Grammar Lesson #2 -- Commas and Their Clawses

[sophisgotagun]

*puts on glasses and pretends to look all severe like your freshman english teacher*

Today, we are going to discuss.... commas

dun
dun
duuuuuun!

Yes, that would be this thing: , (scaled up by... a lot... for dramatic effect, 'cause I'm like that

Comments

[sophisgotagun]

I think that dialogue is rather different from writing when it comes to punctuation, so I tend to believe the author is allowed to do their own thing with it 'cause the amount of pauses in the sentences are up to them.

Most people do not know all the rules on commas. You can find a lovely guide on wikipedia, but the list is very large, hence why I focused on clauses. And really, parenthetical statements are the longest issue, along with "inserted" words, which is something I will talk about later when I discuss actual writing rather than grammar.

Comma rules have changed, like in lists, for example. Some archives will require the use of "serial commas," which are the commas before the and in a list, some will not.

Here's an example I often stumble over: He was very upset over his test grade, and really, I do not blame him.

I feel like there should be a comma before the really, because it is an "inserted" word that isn't necessary to the sentence. However, since it is an independent clause, I normally bite my lip and ignore it, because I believe it is correct to not insert the comma.

Oh my God is an exclamation and should not have commas in it. That is simply ridiculous.

Thanks for the memory add, that makes me happy :]

[melusin_79]

Yes, I agree that there should be more freedom allowed with dialogue, generally speaking. (Although I've had to fight my corner on that one as well).

Serial commas aka the Oxford comma. In Britain the standard usage is to leave it out. Personally, I think that a comma before an 'and' in a 'list' situation just looks plain ugly. There are very few instances where I would agree with its inclusion.

I have had chapters sent back to me for correction because I haven't put a comma after 'Oh.' (I was told there were no exceptions).

I think you may like thepandasaysno community. I'm sure they would love your contributions.

[sophisgotagun]

How very interesting they told you there were no exceptions. "Oh my God" is an exclamation. Why would you have a comma?

I've actually gone through the trouble to research it, and I cannot find a reference as to what is correct either way. Hum.

I'll check out the community soon. I have betaing to do, :d