It is interchangeable with “David Marsh, the author, says … ” whereas in the first example “David Marsh the author says” sounds a little unnatural, unless it’s to differentiate him from all the other David Marshes.Ī comma splice, which sounds painful, occurs when a comma is not up to the job of joining two clauses: “This was sensible advice, it was almost too easy” would be improved by using a semicolon or a conjunction such as “but” instead of the comma.Ĭommas are crucially important in relative clauses. In the first example, David Marsh is an author in general in the second, he is specifically identified as the author of this book. “The author, David Marsh, says this is more interesting than many grammar books.” “The author David Marsh says this is more interesting than many grammar books.” You can use a comma to introduce a quote, “He said,” although I prefer a colon: “He added.”Ī comma can also change the general to the specific. This example from the Guardian shows how a misplaced comma in such a list can actually sabotage the intended meaning: “Neocon economists often claim a large, black economy turbo-powers growth.” The writer meant a large black economy, not a large and black one, which is what this says. If you could use “and” between adjectives in a list, use a comma: a bright red car doesn’t need one because you wouldn’t say “a bright and red car” a tall, dark, handsome man does, because you could say “tall and dark and handsome”. Compare “Do not administer any liquids which are diuretic” (some liquids are permissible) and “Do not administer any liquids, which are diuretic” (all liquids are forbidden). A misplaced one might even be damaging to your health. So the second sentence of the headline above should read “How to use, and not use, the comma.”Ĭommas have lots of other uses. If you use commas as parentheses, to explain something or add extra information as I am doing here, make sure you add the second comma just as you would add a second bracket. To help develop an instinctive feel for the flow of a sentence, try reading it aloud and insert a comma when you pause (as I just did after the word “sentence”).
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