top of page

Commas: to Use or not to Use

"Use a comma when you would pause or take a breath."


The above sentence is a "general rule" offered to people who become confused on the whens and wheres of correct comma usage.


It's a wonderful idea. I wish it were that simple! But sadly, the instruction is most definitely not a rule. In fact, it's not even helpful advice when you come right down to it, not the least because no rules exist when it comes to when one must take a breath.


(Other than the human truth that if you refuse to breathe, you'll die. Misplaced commas don't usually kill; one exception is "Let's eat Grandma" when one means "Let's eat, Grandma.")


One of my closest friends is asthmatic; she breathes frequently and rapidly. Budimir Å obat holds the current world record for holding his breath: a whopping 24 minutes 37+ seconds! My friend would therefore have commas after every couple of words, while Mr. Å obat would go on comma-less for pages and pages and pages and pages and pages.


And more pages.




Image: Guinness Book of World Records logo


Both might follow the cop-out "general rule," and both would be wrong.


In standard English, five actual rules for proper comma usage exist, plus a 6th rule for the (infrequent) direct address, a 7th rule within dates and addresses, and other rules according to specific style guides.


To save you the trouble of a shallow Internet dive, here they are:

  • to separate independent clauses

  • items in a series

  • to set off nonrestrictive clauses

  • direct quotations

  • after an introductory phrase


Super quick refresher on a couple of less familiar terms above:


An independent clause is a fancy name for a complete sentence. You got yer subject, and you got yer verb, and nothing dangles.


A nonrestrictive clause is a phrase that adds color or clarity but is not required to understand the sentence.


Oscar, my beloved miniature schnauzer, cares nothing for commas.


That out of the way, this week's actionable tip is so straightforward and simple that hardly anyone takes the time to do it: complete a comma edit on your draft.


Using the "Find" feature in your document software, you can jump from one comma to the next. Test each against the real rules, whether or not you actually take a pause to breathe.


(But please breathe! I don't want to lose you!)




bottom of page