A Comma Field Guide
Sometimes, I edit manuscripts that make me question all I have ever learned about punctuation, especially commas. I devised this quick guide to commas to reinforce what we learned (or didn’t learn) in grammar school. When to use a comma: Addressing a person by name or nickname. Example: Hello, Sweetums. Jane, do this. Show us on the doll, John, where the commas have hurt you. Linking two sentences with a conjunction (and, but, or, so). Example: This is sentence one, and this is sentence two. Dependent clauses and words that act as clauses. Example: After this clause, you put a comma. Second, a comma goes there. Yes, these examples are on the snarky side. I spent hours editing pages of comma issues, producing deep snarkiness. Had the page not run red, due to my markings, I would have only experienced a mellow, not to mention short, snarky mood. In a list of more than two of the same (nouns or verb...