Commas Are Not The Antichrist

I feel like ranting about commas, so I'm doing that for Grammar Police today.

Commas give lots of writers fits. I know this. The rules governing some commas make their use optional. I also know this. The problem is, I've seen a trend in fiction of eliminating commas as a way to streamline the prose—to the point it breaks rules and stumbles readers.

Not a good idea.

I agree that writers should avoid using unnecessary commas, especially in fast-paced scenes; but, for Pete's sake, don't take an indiscriminate hatchet to them!

The English language needs commas.

Let me repeat: The English language needs commas.

Why?

• As I mentioned in my post about the demise of the comma-before-too, commas often signal meaning.  
• Commas frequently eliminate confusion.
• Commas create a pause so the reader doesn't run out of breath.
• Properly placed commas keep the grammatical structure sound.

If you don't believe commas signal meaning and eliminate confusion, compare these two sentences.

I'd like to introduce my parents, Bill and Leona.
I'd like to introduce my parents, Bill, and Leona.

In the first sentence, the person speaking is introducing two people, her parents whose names are Bill and Leona. In the second sentence, the speaker is introducing four people, her parents (1 & 2), a man named Bill (3), and a woman named Leona (4). The only thing that changed was the addition of a single comma.

(I know most people would not introduce their parents without saying their names. 
I was making a point about commas and sentence structure.)

If you want to look up those comma rules, the topics are appositives (Ex. 1) and separating items in a series (Ex. 2).

Here's another.

I chose soup and salad and pizza was my sister's choice.
I chose soup and salad, and pizza was my sister's choice.

That one's self-explanatory.

One thing I've been seeing more and more often is writers leaving out the comma after introductory phrases. The rule says we may do this if the phrase contains three words or less, but even then, dropping the comma may not be wise. We need to leave it in if taking it out would create confusion.

Until the spring rain clouds will not come. 
Until the spring, rain clouds will not come.

How can you safely reduce the number of commas?

By adjusting sentence structure to keep them to a minimum. This can be as simple as flipping the location of weak and strong clauses.

If you don't like tomatoes, tell me now.
Tell me now if you don't like tomatoes.

Breaking complex sentences into shorter, independent ones is another simple solution.

Commas may be the bane of your existence, but they are needed and their placement matters. Whatever you do, before you publish, get your manuscript properly edited.

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Rant over.

Thanks for visiting. :)


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