Does a Comma Go Here?

A recurring problem that I am aware of is the correct use of commas. Over the years, as a teacher, editor, proofreader, and tutor, I've found that people either know how to use commas or don't have a clue. Well, comma usage isn't quite that bad, but close to it!

Let's review three of the basic, simple rules of comma usage:

1. Commas in a series

First, what is a series? A series is a list of three or more things. The "things" can be words, phrases, sentences etc.

Example: We have a dog, a lot of cats, and some fish.

In the above example the words in the series are dog, cats, and fish. Notice that they are separated from each other by a comma.

The questionable, and sometimes confusing, element to this rule is whether or not the final comma should be there (the one that comes after "cats" in the example). Book publishing standards state the comma should be present. Journalism rules state no comma is necessary. Why the difference? Newspaper and magazine articles are published based on space. In an effort to include more information, journalists decided that by not having that comma they would gain a few extra characters in their article. Not a bad idea other than it tends to confuse people about what is the correct use of the rule!

My advice: Unless you are writing for a specific genre (books, newspapers, magazines), practice using the comma. Also, if you are planning on submitting your writing to a specific publication, study previous materials published by the publication. Do they use the comma? If so, use it. If not, don't use it in what you submit.

2. Commas after long introductory prepositional phrases

Prepositional phrase? Come on! It's been years since I was in English class. What's that?

Prepositions are words like about, for, with, in, above, across, after, to, before etc. For a more complete list, do a Google search for prepositions. A preposition is followed by a noun creating a prepositional phrase made up of the preposition and the noun plus any words modifying or describing the noun.

Example 1: During the halftime of the football game, high school cheerleaders along with band members performed an amazing routine.

Our example actually has three phrases - during the halftime, of the football game, and along with band members. However, our rule focuses on the first two.

"Of the football game" describes "halftime" in the first phrase making the complete prepositional phrase "during the halftime of the football game" (remember a prep phrase is the preposition, the noun and any words that modify the noun).

Now that we know what a prepositional phrase is, let's focus on our rule. The rule says a comma goes after long introductory prepositional phrases. How is "long" defined? The rule of thumb is six words or more. So, if your prepositional phrase is in the beginning of the sentence and there are six or more words in it, you need a comma (just like our example).

Example 2: After a heavy snow no one plows our road.

In Example 2 the comma isn't necessary. However, there is no rule saying that you can't put one there. In fact, I happen to like it better with the comma.

Example 3: After a heavy snow, no one plows our road.

While a comma is tiny, it can be intimidating to many people. My advice to you if you are intimidated by commas is to take one of these rules and practice it this week. Make a deliberate effort to check your writing for the rule and to attempt to use the comma correctly.

3. Commas and Dates

Okay, some of you are probably scratching your head wondering why we should talk about commas and dates. The rules are pretty basic, but one in particular gets abused a lot.

The first rule is that the day and the year are separated by a comma. For example: November 23, 1972. When the date stands alone, only one comma is necessary.

The second rule is that when the date is in the context of a sentence a comma goes after the year as well. For example: On November 23, 1972, we celebrated Thanksgiving.

The third rule (and the most abused) is when you have just the month and year, no comma is necessary. For example: November 2007 is correct. November, 2007 is not correct.

Personally, I notice commas used incorrectly in the month and year combination all the time. If you start looking for that rule, I think some of you will be shocked at how often people and large corporations get it wrong.