The almighty comma is one of the most used (and misused) punctuation tools in any writer’s toolbox.  The comma is a punctuation mark used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list. If you’ve ever read or written anything (and you’re reading this so you have!) you’ve encountered commas. 

The graphic on this post is a fun little punctuation joke, and an easy one to remember. 

❌“Let’s eat Grandma!” is very different when you pop in the comma to say 

👵🏻“Let’s eat, Grandma!”  Forgotten commas can turn a sweet moment into a scary one!

The number one most common grammar mistake that I correct in my work is the comma splice.  A comma splice is when a comma is used to connect independent clauses when a conjunction, semi-colon, or colon should have been used instead. Here are a few examples:

❌She loved walking in the rain, she always felt refreshed after. 

🌧️She loved walking in the rain because she always felt refreshed after.

❌Jeff liked to eat at restaurants, he was always finding new ones to try, he had an adventurous palate.

👨🏻‍🍳Jeff liked to eat at new restaurants and was always finding new ones to try because he had an adventurous palate. 

❌Cecilia painted at the seaside, she liked to visit often. 

🎨Cecilia painted at the seaside and she liked to visit often. 

Commas also belong between all items on a list.  This can also be referred to as a serial comma. Some examples of the serial comma in action are:

🐭Ellie wanted to meet Daisy, Minnie, Elsa, and Anna at Disneyland. 

🏖️They were planning to visit the beach, the market, and the cafe on their day off. 

🕯️I wanted to shop for candles, books, mugs, and notebooks today. 

Commas are also used in dialogue to set off quotations. For example:

“It’s really much too cold in here today,” she said.

“I don’t agree with that at all,” he replied. 

Commas are also used for directly addressing people in text.

“Well, Peter, I don’t agree with you.”

“I understand that, Taylor, but I’m right.”

There are so many more uses for commas, and they all have the same goal. That goal is to make your writing easy to read with a natural flow. So tell me, do you love or hate commas in your writing?

Until next time!

XOXO

Sam Speed Edits