A Dictionary of Cont..

it stands between are independent of each
other.
1. A single comma is often required to prevent
misreading. For example, a comma is required
in not long after, he was ?akcn sick
although none is needed in a week later he was
taken sick. Words such as only and rather which
sometimes qualify a preceding word may need
a comma to keep them from qualifying a following
word instead, as in men only, were invited.
A comma may also be needed to keep a qualifying
clause from becoming attached to the nearest
available word. See clauses.
2. A comma should not come between a verb
and its object, as it does in Job cursed, the day
that he was born. See object of a verb.
3. A single comma that stands between a verb
and its subject is generally considered poor punctuation.
But sometimes this cannot be avoided.
It cannot be avoided when words such as only
follow and qualify the subject. And no one
should feel that he must place a word of this
kind before the subject merely to avoid a punctuation
problem. A comma may be required
when the subject is a full clause, as in whatever
is, is right. Very often a single comma separating
a subject and a verb can be interpreted as the
second in a pair of commas, of which the first
has been omitted, as in the moonlight sparkling
on the frosty window, reminded him of the wide
fields. This is considered faulty punctuation, to
be corrected by adding a comma after moonlight
or by removing the comma after window.
But it is an extremely common error. Most
people who write punctuate in just this way and
the first comma is added later by an editor or a
typist.
4. Commas are used in a series. That is, they
are used to set off words or groups of words
that have the same function, as in Mr. Close,
_-~ ,
Mr. Black. and Mr. Jeter, were there. The first
comma in this series is required but the comma
before and and the comma that closes the series
are optional. People who are interested in punctuation
are likely to have very strong feelings
about the comma before and in a series. But
they are evenly divided for and against it. A
sensible person will use this comma or not as he
pleases, and will refuse to argue the point with
anybody.
When more than one adjective qualifies a
noun in exactly the same way, they are -treated
as a series and separated by commas, as in
cheerful, friendly, clever Mildred. Here the final
element in the series is never followed by a
comma. See position of adjectives.
5. It used to be said that two clauses joined
by and, or, nor, but, or for, required a comma
before the conjunction. If the conjunction was
not actually used but only “understood,” the
comma was considered insufficient and a semicolon
was required. Today we frequently omit
the comma before these conjunctions, and we
use a comma rather than a semicolon when
there is no conjunction expressed, as in beautiful
is the mother, beautiful is her son.
6. Any words which come before the :subject
103 comment
of a verb may be set off by a comma. If the
phrase is short, the comma may be used or omitted.
But when a great many words precede the
subject, they should be followed by a comma in
order to make the subject of the verb stand out
clearly. When a clause is actually the complement
of some form of the verb to be, it too may
be preceded by a comma, as in the truth is, he
is lazy. Technically, this comma separates a verb
and its complement. But it is necessary here to
separate he from the preceding verb so that it is
free to unite with the verb that follows.
7. A comma may be used to show that certain
words have been omitted, usually words that
have already been used earlier in the sentence,
as in one paid for the dinner and the other, for
the entertainment. See ellipsis.
TYPOGRAPHICAL USE8
The comma has certain uses that have nothing
to do with sentence structure.
1. The comma is used to divide large numbers
into groups of three figures each, as in
4,910,355. It is not used in a number which
represents a particular year, such as 1956. Some
publishers do not use a comma in any number
that has less than five figures and would write
4910. In some European countries a period is
used instead of a comma to group the figures,
and a comma is used to represent the decimal
point, as in 49.103,58.
2. A comma is used in dates to separate the
day of the month from the year, as in October
29, 1929. If a date is incorporated in a sentence,
the number of the year is enclosed in a pair of
commas, as in October 29, 1929, was a busy day,
If the number of the year follows immediately
after the name of the month, no punctuation is
required, as in October 1929 marked the end of
an epoch.
3. The comma is used to set off parts of an
address when these are used in a sentence, as in
Tom is living in Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, at
present.
4. It is used in bibliographies, indexes, and
wherever words or phrases are listed in an inverted
order, as in Butler, Samuel and Way of
All Flesh, The.
5. It is used to set off the salutation in an informal
letter, as in Dear Blanche, and to set off
the complimentary close in any letter, whether
informal or formal, as in Your friend, and Sincerely
yours,
6. A comma is not used in combination with
a dash.
7. If the word immediately before a parenthesis
needs to be separated from the rest of the
sentence by a comma, the comma is placed after
the parenthesis, as in if Joe is right (and he
usually is), we can’t finish the work today.
commence may be followed by the -ing form of a
verb, as in he commenced studying law, or by
an infinitive, as in he commenced to study law.
The -ing construction is preferred by some people
who feel that begin should be used if an
infinitive is to follow, as in he begun to study
law. See begin.
comment (noun). See remark.