From the Editor's 411 mailbag - Comma questions
By Doug Fisher
Behold the comma, a noble mark that some authorities say
traces its roots to notations in ancient plays telling
actors where to pause. Such a small mark causes such big problems, at
least judging by
mail to the Common Sense Journalism/Editor ’s 411 inbox.
Two recent questions dealt with the same
issue: introductory phrases.
I’m just getting my feet wet as
a proofreader at a magazine. ... What is the comma rule in use in the
sentence:
As writers, readers, and
proofreaders four of us believe that this sentence should
have three commas.
How would this sentence be grammatically
correct: As a
dedicated journalist and passionate storyteller I won’t stop until
a story is at its best.
The first writer is correct with four commas,
assuming she keeps the serial comma after “readers.” Put a comma between “proofreaders” and “four.” And
that second sentence would be at its best with a comma after “storyteller.”
Here, as is a preposition (“in the role, function, capacity or sense
of”), making these introductory prepositional phrases. Introductory
phrases and clauses usually are set off with a comma, but with two generally
acknowledged exceptions: Some introductory adverbs (“now” and “then” are
the most common) can stand without commas as can some short prepositional
phrases of two or three words (In January we left for Spain.). However,
commentators disagree on that, including how short is “short,” and
you won ’t be wrong by using the comma.
While journalists also would usually drop
that serial comma after “readers” in the first example, using it is not wrong.
Most formal American writing does include it, and, as usage expert Bryan
Garner notes, “Omitting the final comma may cause ambiguities, whereas
including it never will.”
But this editor’s question shows that’s not even always true: What
do you do in the case of something like “Tony, my wife, and
I are no longer ... ”
Is the person’s wife named Tony, or are there three separate people?
Here, removing the serial comma helps understanding: Tony, my wife and
I are no longer ...
You could also rewrite it: Tony, as
well as my wife and I, is no longer .... Note that the intervening phrase now
requires that the verb agree with Tony alone. If that ’s jarring, then make it, My wife and I, as well as Tony, are no longer ...
Should commas be used in this sentence:
My son, James, is on vacation.
Use commas if James is the only son. James
becomes a nonessential appositive (simply saying “my son” would tell you whom you
are talking about). But no commas if James has a brother, because then
you are talking about a specific son. If you don’t know, leave the
commas out and you won ’t be wrong.
As an example, if someone said, “I
saw your brother yesterday” and
you had more than one, you’d likely respond, “Really? Which
one?” But if James were your only brother, you might instead say: “Really?
How is James doing”
Is it Jason Black, of Abbeville, (with
commas) or Jason Black of Abbeville (without commas)?
The AP now favors commas, but that’s ill advised. If Jason Black
is just being introduced to readers, “of Abbeville” is necessary
to distinguish which Jason Black we’re talking about. “Of
Abbeville” is essential, and no commas should be used. But if we
have enough other information to know who the person is, the phrase is
not essential to identification and takes commas: The Upstate man who
announced last month he would use his lottery winnings to build a wildlife
preservation park has bought his first parcel of land. Jason Black, of
Abbeville, purchased 220 acres north of town.
Don’t confuse not essential to identification with not important
for meaning. Drop “of Abbeville,” and you’re left wondering
what town.
The editors at the weekly for which
I work consistently remove the comma after the year in dates and after
states
in location references. I freely admit that when it comes
to breaking AP style, I’m
as big a sinner as the rest. But the comma thing drives me
up the wall.
We see more of this creeping commaphobia,
especially commas missing when independent clauses are joined by a conjunction.
(An example: The simpler structure could make construction
easier and the floor sizes
will be more optimal to the type of Wall Street firm that
will take space there – needs a comma after “easier.”) It’s become
especially prevalent in quotes. (“It is very bad the way the court
ruled and it is going to hurt the vibrancy of journalism but that doesn’t
mean you can defy the final decision of a court” – needs a
comma after “journalism”; a comma after “ruled” is
a judgment call.)
As for dates and places, you’d be hard-pressed to find a major stylebook
that doesn’t use commas around the year in an exact date or the
state paired with a city or town. Construction of the plant in Lima, Ohio,
began on Aug. 16, 1984, and took six years.
There is one exception: When the date or
place is used as an adjective, Garner says the comma can be left out.
His example: The court reconsidered its July 12, 1994 privilege
order. But that’s
only to avoid further impeding the flow of what he calls an already “particularly
clumsy ” construction.
