- Needless use of comma: In the road, stood a wagon.
- Needless use of commas: The taking of notes, is a guarantee, against inattention, in class.
Slight pauses in a sentence are taken care of by the good sense of the reader. Do not sprinkle commas when the sentence is moving along freely with no complication in the thought.
- Right: In the road stood a wagon.
- Right: The taking of notes is a guarantee against inattention in class.
[2.] To separate an adjective from its noun:
- Wrong: A tall, solemn, antique, clock stood in the hallway. [The first two commas separate the adjectives from each other. There is no reason why antique should be separated from the noun.]
- Right: A tall, solemn, antique clock stood in the hallway.
[3.] Before the first word or phrase in a series unless the comma would be employed if the word or phrase stood alone:
- Wrong: He made a study of, gymnastics, medicine, and surgery.
- Right: He made a study of gymnastics, medicine, and surgery.
- Wrong: He had learned, to be prompt, to think clearly, and to write correctly.
- Right: He had learned to be prompt, to think clearly, and to write correctly.
Exercise:
- Before the workmen finished eating the tunnel caved in. Three Italian laborers were crushed, the others with the foreman escaped.
- Sneed the new chairman proposed that the convention should meet at Cheyenne Wyoming. The suggestion however was according to reports not adopted.
- He had a pen and an ink bottle was in the cupboard. By washing poor widows can earn but scant living.
- Saunders asked, how I liked the Overland car as compared with the Chalmers, the Hudson and the Buick. I started to reply but at that moment we were interrupted.
- People, who steal watermelons, say the stolen melons are sweetest. Farragut who was born in Tennessee was the North's ablest naval commander. The developer is a chemical, which reduces the silver salt.