The Use of a Comma, a Problem in Itself

To comma, or not to comma? That is the question.

Be careful where you place a comma as a wrongly-placed one can alter the sense of what you are writing completely.

“Men who are bad cooks should not be allowed in the kitchen”

Consider what this sentence means:

It means that men who are bad cooks should stay out of the kitchen but those who are good cooks should be in the kitchen.

What would happen though if the writer got carried away and added commas to the sentence?

“Men, who are bad cooks, should not be allowed in the kitchen.”

The whole meaning of the sentence changes. Now we are in a position that says that all men are bad cooks and all men should not be allowed in the kitchen. It is plain to see that the use of commas can easily alter the meaning of what is being meant.

As a writer it is always best to make sure that what you have written says what you mean it to say. Read and re-read all you write to make sure there is a clarity in what you are writing.

Too many commas spoil the broth!

Many people casually presume that a very long sentence needs commas in it or the reader will not be able to fully understand it. Sometimes this is correct but not always. Many longer sentences can still be fully understood by the reader without the use of commas. Other sentences clearly need some help.

“There were of course going to be exceptions to the rule as with any field of writing activity though this was no reason he pointed out why the writer should slacken in their response to the problems of punctuation in general.”

On reading that sentence, it is clear that something is not quite right. It doesn’t read well and some commas are definitely required to help the reader understand.

This is how that sentence would look with the inclusion of commas at every point where there is an argument for including one.

“There were, of course, going to be exceptions to the rule, as with any field of writing activity, though this was no reason, he pointed out, why the writer should slacken, in their response to the problems of punctuation, in general.”

As you can see, although that has fixed the problem of having no commas, it still doesn’t quite read correctly. It would appear that there are too many commas and some sort of clarity needs to be found.

“There were of course going to be exceptions to the rule, as with any field of writing activity, though this was no reason, he pointed out, why the writer should slacken in their response to the problems of punctuation in general.”

As you can see, the use of no commas can lead to confusion of meaning. However, the use of too many commas can also lead to confusion. To help with clarity of writing it is always best to read and re-read what you have written.

A comma is not a full stop.

“She said she was just going for a drive, she never returned.”

The above shows two separate statements and as such should be two sentences. The use of a comma there leads the reader to expect another statement to complete the sentence.

“She said she was just going for a drive, she never returned and we have never seen her since.”

If you really must have only the two statements in the one sentence, add the word ‘but’ before ‘she never’ and either leave the comma or take it out.

“She said she was just going for a drive, but she never returned.”
“She said she was just going for a drive but she never returned.”

Or of course just separate them into two different sentences.

“She said she was just going for a drive. She never returned.”

This was just a brief look at some of the problems facing writers when it comes to the use of commas. Hope you enjoyed it. For further reading about writing hints and tips please check out the articles below.

How Important Is Spelling And Grammar

The Spell Check and Some Potential Pitfalls

Clarity of Writing: Seeing Through The Fog