The Comma

This piece was assigned to me by my Composition professor, as a discussion piece, to determine if I understood the reading assignment.

Commas, commas, commas. There are so many rules to follow when pertaining to the comma. Squeezing in an unnecessary comma or joining two sentences together with one that should have been replaced with a period or semicolon, are just two mistakes I accrue with almost every writing endeavor. Don't get me wrong, my work is not infested with erratically-placed commas, I just have a difficult time with the rules that change only because the sentence is shorter. For example, "When a coordinating conjunction connects two or more independent clauses - word groups that could stand alone as separate sentences - a comma must precede it. There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet" (294). So, that means that this sentence is the correct placement of a comma: The police officer pulled up to the scene of the accident, and proceeded to assess the situation. However, there is an exception to this rule! (This is why I get so confused!) The exception is, "If the two independent clauses are short and there is no danger of misreading, the comma may be omitted"(294). So this sentence is also correct: The officer pulled over and approached the accident.

It makes sense that a comma would be needed for a bit longer of a sentence because there needs to be a pause there. Whereas with a shorter sentence, there is no confusion with a shorter sentence, so the comma is not necessary. I could go on and on about comma splices and everything else, but I'm sure no one would like to read about that! ;)

Work Cited

Hacker, Diana, and Nancy I. Sommers. Rules for writers. Bedford/St. Martins, 2016, pp. 294-313.

Reviews

[Kelly Scheppers]

To comma or not to comma - that is the question. You know, I don't think the poetry police run rampant around here. The brevity of shorter lines clearly don't require them, and many poets, such as myself, only use them in their reviews. Common sense should tell you when a break in a line is needed, but every once in a while you'll come across something with one run on sentence after another. It's just the way it is.

I thought this was a brilliant perspective, Kelli. By the way, what was your grade?

[Kelli April]

I received an A in both of my composition classes. My final grades were A’s on my papers because I utilized the elective first draft AND sent in my work to Smartthinking tutors as required by my Comp I professor. I struggled with poem literizartion in that class, though. I received a B- on that assignment. Whoopsie. I’m more of an essay writer. Either way, though, I have a strong passion for writing. Thank you for taking the time to comment a review. I always had my papers marked up with comments stating “missing comma” or “unnecessary comma”. It’s like the palm in your forehead feeling when you can’t get it right ! Lol

[Relic]

The police officer assessed the situation when he arrived at the accident. I've actually taken the time to learn about grammar as far as independent and dependent sentences. I've also read about commas, as well as misplaced and dangling modifiers and I still never take the time to determine if I wrote clauses correctly.

A lot of people on this site write poetry and dodge any grammar leaving it up to the reader to determine how something should be read. I'm taking time off from writing to learn more, even though it's not necessary here. No one cares.

PS. I've revised this review about three times now. haha

[Kelli April]

LOL That’s how I feel about revising my work to include or omit punctuation marks. Sometimes I fail miserably for a second time also! Try, try, and try some more! Practice makes perfect? Lol one of these will make me feel better lol

[Relic]

This writing inspired me to add commas to something I wrote and perhaps I've added oo many now. :) Now I'm wondering if the way I write in general is to blame. Or...(cue the scary music)...is it YOU! hahaha I'l figure it out someday.

[Samuel Dickens]

Oh, you've just put me through a high school English lesson, which I flunked! I was always good in English lit, but terrible at the grammar part. And commas, lemme tell you--they give me fits. Some people seldom use one and I may use too many. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I want my writing to be correct in every way, but the rules for commas, colons and semi-colons have never stuck in my head very well. Alas, now that my 70 year-old brain isn't working quite right, I'm sure I'll never get it all straitened out. Thank you for the lesson, which I'll study some more.

[Kelli April]

We truly have a lot in common! I can tell you’re like me and read and re-read your own work before you share it with anyone else because you want them to be as proud of it as you are. I DEFINITELY use too many commas! 😂🤣I wish it was just cut and dry without any you use it here but yoU can omit it here if you change ONE word. Haha, frustrating, isn’t it?!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, that preferred or not preferred thing.
I hate the oxford comma. If the last two entries on a list cannot be misconstrued as being one, I feel the comma before the "and" should be omitted. After all, it takes the place of "and" throughout the list.
Ah...what fun, grammar! I am such a nerd about it.

[Kelli April]

Commas are my enemy! Lol! I truly enjoy to write, I do not, however, especially enjoy the rules and the exceptions to those rules. Isn’t that kind of like bending the rules ? Lol I smell deviance within English and Grammar right now! 😂🤣