Commas Save Lives, Part 2/2

Many a call for dinner has grown tragically cannibalistic with the omission of a comma – “Let’s eat, Grandma!” so easily becomes “Let’s eat Grandma!”

Okay, I admit it, it has been a wee bit longer since the last comma blog than a couple weeks. Sorry! I’ve been grievously busy. But have no fear – I am once more here to spare the comma from its common abuses.

Let’s start with some parentheticals.

- Use commas to set off nonessential words, phrases, or clauses from a sentence.

The restaurant has an exciting ambiance. The food, on the other hand, is rather bland.

o Nonessential is an alarmingly vague word. What it means is that if you remove that word, phrase, or clause from the sentence, it doesn’t change the meaning. So, in

The boy who has a limp was in a car accident.

the limp is important to specify – otherwise, you don’t know which boy you’re talking about. However, if you say

Freddy, who has a limp, was in a car accident.

the limp is just an extra detail about Freddy, whom we presumably know, and is not essential.

o This can get dangerous sometimes. Look at this sentence:

Meredith Bond’s book Magic in the Storm is a delight.

That’s true enough. However, if you add two commas:

Meredith Bond’s book, Magic in the Storm, is a delight.

When you add the commas in, it renders the title nonessential, implying that it’s the only book she’s published. And if you read this blog, I’m sure you know that while Merry’s book is a delight, it sure isn’t her only one!

o Appositive phrases, which identify or modify the subject of the sentence, are almost always parenthetical.

Eleanor, his wife of thirty years, just noticed that his eyes are blue.

Sometimes, though, the appositive and the word it modifies are so closely related that you can call them one idea and omit the comma.

His wife Eleanor just noticed that his eyes are blue.

Do note, however, that while Eleanor’s name is regarded as essential to the sentence, her status as his wife is not. When you turn it back around, even omitting the longer qualifier, you have to put the appositive commas back in.

Eleanor, his wife, just noticed that his eyes are blue.

o The rules regarding “that” and “which”, especially with the use of commas, are heinously confusing. An easy rule of thumb – albeit one with a lot of exceptions – is that “which” turns things into parentheticals, but “that” does not. Take a look at the previous sentence, or just at these examples:

That book that she lent me is excellent.

That book, which she lent me, is excellent.

- And after all that, there are just a few assorted uses! Most of these are just common sense, but take a look.

o Use a comma to set off interjections at the beginning of sentences.

Hey, that’s my cake!

o Use a pair of commas to set off expressions and forms of address that interrupt the flow of a sentence.

Exercise is, however, very good for you.

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

o Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year, and (I know it sounds weird, but it’s in the grammar books!) between the year and the rest of the sentence.

It was in the July 5, 2014, blog.

Don’t use commas when it’s just the month and year! This also goes for the European style of date-writing, where the date comes first.

The first was in an October 2013 blog. The second, way later, was in the 5 July 2014 blog.

o Use a comma to separate contrasting parts of a sentence.

That is my cake, not yours.

- As a quick bonus, let’s look at commas in quotes. These rules are amazingly easy, but they can get just as easily messed up.

o Use commas to tag or put beats in direct quotations.

He said, “I’m not letting you put a thresher in our kitchen.”

“Saul,” I pleaded, “why not?”

“No,” he repeated.

o You don’t have to do that to one-word quotations that come after a dialogue tag.

He snapped “Stop.”

o Please take note of where the commas lie here! In American English – if you play by the British rules, ignore this bullet – if a piece of dialogue comes before a tag, it gets a comma within the quotes, whether it’s the end of a sentence or not.

“Just a little one,” I wheedled.

“Imogene,” he interrupted, “just don’t.”

And that’s all the urgent news about commas! I hope you enjoyed this, and your usual programming will resume next week.