The Comma and the Semi-Colon
by Ed Mutchnick, New York
(Reprinted with kind permission from Literacy Builder)
This grammar lesson was inspired by the best seller, Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves (New York: GOTHAM BOOKS, Penguin Group [USA] 2003).
Lynne Truss is a self-admitted stickler (somebody fussy about details: somebody who insists on every detail being right)1. The back cover of her book jacket has the following humorous example of the effect of a misplaced comma: A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots into the air. “Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. “I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.” The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation. “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.” As you can see, by placing the comma after the word “eats”, the three words become a series of verbs rather than a verb followed by two nouns.
Comma Rules
1. Use a comma before the conjunction (and, for, but, or, nor, so) that joins the two independent clauses in a compound sentence.
Examples:
(1) I like working outside, and I also enjoy reading.
(2) He got out of school early, so he took a nap.
2. Use a comma after relatively lengthy introductory phrases or dependent (subordinate) clauses.
It is important to note that a comma should not be used when the clause or phrase comes at the end of the sentence as illustrated by the third example.
Examples:
(1) In order to be successful, one must learn to write well.
(2) After she learned the rules for using commas, her grades improved.
(3) Her grades improved after she learned to use commas correctly.
3. Use commas to separate items in a series.
Be sure to insert a comma before the conjunction that precedes the last item unless your teacher or style manual specifically tells you to exclude them.
For example:
Amy ordered two hamburgers, a Coke, and a large order of fries.
4. Use commas before and after non-essential elements (parts of the sentence providing information that is not essential in order to understand its meaning).
Example:
Horace Mann Elementary, which is the smallest school in the district, enrolls only 160 students.
5. Use commas between coordinate adjectives (of equal importance) that modify the same noun.
Do not separate adjectives of unequal importance. A good way to determine if the adjectives are of equal importance is to reverse them in the sentence. If the sentence does not read well after the reversal, do not use a comma between them. The second example below clearly illustrates this point. Reversing the adjectives (blue big eyes or red bright hair) simply doesn't work!
Examples:
(1) By the end of the game, the field was a slippery, wet mess.
(2) Her big blue eyes and bright red hair made her strikingly beautiful.
6. Use commas to separate the elements of dates and places.
Examples:
The date was June 12, 1999.
He was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
7. Use a comma before a direct quotation.
Also, as shown in the example, commas (and periods as well) go inside the quotation marks.
Example: When asked if he had studied for the test, Paul replied, "Only a little," and his grade showed it!
8. Use commas before and after words and phrases like “however” and “nevertheless” that serve as interrupters.
Example: Adam did not like math. He was, however, very successful in his math classes.
Semi-Colon Rules
1. Use a semi-colon in place of the comma and conjunction to separate the two independent clauses in a compound sentence.
Example: I like working outside; I also enjoy reading.
2. Use a semi-colon before the conjunctive adverb (such as however and therefore) that joins two independent clauses.
Be sure to put a comma after the conjunctive adverb.
Example: I like working outside; however, I also enjoy reading.
3. Use semi-colons to separate elements in a series if they contain internal punctuation.
Example: On his fishing trip, Jeff caught rainbow, brook, and lake trout; large-mouth, small mouth, and white bass; and a few northern pike.
Complete the sentences below by correctly inserting commas and semi-colons.
1. Andrew Mark and Eric all play on the varsity basketball team.
2. Although Monica was very disappointed in her performance she was nevertheless a gracious loser.
3. Although I have never been to Mexico I have always wanted to travel there.
4. Jason who is the youngest in the family was born August 12 1988.
5. Alison didn't feel well however she came to school anyway.
6. It was a hot windy day but I still spent the afternoon working in the garden.
7. When she asked if he was hungry Joe replied "I'm starved"
8. I planted shade evergreen and flowering trees short tall and medium shrubs and red yellow and white roses.
9. Although Erica was exhausted after her cross-country meet she never the less got up early the next morning.
10. Robin wanted to stay however she knew her parents would not like it if she did.
11. Heather enrolled in calculus French history and AP English.
12. Mr. Thomas glanced at Mike who appeared to be sleeping and said "I sure hope I'm not keeping any of you up past your bedtimes."
13. The Silver Maple is a tall graceful tree but its wood is soft and it is susceptible to wind damage.
14. During the last three summers Juan has worked at Burger King Wendy's and Sears.
15. Kendra never liked dogs she preferred to own a cat.
16. Nick who was trying to pretend he didn't care became so flustered that his bright red face gave away his true feelings.
Answers:
1. Andrew, Mark, and Eric all play on the varsity basketball team.
2. Although Monica was very disappointed in her performance, she was nevertheless a gracious loser.
3. Although I have never been to Mexico, I have always wanted to travel there.
4. Jason, who is the youngest in the family, was born August 12, 1988.
5. Alison didn't feel well; however, she came to school anyway.
6. It was a hot, windy day, but I still spent the afternoon working in the garden.
7. When she asked if he was hungry, Joe replied, "I'm starved."
8. I planted shade, evergreen, and flowering trees; short, tall, and medium shrubs; and red, yellow, and white roses.
9. Although Erica was exhausted after her cross-country meet, she, nevertheless, got up early the next morning.
10. Robin wanted to stay; however, she knew her parents would not like it if she did.
11. Heather enrolled in calculus, French history, and AP English.
12. Mr. Thomas glanced at Mike, who appeared to be sleeping, and said, "I sure hope I'm not keeping any of you up past your bedtimes."
13. The Silver Maple is a tall, graceful tree, but its wood is soft, and it is susceptible to wind damage.
14. During the last three summers, Juan has worked at Burger King, Wendy's, and Sears.
15. Kendra never liked dogs; she preferred to own a cat.
16. Nick, who was trying to pretend he didn't care, became so flustered that his bright red face gave away his true feelings.
©Ed
Mutchnick, 2006
All rights reserved.