7 Ways to Check Your Commas when Self-Editing
Editing your own work can oftentimes be a daunting task; however,
there are some basic guidelines you can follow while writing and
editing your work or that of others, which can make the process
much less challenging. The following guidelines, as well as some
accompanying examples, have been cited directly from William Strunk
JR. and E.B. White's "The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary
Edition", a definite must-read for every writer and
editor!
1. Form the possessive of singular nouns by adding 's, unless it is the possessive of an ancient proper name.
For example: James's house Moses' laws
2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. This is often referred to as the "serial comma."
For example: apples, bananas, and oranges purple, yellow, and red
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
For example: My brother, John Smith, is a well-renowned police officer. While we were on our way to New York, a tiring drive, to say the least, we stopped many times to enjoy the scenery.
4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause.
For example: The road was slippery, but we continued to drive to the movie theatre. The house was a beautiful sight, and the gardens were absolutely magnificent.
5. Do not break sentences in two. Basically, do not use periods for commas.
For example: Incorrect: She was an interesting talker. A woman who had traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries. Correct: She was an interesting talker, a woman who traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries.
6. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation.
For example: Lisa's grocery list contained a mere three important items: bread, milk, and eggs.
7. Use a dash to set off an abrupt break of interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary.
For example: His first thought on getting out of bed—if he had any thought at all—was to get back in again.
By no means are these seven items an exhaustive list of things to look out for while writing and editing; however, they're definitely a good place to start. I will be sure to revisit this topic again in a future blog to highlight more items to take note of during the editing process.
1. Form the possessive of singular nouns by adding 's, unless it is the possessive of an ancient proper name.
For example: James's house Moses' laws
2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. This is often referred to as the "serial comma."
For example: apples, bananas, and oranges purple, yellow, and red
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
For example: My brother, John Smith, is a well-renowned police officer. While we were on our way to New York, a tiring drive, to say the least, we stopped many times to enjoy the scenery.
4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause.
For example: The road was slippery, but we continued to drive to the movie theatre. The house was a beautiful sight, and the gardens were absolutely magnificent.
5. Do not break sentences in two. Basically, do not use periods for commas.
For example: Incorrect: She was an interesting talker. A woman who had traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries. Correct: She was an interesting talker, a woman who traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries.
6. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation.
For example: Lisa's grocery list contained a mere three important items: bread, milk, and eggs.
7. Use a dash to set off an abrupt break of interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary.
For example: His first thought on getting out of bed—if he had any thought at all—was to get back in again.
By no means are these seven items an exhaustive list of things to look out for while writing and editing; however, they're definitely a good place to start. I will be sure to revisit this topic again in a future blog to highlight more items to take note of during the editing process.
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7 Comments
For example: apples, bananas, and oranges purple, yellow, and red
In both examples given a comma has been used before the 'and' contrary to what the rule appears to be saying, and the example in no. 6 uncludes, "bread, milk, and eggs" - also in contravention of the rule.
Certainly on this side of the pond the accepted convention is to omit the last comma.
And no 4: Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause, is, of course, correct. However, again in UK English usage, an exception is made for very common conjunctions - certainly for 'and' and many would say, for 'but' as well. So, unfortunately, the two examples given are misleading for British writers.
I wonder are there any other differences in the American and British use of this 'common language that divides us'? :-)
(I know most Brittish publishers' house styles use the 'single' quotation mark as standard, while I believe a "double" one is preferred in the States?)
Cheers FE.
For example, this: "apples, bananas, and oranges purple, yellow, and red" uses what's often called an Oxford comma (because it's house style for Oxford University Press, but not for the majority of UK publishers, including Cambridge Unversity Press). It's not standard, in the UK, to put a comma before the final "and" of a list in this way. It IS standard in the US. In the UK this is the usual practice:
We had soup, fish, beef and pudding.
unless you need the Oxford comma for clarity:
We had soup, fish and chips, and pudding.
If you want to get to grips with commas, I'd recommend The Penguin Guide to Punctuation, which is bi-lingual, in that it describes UK/US variants wherever they occur, as well as being extremely clear.
It also depends on the voice ie sometimes grammar might go out the window if it suits the narrative voice eg if the person whose voice we are hearing would say 'Me and Amy ...' as opposed to the grammatically correct 'Amy and I ...' And a paragraph might consist of a single sentence, or even a single word.
Which isn't to say you don't have to worry about the conventions for what the different punctuation marks do. If anything, you have to internalise them even more completely, so as to use those conventions to express what you're really trying to say.
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