Purdue says, “Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements…” https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/607/. Like so many definitions, this one needs some explanation for it to actually make sense. As covered in More than One Adjective–Comma or…
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Commas and Parenthetical Statements
It’s time for another fascinating episode concerning the slippery little comma. There’s a good reason it’s the most misused punctuation in the English language. The rules are many and varied. Purdue says: “Use a pair of commas in the middle…
Tagged with: absolute phrases, appositive phrases, Cathleen Townsend, clauses, Comma, essential phrases, infinitive phrases, parenthetical, participial phrases, prepositional phrases
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
More Than One Adjective–Comma or No Comma?
We’ve all done it. The only place your characters can take refuge is in a spooky old house. Or is it a spooky, old house? Dang, what was that rule again? Fear not. I’m here to explain it for you.…
Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, Comma, coordinate adjectives, non-coordinate adjectives, ranking adjectives
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Commas: Introductory Clauses
A comma is used after an introductory clause or phrase. So first, you’ll need to know the difference between clauses and phrases. If you don’t know, don’t worry–it’s actually quite easy. A clause has a subject and a verb (predicate),…
Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, clause vs. phrase, Comma, dependent clause, independent clause, introductory clause
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Commas and Independent Clauses
It’s time for more fascinating punctuation. That subtle little comma is possibly the most misused punctuation mark in the English language. That’s really saying something, since English also has apostrophes. This post will focus on independent clauses, which deserve a short review…
