Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Comma Or No Comma


Here's a dope correspondence my mom and I had over email today. I hope you like it.

***

Hi Ma,

It's time to play that game, "Comma or No Comma?"

Now, the old Chad, who thought he was Hemingway, would not have put a comma after the word "email" in the second sentence (below).

But after having read Warriner's and its authors' rationale, I'm starting to insert commas in such places.

Would you go for the comma there, like I did?

-Me

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Dear Ms. x

You are a lifesaver. I will have my gf arrange all the paperwork. Do you want the documents via post or email, or should I bring them to you?

All my best,

Chad

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P.S. Just for kicks, here is an excerpt from "The Old Man and the Sea." The lack of commas in this one sentence must be a stylistic thing, because I think grammar books definitely would call for commas:

"But tonight the smell of the land breeze came very early and he knew it was too early in his dream and went on dreaming to see the white peaks of the Islands rising from the sea and then he dreamed of the different harbours and roadsteads of the Canary Islands."

***

Hi Chad,

According to "The Harper Handbook," a comma belongs there.  You're separating two independent clauses joined by a simple coordinating conjunction.

Mom

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

God, she's good. I would have placed a comma there, too. I'm going to have to start playing that game with her as well.