hey guys, i was just wondering when the best time is to use commas. i remember being taught that they're supposed to be used to give pause to a sentence. when writing, we're supposed to be reading sentences out loud, right? are there any hard and fast rules? thanks
There are a number of rules for comma usage. You should purchase a general writer's handbook. Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is a must have for any writer, and The Little, Brown Handbook organizes punctuation and grammar topics together for easy reference.
every writer should have a good punctuation guide handy, in addition to a strunk & white, 'cause all-purpose style guides just don't get into all the details of proper punctuation...
Commas, commas, commas.... Commas are used to seperate things in a list, to end a partial quotation, and to seperate phrases and clauses. They are also used to represent pauses in speech, but too long of a pause requires ellipses (...).
I’m guessing he must mean the first comma in the following: “I’m of the view,” said Tom, “that the change in policy a bad thing.” I'm only guessing though!
