Saturday, March 27, 2010

Comma, Please

I’m finishing off our week on grammar by writing about commas, though I’m the first to admit I’m comma challenged. I have no problem with commas in dates and lists. It’s when to use them in sentences. Some of the earlier blogs this week covered different kinds of phrases that use commas to set them off, which I personally found very helpful.

I have accumulated grammar books looking for something that would explain how to use commas so I got it. Finally, I found a book that helped. Rather than presenting rules, which apparently aren’t hard and fast for commas anyway, it talked about using them so a sentence made sense.

The book is Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss. Her title sounds like what your average panda bear does. But by moving the comma in the title to eats, shoots, and leaves, the whole meaning changes. Now we’re talking about a panda bear with a weapon.

The book is about more than just commas, but what she said about commas and the examples she offered, brought it home to me how comma placement is about making the meaning clear.

Here’s an example from the book that really shows how a little change in punctuation alters the thought.

A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.

I admit I still stare at sentences, not sure whether to put in a comma or not. But hopefully I’ve gotten a little better. All I can say is thank heavens for copy editors.

9 comments:

Jeanne C. said...

I am so guilty of comma over-usage! Same as the exclamation point! I feel like Elaine in Seinfeld! :)

Betty Hechtman said...

Jeanne, thanks for your comma confession. I'm glad I'm not the only one who is comma challenged.

Camille Minichino said...

I think today's "rule" is to put a comma wherever it's needed to make a sentence clear.

I've noticed that commas for appositional phrases are no longer required, for example, unless the sentence is hard to read without them. In grammar school I learned a hard and fast rule: My brother, John, is six years old.

Now it's: My brother John is ...

I like the idea that clarity dictates where and when we use commas.

Betty Hechtman said...

Yes, Camille, clarity seems to be what commas are about now.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I love Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Betty! It's fun to ponder the havoc that misused commas can wreak.

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, I never appreciated what commas do until I read that book.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Betty, I bought my first copy of that book in the UK. It came out there before it came out here. I loved it then and I love it now. Some parts were laugh-out-loud funny. Comma usage is really changing. I just read a Michael Connelly book where they didn't put commas in compound sentences at all! (Is compound right? I mean sentences with complete clauses.)

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Here's an example I heard: I leave all my money to John, Mary, and Jim. (Okay, that means the money should be split three ways, right?) Try this: I leave all my money to John, Mary and Jim. (Now the money should be split 50% to John, and 50% to Mary and Jim. I'd rather have 30% than half of 50%!)

Betty Hechtman said...

Joanna, interesting about the Michael Connolly book.

Your example was great.