Since lots of people are talking about Oxford commas and other crazy comma rules, here's a borrowed test of your ability to "hear" the commas. Be sure to read each example out loud before you answer.
A Comma Quiz, by Mark Nichol Do
the following sentences require an additional comma (or perhaps two),
the omission of an existing one (or two), or both? Answers and
explanations follow. 1. The word breakfast literally means to break the fasting period of your night’s sleep, so you can refuel for the day. 2. The first scene takes place in a dimly lit, tactical command center on an aircraft carrier. 3. The finishing stage is a series of asphalt “ski jumps,” only the “skiers” are skiing the wrong way. 4. One of their biggest challenges was coming up with a story that would resonate on a deep, emotional level. 5. Another English writer named Richard Browne used scientific reasoning to confirm the theory. 6.
Among slaves, other popular instruments included drums made from
hollowed logs covered with animal hides or kitchen pots and pans. 7.
They continued to run the establishment, and took great pride in the
accomplishments of their sons who kept in regular contact. 8. The storm inspired the title of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. 9.
As slaves were moved around, they encountered other tribes and dance
forms such as the Calenda gained widespread intertribal appeal. 10.
“Newspapers and polling organizations predicted that Republican
candidate, Thomas E. Dewey, would be America’s next president.” Answers and Explanations: 1.
Delete. Inclusion of the comma in this sentence incorrectly implies
that thanks to the meaning of the word breakfast, you can refuel for the
day. 2. Delete. The reference is not to a command
center that is dimly lit and tactical; it’s to a tactical command center
that is dimly lit. (Don’t let technical jargon deter you from making
sense of a compound noun.) 3. Both. Only here is not a
qualifier that suggests “the ‘skiers’ and nobody else”; it’s a synonym
for however, so punctuate as you would were that word used instead.
Also, the first comma should be not just deleted but also replaced by an
em dash that sets off the unusual circumstance described in the final
phrase. (References to skiing are enclosed in scare quotes because the
participants are not actually skiers but are engaging in an analogous
activity.) 4. Delete. As with sentence #2, the
appositive structure is confused. The reference is to an emotional level
that is deep, not a level that is deep and emotional, so deep and
emotional are noncoordinate adjectives and therefore require no
intervening comma. 5. Add. Unless a previous sentence
referenced a different English writer by that name, the phrase “named
Richard Browne” should be set off by two commas to demonstrate that it’s
an appositive to “another English writer” and is therefore
parenthetical. (In other words, it’s nonessential; the sentence would
make sense without it.) 6. Add. The drums were not made
from logs covered with hides or with kitchenware; they could be
hide-covered logs, or they could be pots and pans. That fact needs to be
clarified with a comma following hides, plus a second from, inserted
before kitchen to complete the parallel structure. 7.
Both. The comma is neither necessary nor incorrect, but if it’s
retained, a second they, after and, would smooth the sentence somewhat.
But the definite error is this: Unless there are two groups of progeny —
sons who kept in regular contact, and sons who didn’t, an appositive
comma must be added after sons. 8. Delete. A quick
online search will inform you that Hurston wrote more than one novel, so
the nonrestrictive comma, which incorrectly implies that she published
just one novel, should be jettisoned. 9. Add. The lack
of a comma after tribes suggests that the slaves encountered other
tribes and other dance forms, but then another verb crops up after that
and creates a cognitive logjam. What the sentence means is that slaves’
encounters with slaves from other tribes led to increased exposure to
new dance forms. The inserted comma will clarify that a new clause
begins with and. 10. Delete. This error of apposition
is one of the most annoying, relentlessly viral mistakes in English
today. (Think of it this way: A comma implies a pause. Does the reader
pause at all, much less twice, during this sentence?) Evidently, the
misunderstanding stems from a confusion with the appositive structure of
the phrase form exemplified in “Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican
candidate.” The sentence would be correct if the were inserted
before the epithet “Republican candidate,” but it is alternatively
rendered proper by the omission of the two commas. The appropriate
correction depends on the context (that is, whether a previous reference
to a Republican candidate has been made). |