by Jennie Ruby
Use of the comma is notoriously resistant to rule-making because there are many exceptions. Once you try to set up rules for commas, you quickly find yourself in the area of grammar and usage that is more of an art than a science. Now I, for one, don't like that. I find it is much easier to write and to copyedit according to clear rules than to have to evaluate each sentence as a unique case. My method for addressing exceptions is to punctuate according to the rule and then evaluate whether the sentence really warrants an exception.
Here are two sentences I found in a recent article in The Economist:
- Until recently Moreno Valley was one of the fastest-growing cities in America. (Clear)
- Until recently increasing trade could be counted on to prop up the economy. (Confusing)
The phrase Until recently at the beginning of a sentence should not require a comma. The rule is that a short prepositional phrase of time or place does not require a comma. That works just fine in the first sentence. It is clear than Until recently sets up the timeframe for the entire sentence. However, in the second sentence the absence of the comma leads to misreading. The word recently can be read as modifying the participle increasing, and a reader can read eight words into the sentence before discovering that it does not. In fact, a reader can read right to the end of the sentence and be left wondering what it was that used to happen up until the time when recently increasing trade could be counted on.
A well-placed comma could prevent all that:
- Until recently, increasing trade could be counted on to prop up the economy. (Clear)
Next time: more on commas needed for clarity.
About the Author:
Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Essentials of Access 2000" and "Editing with MS Word 2003 and Adobe Acrobat 7" to her credit. Jennie specializes in electronic editing. At the American Psychological Association, she was manager of electronic publishing and manager of technical editing and journal production. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer (Chauncey Group). She is a publishing professional with 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.Want help with a grammar issue? Email us your troubles and we'll turn Jennie loose!
I hate it when typing a sentence with comma on microsoft words, its grammar check feature always ask me to replace them with semicolon
I hate it when typing a sentence with comma on microsoft words, its grammar check feature always ask me to replace them with semicolon
I hate it when typing a sentence with comma on microsoft words, its grammar check feature always ask me to replace them with semicolon
Grammar is so necessary these days with everyone writing funny sentences on their phones.
Grammar is so necessary these days with everyone writing funny sentences on their phones.
Grammar is so necessary these days with everyone writing funny sentences on their phones.