Month: June 2012

by Jennie Ruby  

Even grammar instructors hate some grammar rules. I myself hate one grammar rule in particular: the injunction against putting a comma in a sentence with a compound predicate. Do you feel me, man? Ok, well maybe I need to explain what that rule is before you can sympathize.

The word "compound" in grammar means you have two of the item in question. A compound sentence contains two sentences. A compound noun is two nouns. A compound adjective is two adjectives. And a compound predicate is two predicates. A predicate, of course (goes without saying, really, doesn't it?) is the verb's part of the sentence: the verb and its entourage of stuff that can follow a verb: a direct object, an adverb or two, an indirect object, and so forth. (Grammar mavens: the technical term for the stuff belonging to the verb is "complement.") Here are examples showing a compound sentence and a compound predicate:

Compound sentence

Her job was to answer every single email message, and she did it very well.

Compound predicate

In her job she answered every phone call and replied to every email message.

In the compound sentence the part after the word and is a complete sentence. Notice the comma before the word and. In the compound predicate the part after and is just a predicate.

The Rule

Do not use a comma in a compound predicate. Do use a comma in a compound sentence joined by and (or another coordinating conjunction).

The Challenge

Put a comma in each of the compound sentences. Leave out the comma in each of the compound predicates. As always, I look forward to seeing your answers.

1. The ice cream truck entered the neighborhood and turned on its loudspeaker.
2. The loudspeaker sputtered to life and children came running.
3. Children were not the only patrons of the ice cream truck but the adults tended to arrive more slowly.
4. Icy-cold confections soon moved through the neighborhood and dripped multicolored sweetness on the sidewalks.
5. A dog licked the sticky pavement under its owner's feet and a cat looked disdainfully down from its perch on a porch railing.
6. The truck trundled to the end of the block and turned out into the traffic of the main street but it left an indelible mark on the memories of the children.

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Our answers to last week's challenge are brought to you byRebecca Fleisch Cordeiro. She has correctly noted that all of these clauses and phrases are adverbial–answering questions such as when, where, and why the action in the sentence occurred or occurs.

1. Until the barn is full, we will continue to deliver hay. 

Adverbial clause "until the barn is full"… needs a comma

2. Until yesterday, we did not know the groundhog was under the shed. 

Adverbial phrase "until yesterday," less than 5 words, comma optional; I put it in so reader will pause

3. Because the hawk was flying overhead, the small birds hid in the bushes. 

Adverbial clause "because the hawk was flying overhead," so needs comma

4. Because of the hawk's cry, all of the squirrels froze in their tracks. 

Adverbial phrase "Because…cry" with 5 words, so I left the comma in

5. During the cool and damp early morning hours, we stayed on the screened porch. 

Adverbial phrase "During…hours" with more than 5 words, needs comma

6. While the children played in the pool, we sat in the shade.

Adverbial clause "while…pool", so needs comma

7. After you click the icon once, you must wait for the picture to fully load. 

Adverbial clause "after…once", so needs comma

8. After lunch we will cover photo filtering. 

Adverbial phrase "After lunch," less than 5 words, comma optional. I left it out.

Correct answers also came from Vicki Hendricks, Sonia Verma, and Jing Ping Fan (JP).

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by Jennie Ruby  

I wrote about commas in introductory phrases last week. This week let's take the issue of introductory elements a step further, differentiating introductory phrases from introductory clauses. But first, let's look at some answers from last week's challenge:

Once again, our reader Jing Ping Fan (JP) comes through with a perfect set of answers, annotated with explanations. Thank you! Her answers are perfect, but she also notes which commas are needed versus optional. Plus, bonus, she explains that number 5 needs the comma because the introductory element is a clause, not a phrase.

1. After the sudden afternoon rainstorm, three kids were rescued from a flash flood. (comma needed)
2. Before noon, we had already covered all of the class material. (comma optional)
3. In 2010 our outreach program was updated to include a Twitter feed. (comma optional)
4. Sometime after 2012 is when support for version 3.5 will end. (No comma)
5. Unless the creek floods, we will go kayaking tomorrow. (comma needed Note: When an adverb clause begins the sentence, use a comma to separate the two clauses.)
6. By the end of the session, we all understood introductory elements. (comma preferred)
7. Yesterday the website was down for an hour. (comma optional, but prefer not to add in this type of sentence)
8. Tomorrow is our deadline for completing these two modules. (No comma)

If your answers do not match the ones above, you still may have them punctuated correctly. For example, Audrey McAfee also used correct punctuation on all of the sentences, but she put commas in all of them except number 7. 

Karen L. Busser also sent in correct answers, and sheadded her own trick for telling whether the introductory word is really introductory: if you can move the introductory element to the end of the sentence without changing the meaning or changing the sentence into a question, then it is introductory. Once you are sure the element is introductory, you then decide whether the comma is needed by the guidelines mentioned in my previous article.

Mary Saunders sent in a set of correct answers, and added, "We use the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications(Third Edition), which states, 'Use a comma following an introductory phrase.'  This rule makes it easy for us!"

If you incorrectly punctuated some of the sample sentences, check this: a comma is required if the introductory element has five words. A short phrase of time or place is comma-optional only if it is less than five words: one, two, three, or four words long.

Let's now look at some introductory phrases that require commas. Did you notice the word phrases in that last sentence? To get to the next level with commas, you need to identify phrases versus clauses. Let's tackle that concept now.

Phrase Versus Clause

A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject-verb combination.

A clause is a group of words that does contain a subject and a verb.

Phrase: after the storm
Clause: after the storm was over [storm is the subject; was is the verb]

Phrase: Until noon
Clause: Until she arrived [she is the subject; arrived is the verb]

Phrase: Because of the flood
Clause: Because the river flooded [river is the subject; flooded is the verb]

Notice that a phrase and a clause may start with the same word! What makes one of them a clause, however, is a subject and a verb. The clauses we are focusing on here are, as JP mentioned above, adverbial clauses. That means they contain information explaining things like when, where, in what manner, and why.

Introductory adverbial clauses require a comma. Short (fewer than five words) introductory phrases of time or place do not. Their comma is optional.

Challenge: Phrases Versus Clauses

Identify each of these introductory elements as a phrase or a clause, and indicate whether a comma is required. As always, send your answers/comments directly to me.

1. Until the barn is full we will continue to deliver hay.
2. Until yesterday we did not know the groundhog was under the shed.
3. Because the hawk was flying overhead the small birds hid in the bushes.
4. Because of the hawk's cry, all of the squirrels froze in their tracks.
5. During the cool and damp early morning hours we stayed on the screened porch.
6. While the children played in the pool we sat in the shade.
7. After you click the icon once you must wait for the picture to fully load.
8. After lunch we will cover photo filtering.

***

by Jennie Ruby  

Do I need a comma after "In 2008"? That is one of the most frequent questions I am asked in grammar classes. The answer I must give is that the comma is usually optional. For seekers of definitive answers with which to mow down the opposition, this "optional" nonsense is an unacceptable situation. So for them, and for you, if you are seeking definite answers, I must dig deeper.

First, let's distinguish the particular kind of introductory element for which the comma is "optional." But before even doing that, let's define "introductory element"!

An introductory element is a word, phrase, or clause that is placed before the beginning of the sentence. We have to make sure something is "introductory" before throwing commas at it. Here are some examples of introductory elements. In each case, we have a complete sentence even if we remove the introduction:

• Tomorrow, we must weed the garden. [comma optional]
• On Thursday, the trash truck ran over the mailbox. [comma optional]
• After the game, the kids ran to the convenience store to buy energy drinks. [comma optional]

Here are some examples of those same words and phrases used not as introductory elements, but as part of the sentence:

• Tomorrow was always her focus.
• On Thursday is when we plan to hold the kick-off meeting.
• After the game will be a good time to ask for a signed photograph.

In each of these sentences, we have a complete sentence only if we include the first word or phrase; the first word or phrase is actually the subject of the verb.

All of the examples above are one-word adverbs(tomorrow) or short prepositional phrases of time or place. These are the particular kinds of introductory elements for which most grammar guides say the comma is optional.

Most, but not all–I do have one grammar book on my shelf that simply states: Use a comma after every introductory element. But all of my other principal references–the Chicago Manual of Style, the Gregg Reference Manual, and Abrams' Guide to Grammar–say that the comma is optional after one-word adverbs and short prepositional phrases of time or place. And what counts as short? Fewer than five words.

So if these references tell us the comma is optional, how do we decide whether to use it or not? Your in-house style guide may clear this up for you. As an organization, you can decide whether to require the comma, or to forbid that comma, or to leave the decision up to each writer or editor on a case-by-case basis.

Check your in-house style guide (you have one, right?), and then tell me whether a comma is needed in these examples (be careful-they might not all be the kind of introductory element discussed above!): 

1. After the sudden afternoon rainstorm three kids were rescued from a flash flood.
2. Before noon we had already covered all of the class material.
3. In 2010 our outreach program was updated to include a Twitter feed.
4. Sometime after 2012 is when support for version 3.5 will end.
5. Unless the creek floods we will go kayaking tomorrow.
6. By the end of the session we all understood introductory elements.
7. Yesterday the website was down for an hour.
8. Tomorrow is our deadline for completing these two modules. 

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