Befriending commas and semi-colons
Perhaps no punctuation is misused more in writing than commas. Semi-colons run a close second. In the writing classes I’ve taught, many students struggle with when to use commas and semi-colons. Some use commas way too often while others seldom use them. Everyone can use a refresher on commas and semi-colons from time to time. I know I do.
Let’s take a look at an example sentence punctuated three different ways. Two of the three are correct. Which ones?
- The man walked briskly down the sidewalk, he was running late for work.
- The man walked briskly down the sidewalk; he was running late for work.
- The man walked briskly down the sidewalk, because he was running late for work.
The last two are correct. The first one is incorrect because it’s a run-on sentence. You cannot separate two sentences with only a comma. The second one is correct because a semi-colon serves to separate two sentences (or independent clauses), yet still ties similar ideas together. The third one is also correct. When you use a conjunction (because, and, or, etc.) to separate two complete sentences, then you must use a comma before the conjunction.
Remember that commas are used to separate two sentences tied together with a conjunction that can stand alone. They are NOT used to separate a dependent and independent clause. Which of the following is correct?
- The dog barked loudly, and wagged his tail.
- The dog barked loudly and wagged his tail.
The second one is correct. “Wagged his tail” is a dependent clause (it doesn’t have a subject and verb and cannot stand on its own), so a comma would not be used. If we changed the sentence to read: “The dog barked loudly, and he wagged his tail,” then we would use a comma. The second half of the sentence is now independent because it has a subject.
I know grammar and punctuation aren’t the funniest of topics, but they really do help improve writing and communication. Whether you’re a writer by trade or not having good written communication is important.
What punctuation problems do you encounter most?
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