Post by Amber Skye Forbes on Apr 2, 2014 15:26:24 GMT
This is an extremely popular post of mine on Tumblr. The original can be found here.
In my three years as an editor and two as a writing center tutor, I have learned that commas are the most commonly misunderstand punctuation.
Even worse, commas in fiction can be subjective. I’m going to cover some bases with how to use commas that aren’t as obvious.
Use commas for independent clauses. Independent clauses are sentences that can stand on their own.
Amelia couldn’t stand looking at Oliver, but she also couldn’t stand that she had been betrayed by someone who loved her since they met. Remove the ‘but,’ and both sentences can stand on their own. However, when a sentence is short with two independent clauses, a comma isn’t necessary: I like apples and he likes bananas.
Use a comma to set off introductory elements. The introductory element is often a dependent clause, meaning it depends on an independent clause to function as a full sentence.
Racing away from Theosodore, Amelia threw herself against the door and began slamming her fists against the flimsy wood.
Use commas between independent clauses and dependent clauses.
Amelia was still shaken, although she hadn’t lost her life. If you add the second phrase in front of the independent clause, it becomes an introductory element—hence, add that comma.
Use commas to set off parenthetical elements. The parenthetical element is a sentence that can be removed without changing the meaning.
Amelia’s brother, who is eight years old, can see the shadows, too. Remove the parenthetical element, and the meaning doesn’t change.
Use a comma to prevent misunderstanding.
Amelia ran to the door, running faster than a hoard of skittering spiders. Without that comma, people would think the door was running.
Outside, the blue sky contrasted with the storm in Amelia’s heart. Remove the comma, and the sentence becomes nonsense.
Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.
The tall, terrifying shadow stood over Amelia, glaring deep into her eyes. Here’s a simple trick: put and between tall and terrifying. Read it out loud. If it makes sense, then put a comma there.
Now here are some sentences where comma usage can be subjective in fiction. These commas are stylistic choice.
"So she went to the store." Without a comma, this reads as a simple statement, changing the tone entirely. It seems as if the speaker is annoyed.
"So, she went to the store." This reads as more of an explanation than a simple statement.
Amelia couldn’t stop the shadows because she was too busy protecting her brother. A comma doesn’t really seem necessary, however…
Amelia hated staring into Oliver sad gray eyes filled with unending voids, because she could see so much of herself in them. I put a comma there, as the sentence before ‘because’ is longer than previous example I gave. But, really, using a comma before ‘because’ is actually pretty subjective, depending on how you want your readers to read it. It also helps to break up a longer sentence.
Another interesting comma usage that can change the meaning of a sentence entirely. “Stop slapping, Nathaniel.” Without that comma, Nathaniel is the one being slapped.
There are a bunch of other rules for commas, but I wanted to point out the most commonly misused rules. (Don’t overuse commas.) Here is a link for more instances of comma usage: grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm
In my three years as an editor and two as a writing center tutor, I have learned that commas are the most commonly misunderstand punctuation.
Even worse, commas in fiction can be subjective. I’m going to cover some bases with how to use commas that aren’t as obvious.
Use commas for independent clauses. Independent clauses are sentences that can stand on their own.
Amelia couldn’t stand looking at Oliver, but she also couldn’t stand that she had been betrayed by someone who loved her since they met. Remove the ‘but,’ and both sentences can stand on their own. However, when a sentence is short with two independent clauses, a comma isn’t necessary: I like apples and he likes bananas.
Use a comma to set off introductory elements. The introductory element is often a dependent clause, meaning it depends on an independent clause to function as a full sentence.
Racing away from Theosodore, Amelia threw herself against the door and began slamming her fists against the flimsy wood.
Use commas between independent clauses and dependent clauses.
Amelia was still shaken, although she hadn’t lost her life. If you add the second phrase in front of the independent clause, it becomes an introductory element—hence, add that comma.
Use commas to set off parenthetical elements. The parenthetical element is a sentence that can be removed without changing the meaning.
Amelia’s brother, who is eight years old, can see the shadows, too. Remove the parenthetical element, and the meaning doesn’t change.
Use a comma to prevent misunderstanding.
Amelia ran to the door, running faster than a hoard of skittering spiders. Without that comma, people would think the door was running.
Outside, the blue sky contrasted with the storm in Amelia’s heart. Remove the comma, and the sentence becomes nonsense.
Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.
The tall, terrifying shadow stood over Amelia, glaring deep into her eyes. Here’s a simple trick: put and between tall and terrifying. Read it out loud. If it makes sense, then put a comma there.
Now here are some sentences where comma usage can be subjective in fiction. These commas are stylistic choice.
"So she went to the store." Without a comma, this reads as a simple statement, changing the tone entirely. It seems as if the speaker is annoyed.
"So, she went to the store." This reads as more of an explanation than a simple statement.
Amelia couldn’t stop the shadows because she was too busy protecting her brother. A comma doesn’t really seem necessary, however…
Amelia hated staring into Oliver sad gray eyes filled with unending voids, because she could see so much of herself in them. I put a comma there, as the sentence before ‘because’ is longer than previous example I gave. But, really, using a comma before ‘because’ is actually pretty subjective, depending on how you want your readers to read it. It also helps to break up a longer sentence.
Another interesting comma usage that can change the meaning of a sentence entirely. “Stop slapping, Nathaniel.” Without that comma, Nathaniel is the one being slapped.
There are a bunch of other rules for commas, but I wanted to point out the most commonly misused rules. (Don’t overuse commas.) Here is a link for more instances of comma usage: grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm