Comments | theair_thesun: The dreaded comma

majestamoniet in theair_thesun

The dreaded comma

Jan 05, 2011 14:30

One of the most inconsistent grammatical decisions I see in fanfiction is comma usage. Some of that is due to innocent lack of know-how by the author, but I get the impression that quite a few people genuinely believe that there is more than one "right way" to go about using a comma. Maybe that's true. I'm not a language expert, and language does " ( Read more... )

!writer resources, discussion: writing process

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lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 19:44:29 UTC

apparently they've (and by "they" i mean whoever the hell makes these rules lol) made quite a few changes involving commas and I think it's caused a lot of confusion. for instance, when you're listing things I guess it is no longer necessary to have the comma before the and. (for example: bread, milk and water). which is really stupid imo.
and I also learned that when using an apostrophe with a person's name that happens to end with an 's', you do "James'" instead of "James's" but I guess that's not correct now? idk.

I tend to go comma crazy. commas are the one thing I'm horrible at, especially speaker tags. i feel like i was absent when we covered that in elementary school lol. i'll also admit that I've been guilty of putting a comma in front of because at times.
A teacher once said that a good way to make sure you use commas correctly is to put one where you would naturally pause or take a breath if saying the sentence out loud. i'm not sure if this is correct 100% of the time, but it's seems pretty foolproof.

majestamoniet January 5 2011, 20:05:23 UTC

I've always put a comma before the "and" in a list (i.e. bread, milk, and water), but one of my teachers did tell me it's optional. I don't understand why. *shakes head*

My brother's name is Curtis. We've always written the possessive form of his name as "Curtis's." The only time there should just be an apostrophe hanging on the end by itself is if its a plural form of a word (i.e. someone spilled the horses' water bins). But that's just how I learned it. I wonder if there are regional differences in how that's taught? IDK.

A teacher once said that a good way to make sure you use commas correctly is to put one where you would naturally pause or take a breath if saying the sentence out loud.

That can work, but it also has the potential to go very wrong, especially with young writers or even mature writers when they're writing dialogue. Sometimes you want a character to pause somewhere there shouldn't be a comma. I prefer it a little bit more black and white. ;)

lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 20:11:12 UTC

I've always put a comma before the "and" in a list (i.e. bread, milk, and water), but one of my teachers did tell me it's optional. I don't understand why. *shakes head*

me too, I still do that and I was told it was optional too but I really don't see how :/

I wonder if there are regional differences in how that's taught? IDK.

hmmm...idk. then again, I was taught in Polk County (in FL) and the majority don't know how to talk right, tbh :P

That can work, but it also has the potential to go very wrong, especially wit young writer or when you're writing dialogue.

yeah, I figured it's not always right. it never failed when I was younger, but I've noticed that since I've started writing outside of the academic setting it's caused me to have quite a few errors. :P
I was told that really early on, and it's probably good advice when you're like 10, just not when you're 20 ;) lol

majestamoniet January 5 2011, 20:32:36 UTC

I wanna know who decides these things. Who's "the man" behind all this stuff. lol.

lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 20:34:08 UTC

srsly. so we can gang up on him for making our lives hell with all these rules :P lol

likexaxdove January 5 2011, 20:20:55 UTC

for instance, when you're listing things I guess it is no longer necessary to have the comma before the and. (for example: bread, milk and water). which is really stupid imo.
and I also learned that when using an apostrophe with a person's name that happens to end with an 's', you do "James'" instead of "James's" but I guess that's not correct now? idk.

Interesting.

In middleschool and highschool I was always taught that it was "bread, milk and water" and we were always told to write James' instead of James's. Honestly, 'James's' to me looks kinda silly to me. D:

I guess it depends on where you went to school and who your teacher was.

lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 20:27:30 UTC

to me, it seems really confusing to not put the comma before the and. and also, if you're making a long list and you have an and that's not separating two things, but joining them (if that makes sense) it can get really confusing, so i always use commas. like for instance (and this is a really bad example) "I am taking history, algebra, anatomy and physiology, and psychology this term". and yes, it's a pet peeve of mine to see something like "james's" simply because it looks really stupid lol.

I think (in the US, idk about anywhere else) people in the north and south are taught very differently and the rules are very different.

likexaxdove January 5 2011, 20:31:21 UTC

I think (in the US, idk about anywhere else) people in the north and south are taught very differently and the rules are very different.

This is probably very true. All I know is I grew up in the south, and that was just the way we were taught.

lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 20:37:37 UTC

i was too. well, Florida, so not the real south lol. but i know with the list, using a comma before the 'and' is optional. it used to be mandatory, but they changed it. so I guess we're both right. But I stick by the james' thing because anything else looks stupid, imo. lol. and I haven't really had anyone correct me on it, I've just seen others say james's instead

likexaxdove January 5 2011, 20:42:16 UTC

Lol yeahhh, Florida doesn't really count.

I've been known to use a comma before 'and', but sometimes I don't since certain sentence structures look better then others. So yeah, I should hope they're both right. Otherwise...

lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 20:44:46 UTC

yeah, they're both right as far as I know. it's just a matter of opinion or taste, I guess.

and yeah. I swear, we're like our own little country sometimes. the people you find here are like....you can't find them anywhere else :P lol

flowrs4ophelia January 5 2011, 21:20:49 UTC

for instance, when you're listing things I guess it is no longer necessary to have the comma before the and. (for example: bread, milk and water). which is really stupid imo.
I was always taught that the comma before "and" is optional, but only if you're listing just three items. Saying "ponchos, matches, extra socks, peanut butter, ammo and bug spray" would still be incorrect, I'm pretty sure.

And I've never got the whole James'/James's thing either. I don't even remember what I was taught. I've kind of just decided it must be optional and am still always changing my mind about which I prefer.

lauraelizabeth9 January 5 2011, 22:01:10 UTC

i just remember being taught to use commas before the 'and' and not the specifics, so I do it regardless. but I think you're right :)

sleepy_sheep683 January 9 2011, 03:21:43 UTC

"I was always taught that the comma before "and" is optional, but only if you're listing just three items. Saying "ponchos, matches, extra socks, peanut butter, ammo and bug spray" would still be incorrect, I'm pretty sure."

No, that would be correct. I was taught to never put a comma before the and unless the sentence is confusing without it. Then again, I'm British and I know Commonwealth and US English vary in certain areas on the subject of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

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