Let’s eat Grandma! -----> Let’s eat, Grandma!

Are You a Comma-kazi*?--a destroyer of sentence meaning? • Let’s eat Grandma! -----> Let’s eat, Grandma! • While we were eating a rattlesnake approached our campsite. ---> ? • If you cook Ingrid will wash the dishes.--> ? • *A kamikazi is defined by Dictionary.com as the following: • “3. a person or thing that behaves in a wildly reckless or destructive manner.”

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR COMMA USAGE from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon PowerPoint Created by April Turner Revised by Mamie Webb Hixon June 25, 2010

Let’s eat Grandpa.Whenever you can come and visit me in Hawaii.While we were eating a rattlesnake approached our campsite.If you cook Ingrid will wash the dishes. Without the comma in the sentences above, the sentence parts collide, causing misreadings and impeding communication.

WHICH THEORY DO YOU USE?Comma SprinklingDramatic PauseWhen in doubt, leave it out.

Do not place commas because of pauses.USE COMMAS based on rules and concepts:(1) Introductory Elements(2) Items in a series(3) Interrupters(4) Nonessential/nonrestrictive information Because of his technological skills set (1) modems (2) bandwidths (2) applications (2) and programming languages (3) for example (3) dance continually in the mind of Microsoft creator Bill Gates (4) a renowned philanthropist.

“The Oxford Comma” • Stephen Colbert (6/3/10) quoting Strunk and White in defense of the "Oxford Comma.” • http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/310042/june-03-2010/vampire-weekend

USE A COMMA • With one of the fanboys (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to connect two independent clauses/sentences. -The political pressure continued, and the candidate resigned. -Columbus wanted to find a new way of reaching the Indies, and he also hoped to prove a new theory about the shape of the earth. -Many are called, but few are chosen.

DO NOT USE A COMMA • With one of the fanboys (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to connect compound parts of sentences. -Injuries are common and probably inevitable for professional athletes. If no sentence follows the fanboy, then no comma is necessary. -Injuries can cause athletes to miss games and can even end their careers.

DO NOT USE A COMMA • Especially with “and” when “and” does not separate two sentences The senator brought millions of dollars to his home state of Kentucky and was an ardent opponent of the war in Iraq. A comma is not spelled comma a-n-d; that is, do not place a comma before “and” unless “and” connects two sentences.

USE A COMMA • To separate introductory elements from the main part of the sentence. • Introductory elements include words, phrases, and clauses. If I do not hear from you within a week, I will assume that the information we already have is adequate.

USE A COMMA • To separate nonrestrictive (nonessential or non-defining) information from the rest of the sentence. -Westerners generally understand very little about the Middle East, where much of the world’s oil is located. -The scout leader, tired and hungry, trudged up the hill. -Women, who have rarely been treated equally in the job market, still tend to be relatively underpaid.

DO NOT USE A COMMA • To set off restrictive (essential or defining) information with commas . -Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finnis on the high school censored list. Children who like to play with electrical outlets should be carefully monitored. The town where I was born, which has a population of 3,000, offers very little in the way of entertainment for teenagers.

USE A COMMA • After any proper noun, the modifier will be nonrestrictive. -Herbert Hoover, elected President in 1928, was the first president born west of the Mississippi. • After any qualifying common noun, the modifier will be nonrestrictive. The highest mountain in the world, which resisted the efforts of climbers until 1953, looks truly forbidding and formidable from the air.

DO NOT USE A COMMA • With a restrictive (defining, limiting) modifier. Note that “that” clauses are always restrictive. -The bus that I ride to work is always late, but the people who work with me are always early.

USE A COMMA • To separate direct quotations from the phrase identifying the speaker. -John remarked, “No fishing is allowed in the Gulf because of the oil spill.” DO NOT USE A COMMA PRECEDING AN INDIRECT QUOTATION. -The President said that he would make four “nonpolitical” speeches in the month before the election.

USE A COMMA • To separate the names of smaller geographic units from the names of larger units. -Denver, Colorado, is called the Mile High City. -Juneteenth is celebrated in Laredo, Texas, every year on June 19.

USE A COMMA • To separate the names of smaller geographic units from the names of larger units. The city of Liverpool, England, is well-known for being the home of the Beatles and for having a champion soccer team. Send all correspondences regarding the Pelican Drop to Stewart Hoffman, Public Relations, City of Pensacola, 123 Palafox Street, Pensacola, Florida 32501, by December 12.

USE A COMMA • To separate items in a date. Omit the comma when just the month and year or month and day are given or when the date is written in military sequence. -Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. -The stock market crashed on 29 October 1929. -May 1968 was the time of the famous uprising.

USE A COMMA • To separate names of titles or degrees that follow the name. -Harold Johnson, Ph.D., will speak in the Commons on Tuesday. Professor Monica Wu, faculty adviser, is not holding office hours today. OMIT THE COMMA PRECEDING A ROMAN NUMERAL DENOTING BIRTH RANK. USAGE IS DIVIDED REGARDING THE COMMA WITH “JR.” AND “SR.” Queen Elizabeth II Leon Rankins III Martin Luther King, Jr. OR Martin Luther King Jr. Sammy Davis, Jr. was a founding member of Hollywood’s Rat Pack.

USE A COMMA • To separate short, closely interrelated clauses in a series. -Savanna phoned, Justin stopped by, and Alex left a message. -I came, I saw, I conquered. -It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman. • To mark allowable omissions of repeated words, especially verbs. -Your analysis is superb; your execution, appalling.

USE A COMMA • To separate three or more items or phrases in a series. -Golfing, swimming, and bowling are my favorite activities. -My worries keep returning to inflation, unemployment, and natural disasters. DO NOT USE A COMMA IF THE ITEMS IN THE SERIES ARE ALREADY SEPARATED BY CONJUNCTIONS. -To lose weight, Cyndi jogs and swims and lifts weights. -Critics described the film as big and brash and brilliant.

USE A COMMA • To separate cumulative adjectives (a series of two or more adjectives not connected by a conjunction) if the order of the adjectives can be reversed and still retain the same meaning. -Your friend is a clever, sensitive person. [Your friend is a sensitive, clever person.] -Leftist critics continue to shred her as a cynical, shallow, ill-informed opportunist. -The pundit called the politician a self- aggrandizing, gaffe-prone, incompetent narcissist.

DO NOT USE A COMMA • To separate a series of two or more adjectives not connected by a conjunction if the order of the adjectives cannot be reversed and still retain the same meaning. The docudrama presents an intensely vivid, compelling, NO COMMA anxiety-producing⌃ account of the tsunami. NO COMMA I prefer reading a long⌃ short story to reading a long Grisham novel.

USE A COMMA • To provide clarity and prevent misreading, even if none of the other rules apply. -We left him, assured that he would fail. (We were sure that he would fail.) -We left him assured that he would fail. (He was sure that he would fail.)

USE A COMMA • To separate interrupters or parenthetical and transitional words from the rest of the sentence. -Most of them, however, do try to act friendly and courteous. -The deficit, as a matter of fact, has continued to grow.

USE A COMMA • To separate contradictory statements from the rest of the sentence. -The concert is scheduled for today, not tomorrow. -The child needs help, not admonishment. -It was a difficult, but by no means impossible, assignment to do. -In 1776, the U.S. became a country governed by “the consent of the governed,” not by a monarch.

USE A COMMA • To separate names used in direct address or other isolates such as yes, no, and thank you from the rest of the sentence. -Tell me, Shelby, did you vote for Sarah Palin? -No, I am voting for myself. -Hello, Yohanssen, -Greetings, Classmates:

USE A COMMA • To separate tag questions from the rest of the sentence. -You did that on purpose, didn't you? • To separate words and abbreviations that introduce an example or an illustration, including namely, that is, to wit, i.e., e.g., for example, and for instance. -Many of my friends, for example, Fred, Dean, and Pete, like to golf.

LET’S PRACTICE • I have told one million lies in my life and that is the Gospel truth. • …life, and that… • As a child I was the kind of kid my mother told me not to play with. • As a child, I was… • Denver which is the capital of Colorado has an altitude of one mile. • Denver, which is the capital of Colorado, has… • The city which is the capital of Colorado has an altitude of one mile. • No commas (restrictive)

LET’S PRACTICE A LITTLE MORE • Linda asked “Do you think she’ll ever speak to him again?” • Linda asked, “Do you… • Paxton Florida is the home of the mighty Bobcats. • Paxton, Florida, is the… • The Declaration of Independence was signed on August 2 1776. • …August 2, 1776. • July 2015 is the date for the city’s centennial celebration. • No comma (2 items in the date)

MORE PRACTICE • The commencement speaker was Juliet Brown Ph.D. • …Juliet Brown, Ph.D. • He shot pool he drank Anchor Steam beer and he rarely went home. • He shot pool, he drank Anchor Steam beer, and he rarely went home. • To the winners we give prizes; to the losers consolation; and to the spectators a good show. • …to the loser, consolation; and to the spectators, a good show.

ALMOST THERE • The morning after a policeman came to the door. • The morning after, a policeman… • Jeff collected a change of clothing shoes and golf gear before he set off for the day. • …a change of clothing, shoes, and golf gear… • A large green bug settled on the torn autumn leaf. • No correction is necessary.

WE’RE IN THE HOME STRETCH • The order however was not filled that day. • The order, however, was not… • Pneumonia begins with a p not an n. • …with a p, not an n. • Thank you Susan. • Thank you, Susan.

LAST ONES You’re going aren’t you? • You’re going, aren’t you? • When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg? • When you walk, . . . • Many of my friends for example Rachel, Jennifer, and Allen, enjoy going to the movies. • Many of my friends, for example, Rachel,…

Let’s eat Grandma! -----> Let’s eat, Grandma!