Commas Are Hard, Right? Another "Grammar Tuesday" Lesson from the Grammar Enthusiast

My son thinks commas are tough. And there are times when a writer wonders whether or not to include commas in sentences. One example of a comma argument is whether or not to place the Oxford Comma (the last comma in a list of things). Some insist on it, some say never use it, and most are somewhere in the middle. I am not concerned about discretionary commas. I am, however, concerned about the use of obvious commas.

Here are three of those obvious comma placements.

Dependent Clause Commas

Dependent clause commas set off extra information that is not vital to the grammar or meaning of a sentence. Once Upon A Time, On a Dark and Stormy Night, and For What it’s Worth are three phrases that should all be followed by a comma in the sentences they modify. The sentences in which they are found make complete sense and are grammatically correct without these modifiers, but we like them.

Conjunction Commas

The most common conjunctions are AND, BUT, and OR. These conjunctions attach two (or more) subjects, predicates, or complete sentences. Just like the way I listed them, BUT needs a conjunction comma almost always.

I like ice cream, but I really like ice cream sundaes.

I like watching hockey, but I don’t skate.

A vacation is awesome, but a resort vacation is more awesome.

AND and OR can often get away without commas, though commas are still used in lists.

I like apples and bananas. I like cake, cookies, and donuts. (The comma after cookies is the Oxford Comma.)

I’ll have apples or bananas with lunch today. I’ll usually eat apples, bananas, or grapes.

Appositive Commas

These clauses restate other information in the sentence, and are generally set apart from commas. The rule around appositive names has changed over time to drop the commas surrounding a name, but generally commas are used with appositives.

My brother, the older one, has a girlfriend now. (Unless people know some of the speaker’s siblings, knowing which one the speaker is referring to will be unimportant to them.) (The explanation statement used a dependent clause comma.)

My neighbor Daphne rides a scooter to school. (People used to set off Daphne with commas, but now it is not considered necessary.) (The explanation statement used a conjunction comma.)

My new house, the yellow one, will have wall-to-wall carpet. (Adding the information that the new house is also the yellow one adds information, but the likelihood is that the added information is not necessary.)

So there you have it! The three most common types of commas have been identified for your continued knowledge and enthusiasm. In fact, I would bet that the majority of other comma uses are actually comma splices or other incorrectly used commas.  However, that is a lesson for another Tuesday.

But* you don't have to take my word for it! Here are two additional resources to consult about comma usage:

Purdue OWL: Online Writing Lab

Grammar Girl

Do you have a comma question, preference, comment, or pet peeve? Be sure to let me know!

*Most people were taught not to start a sentence with BUT. I think in informal writing, such as a blog post, starting a sentence with BUT is fine. However, it might appease others more if I'd written:
That's my lesson on commas, but you don't have to take my word for it!

-or-

However, you don't have to take my word for it!

Here are a few more of my grammar articles, in case you were wanting more!

"Choked Up" Vs "Chalked Up"

To and Too

I

Lose the O or Set it Loose

The "New Grammar" of Facebook

You've seen the fight going on for a while. Years if you've been paying attention. The truth is, there is a fine line on Facebook and other social media sites between the occasional typo, appearing uneducated, autocorrect blunders, and being the rude individual who attacks someone's comment or argument by pointing out an inability to spell.

It's not really a new grammar. It's a huge gray area of steps and missteps. It's wondering whether a comment is worth taking back and editing -- or can people tell what was meant? And for some, it's a new way of reading. Few people hate the LOL cats, and have no difficulty understanding them.

Image is not owned by me, but is used educationally and editorially to demonstrate my point.
http://cheezburger.com/1396637440

So which came first -- the online mistake or the cat that made it cute? Now, many people copy grammatical mistakes as a form of humor. There's even a shortcut I've copied -- "because X" -- where the statement is not grammatically correct, but the writer assumes the gist is understood.

Image is not owned by me, but is used educationally and editorially to demonstrate my point.
memecenter.com/shauntrogers

Take comments from many a local news story that has been shared to Facebook. (Please.) Some comments are requests for more information or  generally well-thought-out additions to the discussion. Others, read like, well, comments from the stereotypical "Bubba Joe" interviewed after the natural disaster or alleged alien abduction. "Bubba Joe" was not only abducted by aliens in the last tornado resulting in a fire where the dog rowed him out to safety, "Bubba Joe" has an opinion about everything. Oftentimes, this opinion is cringe-worthy to me. However, sometimes I find myself agreeing with "Bubba Joe," thinking how obvious a solution must be if even "Bubba Joe" "gets it." And that's where the new grammar of Facebook comes into play.

We're more likely to read something as a typo if we agree with the comment made.
Conversely, we're more likely to have difficulty reading comments we expect to disagree with.

I know people get labeled "grammar Nazi" and such things for trying to make the internet a place for better grammar. However, people offering too much correction stop being taken seriously AND are held to a higher standard of typing skill in their own comments. Perhaps such people brings it on themselves?

While recognizing the problem is an important step -- what can be the solution? Do we simply accept the new Facebook grammar? Do we insist on updated technology, more editing capacity, or read-back-and-edit-before posting features? I, for one, am all ears.

Providing a Service or Being Rude?

Good Grammar Tuesday Morning!

My question this morning -- when you point out an error to someone privately, are you providing a service or being rude?

For me, alerting someone to a grammar error is the equivalent of saying "Hey! Fly's undone." We'll both be embarrassed for a minute, but hopefully the mistake will be corrected and it will be over. Am I wrong?

And of course, this comes because I sent an email last night alerting someone in the business to a their/there/they're mistake on his/her webpage. (I know in speech I would not worry about mixing "someone" and "their." I have even read that in writing it's OK to lack agreement in number in support of using ambivalent gender, but I just can't quite bring myself to do it in a post critiquing someone else's misuse of "their.")

This morning, YAY! I got a reply from the person. However, it was a half-hearted thanks, and a more strongly worded caution that I should not try to connect with people by pointing out mistakes.

That person may never know how I agonized over that email. The three extra paragraphs I wrote, deleted, re-wrote, deleted -- just to show I was writing it to help. The person admitted to almost deleting my email thinking I was simply trying to sell editing service. Actually, that hadn't crossed my mind. I was thinking that in spite of the error I found, this person had talents I lacked and a good fit might be made. And we live in the same geographic area. But based on the feedback -- I felt like I owed the person an apology; an apology! -- for taking the time to privately let the person know there was a mistake on a page shown to potentially thousands of educators daily. The cheek!

Dude! I'm just covering your butt!

Obviously my opinion is always to be kind and honest. If your fly is undone, I am going to tell you. I won't zip it for you, but I'll let you know, and whether or not you zip is then up to you. I will apologize for embarrassing you. But is the time I took -- which embarrassed me also -- really worse than everyone else who just let you walk around with an open fly?

So I wrote back a sorry/not sorry. Maybe things will be better when we bump into each other at a book event, as is bound to happen. So many things can get lost in the written word, especially online. I'm sure this person is a nice person, just as I am. Maybe one day we will laugh about it.

I don't know. I probably wouldn't point out to a boss during an interview that the email granting me an interview had a typo. I would tell my boss -- because I write and I consider editing a constant part of any job description -- if written items were going out with errors. And were my boss's fly open, I hope I would say something before the interns showed up! This wasn't that. This was an email to a potential colleague that we have talents that could mutually benefit each other. And if nothing else -- for someone to zip his or her fly.

Is there a kinder way to handle such corrections? Because you know me. I can't NOT do it in professional situations. And well aware I am that some will lash out (not that this morning's response was so extreme, but) no matter the level of kindness applied. Embarrassment often leads to anger. But I can learn to be kinder in the process. If there is a process, and if someone will point out my mistake by teaching me how to do it better.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! And welcome back to school, for most!

(Photos are courtesy of MorgueFile.com)