Hello everyone! This is a re-posting of last week's Grammar Tips segment. Tara is no longer with us; so, in attempting to alter the banner we used, I somehow managed to delete our entire first segment! Yes, I am still getting used to this blogging thing...yeesh! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tara for contributing to the below segment!
I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out.
-Oscar Wilde
As a reader of fanfics and a beta, there is one grammar mistake that stands out as the most often committed, and probably most annoying, as well. It is the misuse, or complete lack of use, of commas.
Bad grammar can really turn people off while reading a story. So today, for your educational benefit, and hopefully future use if you are a writer, here are a few simple comma usage rules.
Rule #1: In a sentence that is made up of two (or more) complete sentences joined by AND, OR, FOR, SO, NOR, YET, or BUT, you must put a comma before the joining word.
Example:
Incorrect: Bella was about to fall down the stairs but Emmett caught her at the last minute.
I have seen many authors put the comma after the joining word. This is very wrong. See below:
Incorrect: Bella was about to fall down the stairs but, Emmett caught her at the last minute.
Correct: Bella was about to fall down the stairs, but Emmett caught her at the last minute.
If you read the two sentences above out loud, take a pause after the comma; it will soon become obvious which version of this sentence is correct!
Rule #2: The Comma of Address. When you are speaking to a person in writing, you must set off their name with commas. If the name comes at the end of the sentence, the comma only needs to be before the name.
Example:
Incorrect: “You don't know what you are talking about Alice.”
Left this way, the sentence above does not indicate that you are speaking to Alice, but rather that someone other than Alice is talking about Alice incorrectly.
Correct: “You don't know what you are talking about, Alice.”
If the name comes in the middle of a sentence, the comma should come before and after the name.
Example:
Incorrect: “Oh my goodness Carlisle this is absolutely amazing!”
Correct: “Oh my goodness, Carlisle, this is absolutely amazing!”
This brings us to my last rule of the week, which is closely related to Rule #2.
Rule #3: NEVER separate a subject from it's verb! This is insanely cringe-worthy!
Example:
Incorrect: She, tried to get into her truck, but slipped on some ice.
Why, oh why is the comma placed after the subject above???
Correct: She tried to get into her truck, but slipped on some ice.
Final Tip: If you need to take a breath while reading at that point in the sentence, add a comma! But, please do not put them in random places! Your readers and betas will appreciate it!
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