The phrase “such as” is punctuated according to the rules of essential/nonessential. …The sciences such as chemistry and physics are viewed to be… …Cars such as Ford and GM are beyond… ..He enjoys Pepsi products, such as Mug root beer, more than… Frankly, it is difficult for me to think of a good example where it does take a comma. …
Tag Clauses
A recent FB answer to why the first kind of tag clauses take a comma and why there cannot be a comma before the word “right” by itself. “Didn’t you’ and “has he” echo the words of the question. They are a shortened form of the question. …He was there early, wasn’t he [there early]? …She was not the …
One More Time…
What do we do with “…my son Scott…?” Comma or not? This is the “essential/nonessential” dilemma, the hardest concept in all of punctuation. I would suggest that you read the entire chapter in my book on this. It is Chapter 4. The rule is very difficult to condense into a few sentences. When I explain it, it is about 30 …
The Word “Though”
The word “though,” when it is alone in the middle of the sentence, is surrounded by commas. …I think he knew, though, that this was the end. …He was standing, though, near the door. At the end of the sentence, it takes a comma in front of it. …He was leaning against it, though. …I didn’t really understand it, though. …
Run-On Sentences
A frequent statement on FB by those asking for punctuation help: “The attorney keeps using run-on sentences.” Just a note of clarification: Run-on sentences are created by bad punctuation. They cannot be “said.” This is what was said: “The man came into the bank. He was alone.” A comma after “bank” or no punctuation after “bank” makes it a run-on. …
A Prepositional Phrase Beginning with “Of”…
A prepositional phrase beginning with “of” that represents where a person works or where he is from and that follows a proper noun takes commas around it. Other prepositional phrases do not take these commas. …John Jones, of Smith and Jones… …John Jones, of Buffalo… …Mary Smith, of USC, is speaking at the symposium. …Mary Smith, of Seattle, Washington, is …
And…
…We were there, know what I mean, with them, know what I mean, when one of them drew a gun, know what I mean, and began to threaten everyone. Happy punctuating! Margie
“Do You Know What I Mean?” and Other Nonquestions
When someone has a language “glitch” and uses a word or phrase over and over, that word or phrase is surrounded by commas. …He was, like, on the, you know, edge that day. …The company, like, you know, did not really have, like, a policy, you know, on that. When this type of element is normally a question but is …
Dependent Clauses
This is an email question from yesterday. ……Okay. Now, you told us, Ms. Ryan — right? — at one point you got up [, or ;] you left the room [, or ;] and you went to the bathroom. Is that right? Amid all the other punctuation issues, the question is do we need semicolons or commas between the three …
Punctuation to Get Out of Quotes
When there is punctuation to get into quotes, there must be punctuation to get out. In other words, if there is a comma before the quote, there has to be some mark of punctuation at the end of the quote. …He said to her, “I am not interested in your excuses,” after she was late for the fourth time in …