Day 5: Elements of Style

Rule: "Do not join independent clauses with a comma"

Rather one should join independent clauses with a comma and a conjunction, or preferably, with a semicolon for the sake of brevity. Additionally, one could correct the problem by replacing the comma with a period and break the sentence into two. We prefer, however, the former two, for the convey a greater sense of connection between the two ideas. Examples of correct usage include:

Joel is a strong defender; he always stops the ball.

Davis moved to Columbus, and the Texas weather moved with him.

It was Friday. Everyone wanted to get together.

An exception to the rule occurs when the sentence contains two short clauses of similar form. As in the common idiom:

"Here today, gone tomorrow."

As well as in Little Bunny Foo Foo's rewording

"Hare today, goon tomorrow

Day 4: Elements of Style

Rule: "Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause."

As in: Laine gave a calculus test, and her students all cried.

In a two part sentence, where the second member is introduced by and, for, or, nor, or while will require commas before the conjunction. If, however, the two clauses have the same subject, and the subject is only included once, then more discretion is required. In the case that the conjunction is but, a comma is often useful. While, in the case that the conjunction is and, a comma should be omitted if the ideas in the clauses are similar. As in:

Laine's students wanted to do well, but did not.

Laine's students did not study enough and failed the test.

A final subtlety occurs when the second clause of our compound sentence is preceded by a dependent clause or introductory phrase that would be typically set off by commas. Here no comma is needed after the conjunction. As in:

"The situation is perilous, but if we are prepared to act quickly, there is still one chance of escape."

Day 3: Elements of Style

"Enclose parenthetical expressions between commas."

As in: "The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot."

After starting with possessive forms and serial punctuation, two sections well within common knowledge, this section presents the subtlety and detail I expect when I hear the name "The Elements of Style." The case of parenthetical expressions creates difficulty due to the rules of application. Two similar sounding phrases might have opposite punctuation. For example:

My eldest cousin, Matthew, works for PircewaterhouseCoopers.

My aunt Kat has a beautiful daughter.

Although the two sentences sound similar, the name Matthew gets set apart because it adds no new information. I have only one eldest cousin. In the second case Kat is not separated since it is necessary to specify which of my aunts I mean. In general a nonrestrictive clause like Matthew should be set apart, and a restrictive clause like Kat should not. A good rule of thumb to determine if a phrase should be set apart is to try to form two sentences from the sentence in question. The first splits nicely, and the second does not.

My eldest cousin is named Matthew. He works for PircewaterhouseCoopers.

My aunt is named Kat. She has a beautiful daughter.

In no cases, however, should one comma be applied without the other. In addition parenthetical expressions should be used with dates and titles, and when one uses a name or title as a direct address.