When to use a comma

efreysson · Jan 11, 2016

I don't have the English grammar vocabulary to refer to this properly, so I'll just use examples:

"He was, after all, the youngest."

"It was cold, though, and she wasn't wearing a parka."

Am I right in having those two commas in the sentences? Are there particular instances in which people tend to do this but shouldn't?

King Neptune · Jan 11, 2016

In both examples the comma is optional, and the custom has been moving away from using commas. I would tend to use the comma in the first sentence, but I would rewrite the second sentence.

WriterBN · Jan 11, 2016

Both examples are fine as punctuated.

I stubbornly resist the trend to leave out commas where they are required by the rules of grammar and punctuation. I dislike reading sentences where they've been omitted. Then again, I refuse to drop the "e" in judgement, acknowledgement, etc...

Jamesaritchie · Jan 11, 2016

efreysson said:
I don't have the English grammar vocabulary to refer to this properly, so I'll just use examples:

"He was, after all, the youngest."

"It was cold, though, and she wasn't wearing a parka."

Am I right in having those two commas in the sentences? Are there particular instances in which people tend to do this but shouldn't?

Yes, you are correct, and the commas are not optional. The sentence would be completely wrong without them, and I'd reject any manuscript with that usage without a second thought. As an editor, I simply don't have time to correct such poor usage in a complete novel.

The second sentence is fine as is. There's no need for a rewrite.

beckethm · Jan 11, 2016

efreysson said:
I don't have the English grammar vocabulary to refer to this properly, so I'll just use examples:

"He was, after all, the youngest."

"It was cold, though, and she wasn't wearing a parka."

Am I right in having those two commas in the sentences? Are there particular instances in which people tend to do this but shouldn't?

Both sentences are punctuated correctly. The highlighted words are nonessential elements and as such require commas. See here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/05/

WriterBN · Jan 13, 2016

beckethm said:
Both sentences are punctuated correctly. The highlighted words are nonessential elements and, as such, require commas. See here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/05/

Fixed

atombaby · Jan 13, 2016

Personally, I'd rather see more commas than less. I equate comma usage to the pause in speech (anyone else "hear" what they're reading?) and when I see (so much) writing with minimal comma usage, I want to tear my hair out. Who talks without a single pause?? When English isn't a writer's first language, that's fine. But what are people learning in school nowadays? In this case, less is not more, rather, less is confusion.

Bufty · Jan 13, 2016

Once you understand what you are reading you are free to pause anywhere you choose if you wish to read aloud, but the function of a comma is to aid comprehension of the written word - not to indicate a pause.

You may well decide to pause (or draw breath) at a comma but that is your choice alone.

atombaby said:
Personally, I'd rather see more commas than less. I equate comma usage to the pause in speech (anyone else "hear" what they're reading?) and when I see (so much) writing with minimal comma usage, I want to tear my hair out. Who talks without a single pause?? When English isn't a writer's first language, that's fine. But what are people learning in school nowadays? In this case, less is not more, rather, less is confusion.

Fallen · Jan 14, 2016

Ah yes, there's a huge difference between:

"She went nuts then."
and
"She went nuts, then."

When to use a comma

efreysson

Closer than ever

King Neptune

WriterBN

Jamesaritchie

beckethm

WriterBN

atombaby

nice & cynical

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Fallen

Stood at the coalface