 Noticing Newbies: March 02, 2011 Issue [#4261] |
  Noticing Newbies
This week: Commas, Commas, and more Commas Edited by: Sara♥Jean  
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This will be the first of two newsletters -- the second installment will be coming out on March 30, and will concentrate on the proper use of semi-colons and colons.
I actually began writing this newsletter about commas, believing that I could somehow make them easy to understand in a small amount of words, giving a simple and quick guide to follow.
Commas, however, are far from simple, and nowhere near quick. This is what I soon discovered. The knowledge I have of commas was learned through several years of school, and some rather, uh, strict grammar teachers. And yes, I mean very, very strict. But they were good, and I learned a lot in their classes. I didn't realize how much, exactly, until I tried to write a quick and simple guide!
My quick and simple guide turned into the beginning of a book that has countless popnote definitions, examples, and other means of trying to instil understanding into a rather delicate topic.
However! I am still going to try to make you a little quick and simple guide. And then, when all is said and done... I'll link you to the item I'm creating to help you get more details, if you feel it necessary. 
The Quick and (Not So) Simple Guide to Commas
1. Commas should always be used before coordinating conjunctions
| and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet |
| A group of words made up of both a subject and a predicate - it could stand alone as a sentence, or be combined with another sentence using a coordinating conjunction. |
2. Dependent/Subordinate Clauses
| A group of words that has a subject and a predicate, but unlike an independent clause, cannot stand alone in a sentence. |
| Two or more words that do not contain a finite verb and its subject, but the words still act as a unit in a sentence. |
3. Dependent/Subordinate Clauses and Phrases at the beginning of the sentence should be set off with a comma just before the subject of the sentence. However, if they are at the end of the sentence, there is no comma.
4. Commas should be used to separate three or more words, phrases
| an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatically correct addition to a sentence |
| an expression including a subject and predicate but not enough to make a complete sentence |
5. Commas should be used to two or more coordinate adjectives
| adjectives unrelated to one another, but referring equally to the same subject - an adjective describes a noun |
6. If there is a clear pause or shift at the end of a sentence, there should be a comma in place to indicate this pause or shift to the reader.
7. Commas should always separate narration from spoken word when they are contained within the same sentence - EXCEPT when there is a question or exclamation mark at the end of the spoken word. Within the quotation marks, punctuation rules can be 'broken' if the one speaking has an accent or other reason to not speak normally. If it is a full sentence spoken, however, it should be treated normally.
It's quick! It's... not very simple. There's a lot of "words" in there that could be considered jargon, but I tried to do the best I could with putting some popnotes in there for you to be able to hover over and read.
If you would like examples of those rules, please see "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor for many detailed examples of what each rule means, and examples of how to use the commas appropriately.
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I would like to feature some stories from newbies that seem to have punctuation down very well. They might not be perfect, mind you, but they certainly have put forth the effort.
| |  | Summer Dreams (E)
A coming of age story about a boy and a girl coming together, then drifting apart.
#1755787 by Bear Mason  |
| | | Bonded (13+)
As a war erupts in their world, the fate rests in the Bonded. Will they choose to help?
#1755330 by TigerRose |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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What do you find the most difficult to understand about punctuation? If there is anything specific, I will do my best to reply within my next newsletter.
This does not have to be specific to commas -- it can contain a question about any kind of grammar or punctuation. |
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