Once Again Comma or No Comma

The Optional Comma

May one, 2018 by ProofreadingPal in Writing Fiction

English grammar ain't easy, and ultimately, after you've studied and swallowed grammar books until y'all only can't take it anymore, the final insult may be that sometimes it merely comes down to personal preference.

Such is the instance with the optional comma. That's a comma that can go or not go somewhere depending on what you think works best. Information technology sounds peachy, but actually, information technology'south grammer's version of giving you lot enough rope to hang yourself.

Sigh.

Grammar Matters

Ultimately, the bespeak of all grammar is to help the reader understand what's going on. Take the post-obit famous case:

The panda eats, shoots, and leaves.

Equally opposed to the intended statement:

The panda eats shoots and leaves.

So the first thing to know virtually optional commas is that they appear only occasionally. The majority of commas are mandatory. You can't just stick a comma anywhere and claim the judgement looks amend that manner.

Grammar Rules Can't Encompass Everything

Space is large. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, heed-bogglingly big information technology is. I hateful, you may retrieve it'due south a long fashion downwards the road to the pharmacist, but that's just peanuts to—

Oh look. I meant, language is big. Really big. You may think yous've read a lot of books, merely that's just peanuts to seeing the number of means and means that people can put words together.

Past their nature, grammer rules are anticipatory. Desire to put extra info in that phrase? At that place's a rule for that. Desire to imply that some data is more important than other information? There'south a rule for that. Want to suggest some information, and then deny it, and offer some other information instead? At that place's a dominion for that.

Just sometimes the rules just have to give manner to basic readability. Commas often become optional when sentences are complex, or simply plain long, and the reader could use a lilliputian suspension.

Conjunctions

A archetype optional comma shows up with conjunctive structures. The rule is that when you take two complete sentences joined by a conjunction, the comma goes earlier the conjunction:

I have several things to buy, merely I don't have enough coin.

When what comes afterwards the conjunction is not a complete judgement, y'all don't put a comma before the conjunction.

I take several things to purchase but non enough coin.

However, when what comes before or after the conjunction is complicated past length or emphasis or change in thought, that comma becomes optional. So both of the following are correct:

I have several things to purchase on the shopping listing my mother wrote out for me yesterday but only a few things on the list my sister and I wrote together the day earlier when I had more money.

and

I accept several things to buy on the shopping list my mother wrote out for me yesterday, just only a few things on the listing my sis and I wrote together the day before when I had more than coin.

Personally, I like the second version improve.

"Non simply simply too" has an optional comma when you really want to stress that dissimilarity, and sometimes "neither . . . nor" can employ a boost every bit well.

Interjections

Commas get around "of form" and "in fact," and other mild interjections, and this used to be 100 per centum mandatory. These days, you don't have to put a comma in forepart of the interjection if it directly follows a conjunction.

Geraldine asked a lot of people, and in fact, she got results.

Information technology'due south true that "and, in fact," is fine, only it's also a bit cluttered for today'southward tastes.

Adjectives

When we put a lot of adjectives in front of a substantive, we employ commas to separate them.

She has the cheaper, faster, smarter version of that software.

The optional comma comes in when the adjective-noun pairing tin also be seen as a 2-word noun. Is "baby" an adjective in "baby buggy," or is "baby" part of the noun, equally in "tooth decay" and "action figure"?

And so, here we accept an optional comma where, again, both are correct:

It's stupid to fight in a unsafe, burning building.

and

Information technology'due south stupid to fight in a dangerous burning edifice.

Introductory Phrases

I'one thousand planning to devote a whole mail service to this one (oh, the excitement!) because putting a comma afterwards an introductory phrase relies on a host of factors. For this post, nosotros'll deal with length.

Once again, these are both correct:

While sunbathing with friends, we all forgot to reapply our sunblock.

and

While sunbathing with friends we all forgot to reapply our sunblock.

Readability is once once more key, which means that people generally put a comma later a long introductory phrase just not after a short one. There is no existent rule about that length, withal.

Repetitive Accent

Sometimes we want to stress something strictly for the drama of it, and i manner to practice that is by repetition. Separating that repetition with commas is, once over again, optional. (And did you lot find that in that concluding sentence I separated out "one time again" with commas, whereas I didn't exercise information technology in the sentence above? Readability, baby!)

And so anyway, both of these are correct:

Frodo but walked, and walked, through that whole movie.

and

Frodo only walked and walked through that whole movie.

And so are:

The dead dragon fell from the heaven, and fell with a nail.

and

The dead dragon fell from the heaven and fell with a nail.

So, (optional comma) as you can see, (not optional comma) at that place are many instances in which the writer's, (optional comma) and the editor'south, (optional comma) personal judgments come into play, (not optional comma) and if you find yourself unsure sometimes, (optional comma) just ask us here at ProofreadingPal! (optional assertion point)

Julia H.

mizellthereaven.blogspot.com

Source: https://proofreadingpal.com/proofreading-pulse/writing-fiction/the-optional-comma/

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