Someone recently wrote to me and asked for a simple post on when to use a comma. Well, I will try, but there are so many comma rules…
On the other hand, there are really only two main comma rules (don’t get too excited):
- Don’t use a comma without a reason/rule (The problem with this is you still have to know the reasons/rules.)
- Use a comma wherever not using one would cause the reader confusion.
Okay, I guess I can’t end the post here. We still need some guidelines/rules/reasons. I will divide the rules into two categories: black and white, and shades of gray. (See that comma after white? That is a perfect example of using a comma where not using one might cause confusion or make something harder to read.
Black and White Comma Standards:
- Use commas after items in a series (words, phrases, or clauses) INCLUDING the comma before the and (Oxford comma): We bought chicken, potatoes, milk, bread, eggs, and Halloween candy.
- Use commas in dialogue. You learned how to in school: “Open the door,” she said. He said, “I can’t. It is locked.”
- Use a comma between two adjectives if it would make sense to pause and if you could put and between them: She wore an old, torn sweater over her bright blue dress.
- Around (or before if at the end of a sentence), etc, i.e., and e.g.: Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, etc., are fruits.
- Direct address: Sue, go to the store. Go to the store, Sue. Go, Sue, to the store.
- Addresses: 35 Monroe Street, Boston, MA 12345. We went to New Orleans, Louisiana, for our vacation. She was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1975.
- Dates when the day is included: It is March 12, 2021. I believe it happened in March 2021.
- In numbers with four or more digits: 9,600; 50,000.
- Around too in the middle of the sentence (when it means also), but not at the end: I, too, am going. I am going too.
- Around academic degrees with names: Mary Trump, Ph.D., has a new book.
- Before Jr. and Sr. in a name: John Doe, Sr. is my uncle. (none needed after the Jr. or Sr. )
- Usually before, Inc. or Ltd. in a company name: Heath, Inc. However if the company doesn’t do it, write the company name as they do.
- After the salutation and closing of letters and e-mails. For business communication, use a colon instead of a comma after the greeting: Dear John, Yours truly,
- Before, after, or around therefore and however: However, I think differently than you. I am not going, however. I think, therefore, that you should go.
- Contrasting statements: I love pizza, but not with anchovies.
- Before or when it explains rather than gives a choice: The stick, or baton, is used by the conductor.
- In confusing constructions: After eating, ants covered our blanket. (or just rewrite)
Shades of Gray Comma Standards:
- In compound sentences, but not if there are very short: I am a Libra, and my brother is an Aries. (Note that this is not a compound sentence: He said he would help with the party decorations and then didn’t show up.)
- Introductory elements, but not if they are very short. (These are anything that appears before the main part of the sentence.): In July I will take a vacation. In July of next year, I will take a vacation. Before you come home, please stop by the store. In an earlier version of the book, the hero died. Of course I will come to your party.
- Interruptors in sentences if they are not needed for the meaning of the sentence: The girl who is wearing all red is my sister. The blonde girl in the front row, who is wearing all red, is my sister. My neighbor, a firefighter, works long hours. I am, incidentally, a notary public.
- Afterthoughts in sentences: I will always be your friend of course OR I will always be your friend, of course. (your choice)
- To clarify if a word (usually that) is omitted. I know you are not on my side (not confusing without the comma). The reason for the delay is, his mother is coming all the way from California (your choice).
- Emphasis (your choice): I agree, completely, with your idea.
No Comma (another whole post!)
Although you use a comma after a long introductory clause that starts with words such as although, because, since, until, etc., you rarely use a comma if those clauses end the sentence. If you would pause, that generally indicates you could use a comma:
- Because you are always late for work, I am going to demote you.
- I am going to demote you because you are always late for work.
There you go….The easy guide to commas! Remember this about commas: Many of the rules help clear up confusion; some of them don’t do much. Be familiar with the standards, but don’t worry so much. If something is unclear, try putting a comma in. But the worst thing is using too many commas.
Not sure whether this can be considered a “black and white comma standard”
Around (or before if at the end of a sentence), etc, i.e., and e.g.: Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, etc., are fruits.
a) The comma after etc.: wonder what purpose it serves. Surely it would be odd to write “Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, and so on, are fruits.” A comma *after* and in this sentence?
b) Butcher’s, a respected style guide in Britain, has this to say in the matter.
———–
Commas should be consistently included or omitted after ‘that is’
or ‘i.e.’
‘For example’ and ‘e.g.’ are used in two ways. If they form the
whole of a parenthetical phrase, they should be between commas:
it was, for example, his habit to . . .
If they introduce an example or list of examples, they should be
preceded by a comma or other mark of punctuation; but we think
it is clearer if no comma follows:
superstitions, for example the belief . . .
———–
_Butcher’s Copy-editing: the Cambridge Handbook for editors, copy-editors and proofreaders_, p. 157
I would probably put the commas on both sides of “and so on.”
Sometimes the British have something different to say than the Americans. This is one of those times. Or perhaps something has been updated I don’t know about. I could go either way on it. Thanks for the comment, and perhaps we should move it over to the shades of gray!
I really, for this particular post, can’t think of anything clever to say.
Thanks for the review of commas, Arlene.
You are welcome, Robin!
Great post! I learned a couple of new things: no comma before “too” at the end of a sentence (I’ve always put a comma there); and no comma after “Jr.” or “Sr.” The latter makes me wonder about “Inc.” or “Ltd.” in the middle of a sentence; comma after or no?
I had to read your parenthetical remark in #4 of Black and White a couple of times before I got it: “(or before if at the end of a sentence).” The following would have been clearer to me, unless it breaks another standard: “(or before, if at the end of a sentence),” Is that just me?
In any case, I always love your posts. Thank you!
The standards about “too” and “Jr.” are new trends. I learned them the way you did, with commas. It isn’t just you. I should have punctuated my remark. I have a habit of writing my posts too quky and not proofing them enough times. Thanks!
Thank you. I ask and I got. Now here’s another puzzler for me. I use a lot of slang in dialog and often find I’m dropping the ‘g’ on ing words, example: “Hey Jossie, can’t meet widja today ’cause I’m goin’ swimin’.” So the question is, how do I line up the final punctuation? Is apostrophe, period, quote marks correct?
And it turns out, lots of people wanted to hear about commas, so thank you! Yes, you are correct with your order of punctuation.
Thank you so much for clarifying commas for me. I was just wondering about some of these the other day.
Glad to be of help!
I am, of course, in complete agreement with you.
Thank you. great minds think alike, as they say…
Thank you for this wonderful post, Arlene! I’ll be sharing this with the writers I work with (because commas can be sooooo confusing sometimes).
You are so welcome! Glad you liked it and will share it. I pretty much took the post from my “To Comma or Not to Comma” book, but tried to slim it down.