  When we speak, we do so in fragments or clauses, and we naturally include small pauses in between these clauses.  Every where there is a pause, imagine a comma, as well.  And did you see how I added a comma before as well in the last sentence?  Well, ditto when you use the word too, too.       

They’re also used to separate items in a series or list of three items or more, even with the use of the word “and” in between.  This way, each item is given equal purpose and is not meant to be combined with the item before it.  Many do not think it’s necessary to use a comma between the second-to-last item in a list and the last, that a conjunction such as “and”, “but”, or ‘or” are all that is required.  While this is common, it’s also incorrect, as not using the comma between is like making the last two items one in conjunction with each other instead of being separate but equal.

Another place people often forget to include a comma is when two complete sentences are joined together, most often by the word “and”.  If each segment of the sentence can stand alone, then use a comma to separate them.  Also, as in this sentence, use a comma to separate or attach words in the beginning or end to the rest of the sentence.  You often see this with the use of time such as “Now” or “Later” or “Today”, but also with adverbs like “Frequently” or “Certainly” or words like “Nevertheless”.

Lastly, if you stick a dependent clause in the middle of an independent one or complete sentence, you divide it with commas on both ends. 

Commas aren’t properly taught in school these days, and we seem to have entire generations of writers who don’t understand the proper placement of commas, but if you listen to the way you speak and hear the pauses in between the clauses, then you know where to put a comma.  A good trick to find missing commas is to use the text-to-speech feature included in most word processing software.