Commas--Part One

Weakest, but oh so important piece of punctuation

1. Use to separate two independent clauses (sentences) joined with a simple conjunction. Simple conjunctions are:
B ut
O r
Y et
S o
F or
A nd
N or

I would love to help you with the project, but I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow.
She loves to knit, and she also loves to make jewelry.

2. Comma in a series. To give equal weight to all items in a series, put commas around them all, even the one before the "and." This rule has changed many times over the years, but consider the following:

"The inheritance will be divided among Cassie, Eric and Ryan." In this construction the sentence could be construed to mean that Cassie gets 50 percent, and Eric and Ryan would have to split the other 50 percent.

If all items in the series are equally important, put commas around them all.

Sandra remembered to bring cups, plates, and napkins, but she forgot the silverware.

3.To separate long introductory phrases and clauses from the rest of the sentence. The clauses usually address when, why, how something happened.

Because the party was canceled, Peter returned the gift to the store. (Why)

After the rain finally stopped, the spectators moved back to the bleachers. (When)

With great precision and unparalleled perseverance, Deepa put the pieces of the broken pottery back together. (How)

More to come . . . stayed tuned.

Thought Stoppers

The period, question mark and the exclamation point

When I was teaching seminars in the United Kingdom, I learned that they call the period at the end of sentences a "full stop." Wham, it hit me. That means that the next sentence is a different thought on the same topic.

Keep that in mind when deciding your stopping points. Today's tendency is to make sentences short, but sometimes doing so breaks apart thoughts that belong together. Consider the following:

I got my dog from the pound. He was too cute to resist.

These two sentences are related to one another and should not be separated by a full stop. They need to be linked with a conjunction or a semicolon (more on the semicolon later).

I got my dog from the pound because he was too cute to resist. Ah, much better.

Question marks and exclamation points are also thought stoppers. Use them the same way you would a full stop (period).

One more comment:
DO NOT overuse exclamation points. If your text is not exciting, adding an exclamation point (or three) at the end certainly doesn't improve it. Use them only when something is genuinely exciting or emotional.