Grammar Goddess Seminars

Items in a series

Many of us have agonized about whether or not to place a comma after the next-to-last item in a series, before the “and.” We’ve heard it’s a rule to put it in; we’ve also heard the rule dropped away, and the comma’s not necessary.

Most current reference books, while not requiring this serial comma, strongly recommend putting it in, especially if the meaning would be unclear without it.

Example: The following positions are available: clerk, accountant, receptionist and statistical typist.
How many jobs are available? Three? Four? Without the comma, it’s possible to misread it. It might seem as though one person is being asked to perform the duties of receptionist and statistical typist. (Yes, of course, we can always rewrite it to make it even clearer!)

Example: The following positions are available: clerk, accountant, receptionist, and statistical typist.
Here, it’s easier to understand there are four jobs available.

Coordinate Adjectives

Learning when to put a comma between two or more adjectives takes practice. There is a rule, but it’s not always easy to decide if it applies. The test is to see if and fits between the adjectives; if it does, logically and easily, they are coordinate. If you leave and out, you need a comma to take its place. This is not an absolute science, however; it’s possible to disagree about whether you would have used and in the first place.

Example: The old stone wall is crumbling.
Few of us would say it’s an old and stone wall. Most of us would say that stone wall is a compound noun and old modifies it; therefore, no comma is necessary.

Example: The dry, dirty ditch will be filled with water when it rains.
Here, most of us would probably say the dry and dirty ditch; a ditch could be dirty one week and clean the next. It’s unlikely anyone would call dirty ditch a compound noun.

Direct Address

When introducing someone’s directly quoted words, we usually place a comma just before the quotation marks. Do not use quotation marks if the words are paraphrased or not exactly quoted.

Example: Sam asked, “Where are my red mittens?”
But: Sam asked where his red mittens were.

Nonessential information is grammatically unnecessary in a sentence. While it can be helpful and perhaps nice to know, it’s not critical for complete understanding of the sentence.

One way of determining if information is essential or not is to leave it out; if the sentence still makes sense, it’s not necessary.

Another way to decide is to see if it makes sense to put the information within parentheses; these usually do enclose extra information. If you can imagine the information within ( ), it’s probably not necessary to the sentence.

The comma rule is quite easy: replace each half of the ( ) with a comma. Yes, that means you need two commas to enclose the information — just as the parentheses did.

Examples:
The copier (which is in the hall) is broken.
The copier, which is in the hall, is broken.

Here, the basic sentence is “The copier is broken.” In other words, there is only one copier and it’s broken. Its location, while helpful to know, does not describe it any more fully. One copier is still one copier and no matter where it is, it’s broken. By putting “which is in the hall” within either parentheses or commas, you are indicating that the information, while helpful, is not needed to distinguish this copier from any other. If you only have one, its whereabouts are not critical to the sentence. No matter where it is, it’s broken!

Should you use parentheses or commas? The commas are the better choice; parentheses are just too big to use often in a document. Because they do enclose nonessential information, and because most of us are curious and will focus on the unexpected, we’re apt to read what’s in the parentheses first. So, we’ll be reading the stuff the writer doesn’t consider important! Stick with commas, which are unobtrusive.

Essential material is necessary for complete understanding.

Example:
The copier that is on the second floor is broken.
(Yes, you can also write “The copier on the second floor is broken.”)

This sentence is meant to show that there are several copiers, and only the one on the second floor is broken. Notice, too, the word that; it’s the preferred word to use when introducing essential information (if you use anything at all). This information is considered essential because it specifies which copier you are talking about. Wouldn’t you like to know which one needs fixing without running all through the building testing each one?

Example:
The red mittens that are on the table are Sam’s.
The red mittens on the table are Sam’s.

This says that of all the red mittens you might find around the house, those on the table are Sam’s. Therefore, the information is essential to distinguish Sam’s mittens from anyone else’s.

Example: The red mittens, which are on the table, are Sam’s.

Here you’re saying that there is only one pair of red mittens, and they are Sam’s. The fact that they are on the table is helpful, perhaps, but it’s not critical for identification. No matter where they are, they are still Sam’s mittens.

Appositives are nonessential words that explain what came before. They are often titles or occupations of people, but they don’t have to be.

The basic rule is this: If the title comes directly before the name and is used as a title, rather than as an occupation, no commas separate it from the person. If the title/occupation follows the name, use commas around it.

Remember, too, that titles may be more than one word. The test is trying to remove the name that follows. If you can’t, you don’t use commas. You can also substitute a one-word title such as Mr. or Ms.; would you ever write “Ms., Susan Brown is on vacation”? No, I didn’t think so. Multi-word titles are treated the same as single words would be.

Examples of appositives:
Bill Gates (CEO of Microsoft) is on vacation this week.
Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, is on vacation this week.
The CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is on vacation this week.
The CEO, Bill Gates, is on vacation this week.
Titles: CEO Bill Gates is on vacation this week.
State Auditor and Legislator Bill Gates is on vacation.

Another type of appositive:
Our company (located on Elm Street) is the oldest firm in town.
Our company, located on Elm Street, is the oldest firm in town.
Our company, which is located on Elm Street, is the oldest firm in town.

Interrupters are another type of nonessential information, a word or words awkwardly placed that interrupt the normal flow of a sentence. Again, we surround them with commas because they are not essential information.

Examples:
The red mittens, however, are on the table.
The living room, for example, has painted walls.

The words however and for example are the interrupters. Clearly, we could delete them, and the sentences would still make sense.

Here’s another one that is proving to be difficult for many:

Examples:
I’ve lived in North Easton (Massachusetts) for many years.
I’ve lived in North Easton, Massachusetts, for many years.

In this type of sentence, the state is nonessential information (from a grammatical point of view). You have a perfectly valid sentence without it. Adding it does give the reader information, but even without it, the reader understands the main point of the sentence.

Notice how easily the state’s name could go within parentheses; many times we actually do this to let the reader know exactly which state our town is in.

The same thinking holds true for dates. Most of us know that the day of the week, the month, and the day must be separated by commas. However, many of us do not use the final comma after the year — it’s required because the information (the year) is not grammatically essential!

Example: Friday, July 1, 2005, will be my last day on the job.

The last type of interrupter is someone’s name in the middle of a sentence, usually placed there for emphasis. We again surround it with commas.

Example: Your red mittens, Sam, are on the table.

If you choose to start the sentence with the name, use just one comma after it.

Example: Sam, your red mittens are on the table.