Comma Chameleon Post 2
I wrote the first post in this series a few weeks ago. I discussed some of the comma rules that are more reliable (meaning they don't have a lot of exceptions). I talked in detail about the rule that says it is usually necessary to use a comma before a coordination conjunction in a compound sentence. I also explained how to use commas in a list, and the comma rule that says you should always set someone's name or title off with commas if you are addressing them directly in the sentence. See Comma Chameleon Post 1 if you missed it!
Today I want to talk about another comma rule that is closely related to the one involving coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences. If there are two (or more) independent clauses in a sentence, they must be separated by something more than just a comma. A comma is not considered strong enough to separate two independent clauses on its own, but when it teams up with a coordinating conjunction, a comma can be used. When writers try to separate independent clauses with only a comma, the mistake is called a comma splice.
Comma splices can be fixed in a few different ways, depending on how the writer wants the pause to be. The two independent clauses can be separated with a semicolon instead of just a comma. Someone once told me that it was mainly for this purpose that the semicolon was invented. If that is true, I can't help picturing it flying to the rescue as the super-comma it is. (In “Editing at Sentence Level,” Louise Harnby said the semicolon sometimes functions as a super comma, separating independent clauses as well as making new categories in lists where there are commas within the things being listed.)
Another option to fixing a comma splice is to simply make the independent clauses into separate sentences with ending punctuation for each. As described above, adding a coordinating conjunction after the comma (who is shaking against the force that has been put on him alone!) will also correct a comma splice.
Emmy Favilla listed some other comma rules in her book "A World Without Whom," the kind of rules that she thought were “the stuff that matters.” Today I am going to mention two of the rules she described as being necessary in nearly every situation. Because Favilla is a self-proclaimed descriptivist, it seems that the rules on this list are the kind of rules everyone should try to keep. One rule is that a comma should be included when full dates are written. (“The Declaration of Independence was formally adopted in the US on July 4, 1776.”) The other rule Favilla mentions is to include a comma “between a city and a state (or country) name...” (“Rovaniemi, Finland is beautiful.”)
In a future post, I will share more comma rules that also don't have many exceptions.
You’re welcome in advance because what could be more exceptional than comma rules without exceptions?
