Commas are a great tool in writing. They can make something easier to understand and can help to break up a long sentence.
If they are used improperly, however, they just keep someone from reading something. A comma in a sentence tells you to pause.
I will give two examples. One will have proper use and one will not.
Example 1: This sentence has, an improperly used comma.
Example 2: This sentence properly uses commas, periods and capitalization.
There are many guides on the internet that teach you how to use commas. I will find some links and post them here too.
Please stop abusing commas, though. It makes posts incredibly difficult to read. Don't use a comma if you aren't sure if it is appropriate or not. It is better to underuse commas than to overuse them. Falaanla Marr fucked around with this message on 04-10-2005 at 12:11 AM.
quote:
Falaanla Marr had this to say about Tron:
Example 2: This sentence properly uses commas, periods and capitalization.
Isn't that supposed to be "This sentence properly uses commas, periods, and capitalization.", or have I been taught wrong?
quote:
Gadani had this to say about Reading Rainbow:
Isn't that supposed to be "This sentence properly uses commas, periods, and capitalization.", or have I been taught wrong?
It depends on the style you go by. The form that I posted is considered to be the correct form. The other can be used but is generally considered incorrect. There are a few cases where it is necessary, however, and those can be found at this link:
Falaanla Marr fucked around with this message on 04-10-2005 at 12:15 AM.
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm
quote:
Gadani had this to say about Tron:
Isn't that supposed to be "This sentence properly uses commas, periods, and capitalization.", or have I been taught wrong?
People say it's unnecessary. BUT I USE IT ANYWAYS >:(
Trillee fucked around with this message on 04-10-2005 at 12:25 AM.
GEE WHIZ THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED HERE BEFORE NOR IS IT TOTALLY PREDICTABLE WHOAMANDUDE 
i kid...but really...
Disclaimer: I'm just kidding, I love all living things.
The fastest draw in the Crest.
"The Internet is MY critical thinking course." -Maradon
"Gambling for the husband, an abortion for the wife and fireworks for the kids they chose to keep? Fuck you, Disneyland. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the happiest place on Earth." -JooJooFlop
quote:
Verily, the chocolate bunny rabits doth run and play while Falaanla Marr gently hums:
It depends on the style you go by. The form that I posted is considered to be the correct form. The other can be used but is generally considered incorrect. There are a few cases where it is necessary, however, and those can be found at this link:
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm
You must be an evil journalism type, then. That optional comma before the "and" in a series is never incorrect. It's more correct with the extra comma, as a matter of fact.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
quote:
Bloodsage was naked while typing this:
You must be an evil journalism type, then. That optional comma before the "and" in a series is never incorrect. It's more correct with the extra comma, as a matter of fact.
We aren't evil. We're just misunderstood.
I've spoken with English professors on the subject and have been told it was incorrect. Guess they were feeding me bad information there.
That doesn't make the point that I made any less important. Commas are still way overused around these parts 
"um,,,r u ok?!!1!111!"
The comma is not a period. The comma is not a semi-colon. It is a comma, god dammit.
quote:
Suddar attempted to be funny by writing:
I really hate it when people substitute a comma for more powerful punctuation. We all do it sometimes, but some people do it treat it like a religion.The comma is not a period. The comma is not a semi-colon. It is a comma, god dammit.
Yeah. If you need something less powerful than a period but more power than a comma, there is one underused choice. You can use a dash.
A dash (typed in word as --) can be used to create emphasis on one portion of a sentence where a comma wouldn't be as powerful as you'd like.
Example:
That orc didn't just kill the human -- he obliterated him!
It is a fun punctuation mark, but it must be used sparingly.
quote:
Falaanla Marr had this to say about (_|_):
It is a fun punctuation mark, but it must be used sparingly.
It's like the anal sex of punctuation.
quote:
Falaanla Marr got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
We aren't evil. We're just misunderstood.I've spoken with English professors on the subject and have been told it was incorrect. Guess they were feeding me bad information there.
That doesn't make the point that I made any less important. Commas are still way overused around these parts
The way I understand it, the proper way USED to be to have a comma before the 'and', and now it's more correct not to have one, but neither way is incorrect.
quote:
Nobody really understood why Suddar wrote:
I really hate it when people substitute a comma for more powerful punctuation. We all do it sometimes, but some people do it treat it like a religion.The comma is not a period. The comma is not a semi-colon. It is a comma, god dammit.
I think I overuse semicolons, personally. I know they're outdated, but I can't help it! I love semicolons!
quote:
Kait had this to say about the Spice Girls:
The way I understand it, the proper way USED to be to have a comma before the 'and', and now it's more correct not to have one, but neither way is incorrect.
Bloodsage is going to come and post how you're wrong in a very angry sounding manner.
quote:
Kait Model 2000 was programmed to say:
I think I overuse semicolons, personally. I know they're outdated, but I can't help it! I love semicolons!
How could a semicolon be outdated? They're a vital part of everyday punctuation!
People just don't know how to use them. 
quote:
Suddar had this to say about Robocop:
How could a semicolon be outdated? They're a vital part of everyday punctuation!People just don't know how to use them.
And that's why they're becoming outdated. I know that I don't properly use them myself so I avoid using them. They're very difficult to use properly.
quote:
Falaanla Marr had this to say about dark elf butts:
And that's why they're becoming outdated. I know that I don't properly use them myself so I avoid using them. They're very difficult to use properly.
They aren't really that hard to use; they're rather handy.
quote:
Falaanla Marr had this to say about Duck Tales:
And that's why they're becoming outdated. I know that I don't properly use them myself so I avoid using them. They're very difficult to use properly.
They're not really THAT difficult to use. Really. If a comma is too weak, but a period or colon is too strong, it's usually a good idea to use a semicolon. I'm bad at explaining and I suck at giving examples, but you get the idea.
Also, whenever an item in a series contains a comma, you seperate the items of the series with a semicolon. Again, I'm bad at explaining. But to make the point: when saying "I need milk, cheese, and eggs," it's perfectly okay to use a comma. But then, if you elaborate or otherwise use a comma in the series, you bust out the semicolon: "I need milk, for the cereal; cheese, for my sandwich; and eggs, for my breakfast."
Again, I suck at this and I threw that sentence together pretty fast, but that's the general idea I guess?
). Instead you might find it appropriate for something like "My computer has two processors with a 2.5GHz clock speed, 1MB of cache, and a SOI design; a motherboard with onboard sound, 2 1-gigabit ethernet ports, and a 4 PCI-E slots; and 4 74GB raptors in Raid 01.The easiest use of semicolons is just to join two sentences without 'and' or 'but'. It's definitely not very hard at all unless your native language is not English.
quote:
Snugglits attempted to be funny by writing:
Well, Suddar would be right if those commas were appropriate (but they aren't :().
It was the first thing I could think of, asshole. I was just making a point. :~(
(you're not really an asshole <3u)
quote:
Suddar spewed forth this undeniable truth:
It was the first thing I could think of, asshole. I was just making a point.(you're not really an asshole
u)
It's funny how poorly received I was when I tried to teach the idiots of this board how to punctuate, but when Falaanla does it...
Not that I care anymore, though. I've given up and just joined the idiots.
suddar what r u doin tomorro wanna play sum ddr??
Type how you want to type as long as it's readable. 
quote:
Snugglits had this to say about Tron:
It's funny how poorly received I was when I tried to teach the idiots of this board how to punctuate, but when Falaanla does it...
Not that I care anymore, though. I've given up and just joined the idiots.
suddar what r u doin tomorro wanna play sum ddr??
Well, this thread is all about the English language anyway, and Falaanla brought it up. We're not exactly saying "lol u cant type LOSER!:%??"
Sure I'll play DDR. If you're ready to lose. 
I, personally, still will try to avoid semicolons. While they can be handy, I prefer the dash.
But yes, the one with separating items in a series that are a part of a series is a good use. That's about the only time I will use them. Falaanla Marr fucked around with this message on 04-10-2005 at 07:46 PM.
"Suddar hadn't been well these days; no one could rightly prove that his testicles had fallen off, but no one denied it, either."
quote:
Falaanla Marr obviously shouldn't have said:
Yeah, any posts are welcome, I'm not saying anyone is an idiot for not typing properly or something as noone is perfect. I have a hard time with semicolons. Others have a hard time with commas. This way, everyone learns something new. It just depends on how you bring the subject up.I, personally, still will try to avoid semicolons. While they can be handy, I prefer the dash.
But yes, the one with separating items in a series that are a part of a series is a good use. That's about the only time I will use them.
I consider the dash to be unprofessional. I don't care what the style books say about it. It seems like a cheater's way out of using correct punctuation and to me it only really feels appropriate for informal writing.
Not that you're unprofessional or anything. 
quote:
And I was all like 'Oh yeah?' and Snugglits was all like:
I consider the dash to be unprofessional. I don't care what the style books say about it. It seems like a cheater's way out of using correct punctuation and to me it only really feels appropriate for informal writing.Not that you're unprofessional or anything.
I wouldn't use it in academic writing. Otherwise, it is a completely acceptable form of punctuation -- even if you don't like it.
quote:
Verily, Falaanla Marr doth proclaim:
I wouldn't use it in academic writing. Otherwise, it is a completely acceptable form of punctuation -- even if you don't like it.
Heh, in that case, adding punctuation broke up the flow of your sentence. Isn't that what you were asking people not to do in your first post?
quote:
Snugglits had this to say about Pirotess:
Heh, in that case, adding punctuation broke up the flow of your sentence. Isn't that what you were asking people not to do in your first post?
A comma would have been necessary there. I chose to add emphasis, however, so I used the dash.
Luv u Waisz.
She was, hot! I mean, really, really -- hot!
quote:
Snugglits spewed forth this undeniable truth:
In that case, let me tell you about this girl I saw. I think it requires emphasis.She was, hot! I mean, really, really -- hot!
The dash doesn't work there. The dash can't just be randomly thrown into a sentence. It can, however, replace a comma or semicolon when they aren't quite enough.
Let me rephrase what I said. The dash adds emphasis when it is properly used. The dash, when used improperly, just makes you look like a fool. Falaanla Marr fucked around with this message on 04-10-2005 at 08:36 PM.
quote:
How.... Falaanla Marr.... uughhhhhh:
I wouldn't use it in academic writing. Otherwise, it is a completely acceptable form of punctuation -- even if you don't like it.
Don't you do em dashes straight up against the words on either side, like with ellipses?
Em dashes look funny--they remind me of grilled cucumbers.
u)
