I've been a bit slow with the uptake on the blog, but I'm back. Those of you who know me know I can be pretty strict, and so I'm going to live up to my reputation by looking at the rules around using the comma.
The Oxford comma
The Oxford comma is the last comma placed in a list of
things. For example:
Bring me a pen, pencil, and notepad.
The Oxford comma is placed right after pencil.
The Oxford comma is a matter of style and it is not required
by several style guides. AP Style is used by newspapers and magazines and does
not require its use. Written in AP Style the above sentence would look like
this:
Bring me a pen, pencil and notepad.
The use of the Oxford comma is generally up to the writer,
but should sometimes be included to avoid causing unnecessary confusion for the
reader. For example:
I love my girlfriend, Beyonce and Humpty Dumpty.
Without an Oxford comma, the sentence could be perceived as
stating that you love your parents, and that your parents are Beyonce and
Humpty Dumpty. Below is the same sentence with an Oxford comma.
I love my parents, Beyonce, and Humpty Dumpty.
Vocative comma
Names that are addressed directly are in the vocative case,
and require a vocative comma to separate them from the rest of the sentence.
I’ll see you this afternoon, Darren.
Darren is being directly addressed, and must be separated
from the rest of the sentence with a vocative comma.
It is not just people’s names that require a vocative comma
when being directly addressed. Animals and objects also require a comma when
addressed directly.
Fido, be a good dog and fetch the ball.
Fido is being addressed directly and is separated with a
comma.
You are my favourite pasta, you taste so good.
Pasta is being directly and is separated from the rest of
the sentence with a comma.
Unfortunately, sir, the room is double booked.
Sir is being addressed directly in the sentence and is
separated with commas.
The comma splice
The comma splice is often overused and one of the most
prominent mistake writers make when using a comma. A comma splice is used to
connect two independent clauses of a sentence.
Below is an example of a sentence where the two clauses of
the sentence make sense on their own, so do not require a comma to connect
them.
David gets along with everybody, he is a very friendly
person.
If the sentence has two independent clauses that need to be
divided, you have several grammatical options.
You can divide the clauses into two separate sentences by
using a full stop punctuation mark. This is the simplest solution, but may
dilute an argument or break up the style of a sentence.
David gets along with everybody. He is a very friendly
person.
A semicolon can be used. Semicolons are often overused, but
can be a powerful tool to make a strong statement with their correct usage. The
example below shows the use of a semicolon to signify a link between the two
clauses without stating the link explicitly. The use of a semicolon can be a
great tool for delivering a persuasive argument.
David gets along with everybody; he is a very friendly
person.
A conjunction can be used to directly link the two clauses
together. A conjunction makes the connection between the clauses more explicit
to the reader.
David gets along with everybody because he is a very
friendly person.
That's all for now, but I promise I won't leave it so long next time!