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Take a Break with Commas |
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
Imagine you are taking a trip in a foreign country. You
are driving a rental car that you got at the airport.
What could help you find your way in this strange land?
Signs, for one thing.
Think of punctuation as a series of signs. These signals
clarify your writing. They show your reader what words
are important, and what belongs together.
Punctuation marks, like traffic signs, show your reader
what is coming: a full stop, a minor turn or a sudden
change of direction, for example.
One of the most important – and most debated –
punctuation marks is the comma.
Today on Everyday Grammar, we will report on common uses
of the comma. We will also tell about the importance of
commas in American law, and how they still influence the
meaning of laws.
Do not fear: unlike driving on busy American roads, this
report will be fun!
Common uses of commas
The comma has many uses. Teaching guides say there are
lots of ways to use commas in writing. Luckily, we can
find patterns among all of these stylistic rules.
The first, and perhaps most common, use of commas is to
show a pause.
Pauses are important in creative writing, such as
poetry, and in speechwriting. In these kinds of writing,
the relationship between written and spoken language is
very strong.
Historically, commas were used as a way to mark a short
stoppage or break, instead of showing grammatical
differences.
However, in many kinds of modern writing, the comma
serves a different purpose: to show what is different
and what belongs together.
Ann Longknife and K.D. Sullivan are writing experts. In
their book, The Art of Styling Sentences, they note that
commas generally serve two purposes: separating the main
parts of a sentence and enclosing words and expressions.
Consider the words you heard earlier in this report:
"Today on Everyday Grammar, we will report on common
uses of the comma. "
The comma appears after the word "Grammar." Why is that?
First, it shows the reader (in this case, Dr. Jill
Robbins) that she needs to pause her voice. Second, the
comma shows that what comes before it is serving a
different grammatical purpose than what comes after it.
In the example you heard, the phrase "In today's
Everyday Grammar" gives information about what comes
after the comma: "we will report on common uses of the
comma."
You could remove the words that come before the comma.
So the independent clause, "we will explore common uses
of the comma," could be its own sentence.
Stylistic considerations and
editing
In The New York Times newspaper, Carmel McCoubrey writes
that the difference between comma usage styles is not
always clear. Even when operating under the same
stylistic guide, McCoubrey writes, different people will
want to put commas in different places. In other words,
there is some level of personal choice when it comes to
comma placement.
Comma placement is important - not just for writing
papers and stories. Consider these two following
examples:
Part of the dispute in a recent legal case was related
to the meaning of an Oxford comma. An Oxford comma is a
comma that is used before the conjunction in a series of
nouns. In other words, the comma makes clear that the
final term is different than the others on the list.
A second - and perhaps more famous - debate involves the
second amendment to the United States Constitution. Both
supporters and opponents of gun rights have argued about
the meaning of the law. They have argued that the use of
commas in the amendment changes the meaning.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people to
keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Some writers, such as Adam Freedman, say the commas in
the law are arbitrary, and that the sentence is best
understood by taking the commas out. He points out that
different versions of the law may have different numbers
of commas. He adds that historically, punctuation was
not used in the same way it is today.
These disputes center around one common idea: commas are
supposed to make language clearer. However, the commas
in the laws created misunderstanding.
To go back to our examples of traffic signs, it would be
like reading a road sign pointing in two different
directions. Both directions cannot be correct.
What can you do?
So, if comma usage can be difficult for native speakers,
what hope do English learners have?
Luckily, there are two simple steps that can help you
overcome problems with commas.
#1 Put yourself in the reader's
position
The first is to put yourself in the reader's position.
Ask yourself if you are using commas that send clear
signals to your reader. Are you always using commas in
the same way?
If you were driving on a road, you would expect the same
signs to be used in the same way over and over again.
With that in mind, you should always try to use
punctuation consistently so that you do not confuse your
reader.
#2 Use short, declarative
sentences
Another idea is this: write short sentences. In other
words, limit the amount of information you include in
each sentence. If your sentence has many pauses, then
you are increasing the chances that you will confuse
your reader.
The next time you are reading in English, look for the
commas. When and why does the writer use a comma? Is
there a stylistic or grammatical reason they use the
comma? How does the comma separate the different
sentence elements?
With time and effort you will learn how to use commas
effectively.
We will leave you with a song about punctuation from the
American musician and actor, LL Cool J:
A comma means you slow down,
Pause, take a breath,
When I want to go to Spain,
I hop onto my plane
I’m Jill Robbins.
And I'm John Russell.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English.
George Grow was the editor. |
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