Where They Belong: Commas & Semicolons

Written by Samantha Steelman

Does anyone ever feel confident in where to put that comma or that semicolon? What is it about those two punctuation marks that are so intimidating? Growing up, many teachers drilled into our heads that commas should be placed wherever you think you should take a breath. This has led to a life time of comma splices. I am not sure if this was how everyone was taught where to put a comma, but based on my college and tutoring experience, I feel confident in saying a lot of students do not know where to put a comma or a semicolon. With that being said, let’s get into the basics.

Commas ( , )

First, a major error many young writers (and older ones too) make: comma splicing. A comma splice is basically when there is a comma placed in a sentence that doesn’t need to go there. The most common misuse of a comma is using a comma between and independent clause and a dependent clause. Here is an example:

“I love to write, but hate writer’s block.”

In this example, “hate writer’s block” is not an independent clause, so the comma is not needed in this sentence.

There are many rules to remember when it comes to where to put a comma. Today, we will only be focusing on a few comma rules.

Independent Clause Introduced by a Coordinate Conjunction

This is one of my favorite comma rules and one of the easiest for me to remember! First thing’s first, when you have two independent clauses separated by a coordinate conjunction (FANBOYS – For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) there should always be a comma before the coordinate conjunction. Now, what exactly does that mean? An independent clause is just a complete sentence or a sentence that can stand on its own.

“I love to write, but I don’t love writer’s block.”

In this example, “I love to write” is an independent clause. “I don’t love writer’s block” is also an independent clause because it can stand on its own. You could write this statement as two complete sentences, or you can combine them together with the addition of a coordinate conjunction and a comma!

Introductory Phrases

Introductory phrases always come before independent clauses. I like to think of them as introducing the sentence with extra information. The Grammarly blog does a great job at explaining this concept. “An introductory phrase is like a clause, but it doesn’t have its own subject and verb; it relies on the subject and verb in the main clause. It sets the stage for the main part of the sentence. When you use an introductory phrase in your writing, you’re signaling to the reader that the central message of the sentence is yet to come.” Here are some examples given of introductory phrases:

“While getting ready for bed, Susan heard a knock on the door.”

“After the meeting was over, the staff was exhausted.”

“During the production of the film, the director nearly quit.”

“After riding his bike around the neighborhood twice, Rob was sweating profusely.”

Participial Phrases

Participial phrases are a bit tricky! As defined by Grammar and Usage in the Classroom, “Participials are the present or past participle forms of verbs used as adjectives. . . Participial phrases normally follow the nouns they modify. However if the participial is nonrestrictive, it may be moved away from the noun it modifies” (Lester, 188). Usually, participial phrases start with the participial (past or present verbs used as adjectives), so if you keep this in mind, participial phrases will be easier to spot. Here are some examples from Grammar and Usage in the Classroom:

“Picking their spot carefully, the hikers set up camp.”

“Senator Fogg stalked out of the room, ignoring the reporters’ shouts.”

“Worried about his grades, Chadwick decided he had better get to work.”

“How could you have paid the fine, being completely broke?”

Semicolons ( ; )

Semicolons are much easier to understand because they only have one rule! The only time a semicolon should be used is if it is separating two complete sentences without a coordinating conjunction. A semicolon is best used when one wants to combine two like sentences. For example, if I was writing a paper about household pets, I might say something like this:

“Dogs love companionship. They are great pets to have for people who desire friendship.”

Because these sentence are talking about similar subjects, I could combine them together by inserting a semicolon between the two:

“Dogs love companionship; they are great pets to have for people who desire friendship.”

That’s all to it! I hope I was able to ease some anxiety about when to know to use a comma or a semicolon. By familiarizing yourself with some of the comma rules, figuring out where to put a comma becomes so much easier!

Rules Are Meant To Be Broken

Written by Charles Dyer

If you hearken back to your elementary school English classes or even a high school course, you will probably hear the voice of your teacher saying, “Do NOT start a sentence with ‘and,’ ‘but,’ or ‘so.’ Don’t do it!” It was drilled into your budding writer’s brain. I still remember the red marks on my papers. I wince at the thought.

Then came the shock of college writing.

After years of writing essays, reports, and analyses, college professors spouted blasphemy to my face. My hands trembled as I started placing ‘And’ at the beginning of sentences. I could feel the shadows of former English teachers collectively reaching for a red pen to strike down the nonsense I was committing on the page.

My world was turned upside down, and suddenly conjunctions were foreign to me. What was real? What was a farce? Were my English teachers uneducated? Are my professors playing a cruel joke on me?

If you, reader, are anything like me, you have experienced this kind of literary existentialism.

As I wrote more and more in college, I realized that this rule-breaking was common. Experimental writing was okay- encouraged even. It wasn’t that college professors didn’t abide by the rules of writing or that they didn’t understand them. It was precisely because they knew and understood the rules of writing that allowed them to throw the rules to the wind when they wrote.

Rules are meant to be broken in writing, but rules are necessary to a writer’s foundation. How can one break a rule purposefully if one is unaware of said rule? Hint: one can’t!

As you develop your writing and your unique writing style, you’ll notice ticks and patterns in the words, rhythm, and structure. These are your most precious belongings. Keep them close and nurture them. No one writes exactly like you. Your literary fingerprint is what makes you shine among the rough.

But (GASP) what if that style ends up breaking some rules like what I did at the beginning of this paragraph? Breathe. It’s okay. If your writing makes sense to a reader – if it entertains, informs, persuades, or mesmerizes the reader – you’re doing something right.

Develop your writing to the point that you break rules willfully and skillfully.

DISCLAIMER: Do not take this as a “get out of jail free” card. There are still consequences for breaking the rules of writing. Don’t become a complacent writer, breaking rules to save time and brain power. This must be purposeful rule-breaking, and you should always be prepared to defend your writing choices.

Some of the most powerful and entertaining writing is crafted with a little experimentation, but in order to experiment, a writer must know what traditional or typical writing looks like. Once you know where the ground is, you’ll know which way is up. Then, you can write the stars. Cheesy? Yes. True? I’d bet my career on it.