Comma Use

     The comma is my bane.  I tend to write a lot of run-on sentences.  I misuse the comma frequently, so this Thursday Truth might be mostly for me.  However, I'm sure there are others out there who may benefit from it.

     I had a teacher who often told me, "When in doubt, leave it out."  As I've studied the use of the comma, I'm finding that the exact opposite is true.  Most of the texts, blogs, and other online help say to put one in if you have a doubt.  I was in elementary when I received the, "when in doubt" advice, so maybe the teacher was trying to fix a child's problem of just throwing commas everywhere.  The truth is, this concept still confuses me.  Proof of that may have already been exemplified in the writing of this page, but, like I mentioned before, the comma is my bane and I'm trying to defeat it.

     Let's get started with a few basic rules:

1. Use a comma to separate the elements in a series.  example: "The teacher taught the lesson, gave us homework, and asked us to study for the test." This one always throws me because writers (especially newspaper writers) take liberties with the rule, and it is considered acceptable to leave out the last comma.  The rule says to put a comma between all of the elements in a series, including the last two.  The exception is when there is an "and" between the last two elements.  When you use a comma there it is called a Serial Comma or the Oxford Comma.  The problem with leaving it out would be that the last two elements could seem to be meshed together as one element instead of two in the series. (i.e. macaroni and cheese). So, "When in doubt, leave it out," does not work here.  In fact, "when in doubt, put it in," is better. 
2. Use a comma and a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, yet, so) to connect two independent clauses.  This is another one which throws me off because many writers will leave out the comma in sort, balanced independent clauses.  I've read from several resources, mainly The Gregg Reference Manual , that it is always correct to put it in.  I've seen heated debates on blogs and writer's groups over this issue.  Some writers, I presume, feel that it cramps their creative style, and the sentence flows better without the comma.  If you are a well versed, creative, and a grammatically correct person, and you feel that you can leave the comma out, then go ahead.  For the rest of us, "when in doubt, put it in."
3. Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements.  A parenthetical element would be a phrase which could be removed without changing the essential meaning of a sentence.  example: "The teacher, for the most part, doesn't like giving homework over the weekend."  The phrase "for the most part" could be removed and the essential meaning of the sentence wouldn't change.  This is difficult for me, and many others, to follow.  This concept is actually the first rule mentioned in The Gregg Reference Manuel.  When talking about the comma, it begins by defining essential and nonessential expressions in a sentence.  The easiest way you can tell the difference is by trying to omit the expression.  If you can leave it out without affecting the meaning or structural completeness of the sentence, the expression is nonessential and should be set off by commas.  Sometimes, however, you need to say the sentence out loud to determine if the expression is essential or nonessential. example: Nonessential: "Finch and Helwig would prefer, therefore, to limit the term of the agreement for two years."  Your voice tends to drop when saying "therefore."  Essential: "Finch and Helwig would therefore prefer to limit the term of the agreement to two years."  By switching the words "therefore" and "prefer" you change the emphasis of the word "therefore," and you will notice that your voice doesn't drop while reading the sentence aloud.  This rule is huge, so bear with me.  Appositives (a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause which sits next to another noun to rename it, or to describe it in another way) are almost always parenthetical elements, and should be set off by commas.  example: "Mary, his wife of thirty years, suddenly decided to start her own business."  The phrase "his wife of thirty years" is an appositive, and could be removed without changing the sentence.  However, writers will often omit the commas if the appositive is closely related.  example: "His wife Mary suddenly decided to start her own business."  In this sentence "Mary" could be set off with commas, and that would, in fact, be correct, but many writers will leave out the commas because we assume he only has one wife, and the "His wife Mary" phrase could be considered a single unit.  I know, I'm confused, too.  Once again, I refer to "when in doubt, put it in".  You may even have editors remove these commas, but it is correct to have commas there.  When city and state, or state and country are mentioned together, they are always considered a parenthetical element.  example: "Salt Lake City, Utah, is where I was born."  The exception (yes there's always an exception) to this rule is when the state or country is possessive.  example: "Salt Lake City, Utah's weather is crazy."  There is no comma after "Utah" because it's possessive.  Addressing a person by name is a parenthetical element, so long as the name is that of a person actually being spoken to. example: Parenthetical: "Tom, would you like to read the next page?" Not parenthetical: "I would like to hear Tom read the next page."  Interrupting elements, afterthoughts, transitional expressions and independent comments (however, therefore, on the other hand, obviously, in my opinion, of course), descriptive expressions, dates, and names are all set off with commas under this rule.  I make more mistakes with this rule than any other grammatical rule because there are exceptions to almost every aspect of it. I've read through seventeen different sources to compile this information, and I'm still a little confused.  Basically, when you have  a doubt, use a comma or rephrase the sentence.  
4. Introductory Elements.  This sounds like it should be under the rule of parenthetical elements, but in many cases the sentence changes completely without the use of the introductory element, so it gets its own rule.  example: "Fighting two monsters at once, he suddenly realized he was in trouble."  You could drop the introductory phrase "Fighting two monsters at once," but then you wouldn't know why he suddenly realized he was in trouble.  Of course writers have taken to leave out commas if it is a brief introductory phrase. example: "Yesterday afternoon we sat around all day."  Many will write the sentence like this, but it is always correct to use the comma after "afternoon".  "When in doubt, put it in."
5. Coordinate adjectives.  There are two rules to determine if the adjectives are coordinate adjectives; If you can put an and or but between the adjectives, and if you can reverse the two adjectives then they are coordinate adjectives, and you would use a comma.  example:  "The tall, mysterious woman stayed away from the crowd."  You could say, "The tall and mysterious woman..." or "The mysterious, tall woman...", and it would flow either way just as easily as with the commas.  On the other hand, some adjectives aren't Coordinate adjectives.  example:  "Allen owns several blue wool sweaters."  Both "blue" and "wool" are adjectives, but you can't reverse them, nor put an and between them.  "Allen owns several blue and wool sweaters."  "Allen owns several wool blue sweaters."  This rule seems easy, but some adjectives are tricky, so make sure to use both methods to determine if they are coordinate adjectives.
6. Quoted Elements.  I guess the biggest issue here would be to determine what the actual sentence is.  I know it sounds silly, but a lot of people have problems with this.  example: "'Run away, fast,' Tom yelled."  "Run away fast" could be a stand alone sentence, and "Tom yelled" could, too, but they are one sentence.  That is but the easiest aspect of the rule.  When quoting in literature, most authors know to put a comma between the quote and the attributing phrase.  It becomes more difficult when you write like I've been writing, taking sections of quoted material and infusing them into a sentence.  In these cases, do not use commas to set off quoted elements introduced by the word that, or quoted elements that are embedded in a larger structure.  I have probably made this mistake in this very lesson of comma use.  Luckily, we don't quote often when writing novels, so good luck college kids, scientist, journal writers, and others who quote a lot.  You can find a good resource here.
7. Expressing Contrast.  This is a rule that just is...  It makes sense to me, but I suppose others could have trouble with it.  Put a comma between contrasting phrases.  example:  "The world will end in fire, not ice." 
8. Avoid confusion and say what you mean.  There are several funny examples online about the absence of a comma changing the meaning of a sentence to say something funny.  I'll try to keep it serious here.  example:  "Outside the house looked horrible." vs "Outside, the house looked horrible."  One is saying that outside looked horrible from the inside of the house, the other is saying that from the outside, the house looked horrible.  Use a comma to say what you mean and avoid confusion.
9. Never use only one comma between a subject and its verb.  This is a famous rule of punctuation, but I'd bet we all violate it through ignorance or on accident now and again. example: "Believing completely and positively in oneself is essential for success."  I want to put a comma after "oneself," don't you?  We pause there when we speak, so it seems natural to put a comma there, but it breaks the rule.  
10. Proofing.  You will write things that make sense in your head.  Read them out loud and see if there are pauses.  I use too many commas, but reading something out loud helps me.  

Good luck, and safe punctuating!