Why do people struggle so much? The rules aren't that complicated. I think it's due to three issues that swirl around commas like grammatical tornadoes that refuse to die.
The first is a terrible piece of advice given to us when we are young that, ironically, was correct in English centuries ago but incorrect in standard English today, namely: "Put a comma in where you would have a pause." WRONG.
The second problem is the "Oxford Comma". There are people who love them and people who hate them and the very fact they argue just muddies the water around correct comma usage. I think the Oxford Comma is very useful.
The third is the sloppy use of bracketing commas. Read on to learn more.
There are four uses of the comma: lists, joins, gaps, and brackets.
The Listing Comma.
The easy one. You simply put a comma between the items in a list with an "and" (or "or") before the final item. An Oxford Comma comes before the final "and" or the "or" in a list. It can be very useful to avoid ambiguity. Use it for that reason rather than because you have a thing for Oxford commas.
There's no equivalent to the Oxford Comma in any of the other usages. That is worth remembering for street fights over commas. The Oxford Comma applies ONLY TO LISTS.
The other helpful trick with listing commas is that you should be able to replace all the commas with "and" and it should still make sense (albeit clumsily). If adding "and" makes it nonsensical then a comma would be incorrect too.
"His bold, innovative, daring approach was extraordinary." can become "His bold and innovative and daring approach was extraordinary." The commas are fine.
If we were talking about "His bold, daring runway approach...", we could replace that first comma with "and", but we can't put a comma between daring and runway because "and" wouldn't work either. It's dependent on what the adjectives are modifying - "daring" modifies "runway approach" as a whole, not "approach".
Joining Commas.
These join two complete sentences into one sentence. The comma must have a connecting word after it, chosen only from and, or, but, while or yet. I used one above (the second comma):
If we were talking about "His bold, daring runway approach...", we could replace that first comma with "and", but we can't put a comma between daring and runway because "and" wouldn't work either.
That could have been a full-stop (period) followed by "We can't put..."
If you don't use the connecting word, in this case "but", you commit the cardinal sin of a comma splice. Don't fall into the trap, kids.
Gapping Commas.
These indicate where words have been removed for brevity. It should be done with caution and judgement.
Some football teams like singing their song before the game; others, only if they win.
That last comma replaced "like singing their song". We know what was meant in context. If that meaning is unclear, don't replace the phrase or words with a comma at all.
Bracketing Commas.
THE (EXTREMELY USEFUL) BUGBEAR.
These do what they say on the tin: they bracket an interruption in the sentence.
Check your punctuation with this easy test:
Take out the commas and everything in between. Does it still make sense and convey the meaning you intended?
If you answer "yes" you're doing it right. That's what bracketing commas do: they enclose a weak interruption that is useful but not essential.
If you answer "no" you're doing it wrong. Either remove the commas entirely or move them around.
Yet, beyond that glass, lay a toxic world.
Wrong. If you take "beyond that glass" out you get "Yet lay a toxic world." That doesn't work at all. Leave the commas out: Yet beyond that glass lay a toxic world.
He reached over the car seat, and finding a dummy, gave it to the baby.
Wrong. The first comma should be after "and" for the same reasons. In this case because "finding a dummy" is an interruption that is very helpful to meaning but not essential to the sentence.
A variant on the bracketing comma is the comma that precedes the addition of a non-restrictive clause in a periodic sentence. That's a bit technical, but it's the comma that you put before a further clause with additional information. English allows an infinite number of these to be added to any sentence. This is why English has infinite scope for creativity.
All those clauses after commas are non-restrictive. Each could be removed without harming the sentence. "He drove the car." Dull, but still functional as a sentence.
"He drove the car, squinting through the dirty windscreen, lighting a cigarette as he steered with his knees, worrying about what his girlfriend had said the other day, barely watching the road, knowing he was in trouble."
Misuse of bracketing commas often leads to sentences with far too many commas. When you add in commas of the other varieties a sentence can bristle with punctuation and prickle the skin of language mavens everywhere. Don't prick the skin of the beast with bad comma usage. There are far more forgivable mistakes to make!
Until next time...
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