31. When Do I Use Commas?
Commas are an important yet easily abused element of writing. They show your reader the relative importance of certain elements in your text. They can introduce, divide, or conclude sections, serving as visual signposts and instructing your reader when to "shift mental gears" within a sentence. Used well, they enhance the readability of your writing. Mishandled, they create confusion.
I offer seven of the most common rules of usage regarding the comma.
32. Should That Be Singular or Plural?
Plural nouns cause two major problems in formal writing.
Technically Singular First, Class-, or Group-Nouns
First, class- or group-nouns like "army," "audience," and "student body" are technically singular, even though they refer to a plurality of individuals. They should be treated as singular:
- The Senate, as a rule, makes its opinion known to all.
- The board has voted to fire and replace its Chair.
- If the navy forces its way inside the harbor, it will overwhelm us.
"People" constitutes an exception to this rule. Although it is grammatically singular, it is treated as a plural: "The people of Italy elect people to represent them.
"Non-Count" Nouns
The second problem is that some words called "non-count" nouns do not normally use a plural form: rain, weather, foliage, milk, courage, outer space, and many others. To pluralize non-count words it is necessary to add a word that signifies a unit or measurement of quantity.
- Bad Example: "Different weathers affect various areas."
- Good Example: "Different types of weather affect various areas."
- Bad Example: "She drank three milks at lunch."
- Good Example: "She drank three glasses of milk at lunch."
- Bad Example: "Heavy rainfalls caused havoc across the valley."
- Good Example: "Many inches of heavy rainfall caused havoc across the valley."
Note: This can very complicated when a non-count noun also has a verb form.
- Bad Example: "Extensive rains created hazardous conditions throughout ancient Mesopotamia."
"Rains" here is used like a count noun, but it is actually a non-count noun—like "foliage" or "water." It describes a collection of individual things—in this case raindrops (which is a completely different noun)—as one singular, indivisible thing. Therefore it cannot be a plural.
You can try saying the sentence with a different but equivalent noun to make the point more clear:
- Example: "Extensive senates created hazardous conditions throughout ancient Mesopotamia."
Now the problem is clear: "senate" is a non-count noun and cannot be pluralized. It also does not have a verb form—there is no action “to senate ”—which makes the problem in this example easier to recognize.
33. Am I Being Consistent?
Certain grammatical and stylistic rules are not so much concrete as they are conventional. In that case, consistency becomes paramount. If the party for whom you are writing gives you a standard about certain items, follow their guidelines as opposed to your own. When you are free to choose for yourself, you may use either as long as you are consistent.
I. BC/AD vs. BCE/CE
Both forms refer to the same event in history—the supposed date of Jesus' birth—as the dividing line which separates the ascending versus descending count of years. As such, both forms are correct. So pick your favorite but don't use BC for dates before the modern era and CE for dates after.
II. Euripides' versus Euripides's
Showing possession with an –'s is always important and always follows the hard and fast rules laid out in Section 13. But, as we indicate there, forming the possessive on a noun that ends in –s has two accepted styles. Some publishers prefer one over the other, yet neither is technically more correct than the other. So pick which form you like and stick with it.
III. The Oxford Comma
While many people have a strong preference regarding the Oxford comma—and as a serious author you should develop a serious preference!—there isn't a rule governing when it should and should not be employed. By convention (and as indicated in section 31), the Oxford comma is the default form in English writing. However, many publishers are moving away from its use—including Oxford, for whom it is named!
34. Is This The Clause Which I Want?
Relative clauses are dependent thoughts which are inserted inside a main sentence and usually begin with "which," "that" or "who."
- "The shaduf was an ancient tool which enabled dry farming."
- "The evidence that he produced at the last moment saved him from execution."
- "Those Hebrews who fled survived the Assyrian assault."
Relative clauses modifies a noun by specifying some characteristic of it. They clarify which of a group the sentence refers to or add important information about the noun. While those qualifications are often essential to the thought of a sentence, you should always ask if a relative clause is the best way of expressing them. Sometimes it's better not to include this type of construction because relatives can be bulky and unwieldy. An adjective or participle is often a better choice because it employs fewer words and expresses the thought more directly.
- Bad Example: "The shaduf was an ancient tool which enabled dry farming."
- Good Example: "An ancient tool called a shaduf enabled dry farming."
Here, the removal of the relative clause entailed putting its verb ("enabled") into the main sentence and turning the original main verb into a participle ("called"). The result is a simpler, more direct statement.
There are several ways to avoid a clunky relative clause. One is to use two main verbs:
- Bad Example: "Those Hebrews who fled survived the Assyrian assault."
- Good Example: "Some Hebrews fled and survived the Assyrian assault."
Another is to turn the relative clause into a sequence of nouns:
- Bad Example: "The evidence that he produced at the last moment saved him from execution."
- Good Example: "The production of evidence at the last moment saved him from execution."
35. Who's The Boss?
Modern technology makes the writer's job far easier—and far more prone to error unless you take precaution. When you, as writers, rely on the stroke of the F7 key, the little green and red squiggles below your words, and the digital “brain” embedded in the document programs to do your thinking, you have lapsed into a far greater evil than have those who foisted these “aids” upon you. You have become lazy.
I. Word Selection Errors
Many words will look correct to SpellCheck but are actually the wrong word for the sentence. While some spell checkers will find usage errors, most will not.
- Example: "The rivers to witch the name Mesopotamia refers are the Tigress and You Freights."
- Example: "The sight of Catalhuyuk is now manly a tourist attraction, though manly inspiring archeologists wont to work one a similar a dig.”
II. Context Errors
Other words will pass SpellCheck, and may even pass a cursory proofread, but their usage will depend entirely on the context and meaning of the sentence. Common words like this are:
- Their ("belonging to them"), there ("in that place"), they're ("they are")
- To ("toward"), too ("also"), two ("the second number")
- Your ("belongs to you"), you're ("you are")
- Loose ("not tight"), lose ("misplace")
- Were ("used to be"), we're ("we are")
Other less common (but equally important) mistakes occur some specific words:
- Hoard ("stash of wealth"), horde ("Huns!!!")
- Pour ("dispense liquid"), pore ("opening in a surface")
- Cite ("reference"), site ("location"), sight ("vision")
- Principle ("general rule"), principal ("primary")
- Capitol ("government building"), capital ("important [city]" or "wealth")
There is no room or need to explain these at length other than to suggest that you know the correct term for your context and employ it... well, correctly! Some of these homonymous words are discussed in section 12 (spelling) because they are actually spelling errors when employed in the wrong context.
III. Affect vs. Effect
"Affect" has two pronunciations and two major uses:
- AF-fect (noun): "an emotion or emotional state." This is usually a technical term used by social scientists and the like. This is not a common usage in historical writing.
- af-FECT (verb): "to have an influence on." This spelling is often confused with "effect." It is also the version most commonly employed in historical writing.
- Example: "The quality of Mesopotamian soil was adversely affected by ancient irrigation techniques."
As a noun, "effect" indicates the result of some action.
- Example: "Reports of the Assyrians' brutality had a fearsome effect on their neighbors."
Test
The common phrase "cause and effect" is a handy mnemonic trick, because the second word in this phrase—effect—represents the most common usage of that word in formal writing. Also, "cause" is a verb just like "affect" usually is; therefore, remembering "cause and effect" ought to remind you that "affect and effect" operate in the same way—"affect" is a cause and "effect" is a result. Usually.
- Example: "Cause is to affect as result is to effect." Or, "Affect and result is the same as cause and effect." Or, "Affect and result."
Any of these can work to help you remember which word most commonly means which thing.