Yes, I am a bit comma mad. Some have even called me the Comma Nazi, albeit affectionately (or so I like to think. 😀 ) I do not understand the issues people have with commas. To me, they make perfect sense, and prose makes very little sense when they are left out or in the wrong place.
People, commas are your friend. Yes, yes, they are. They don’t want to upset you. They don’t want to confuse you. They only want to make your prose clearer. Without our little friend the comma, you would be in reading hell. (I know I am.) And when a comma is misused, it makes me very, very sad.
Grammar Nazi
Much like a Grammar Nazi and their insistence on the use of their, there, they’re, I want proper usage of commas.
Okay, I admit it. I am a Grammar Nazi, too. It comes with the territory of being a publisher. I cannot help myself. Ask any of my authors, they will tell I frequently pull out the whip and flog them (metaphorically speaking) when I see grammatical errors. I go a little nuts with improper capitalization. That’s rampant… everywhere. When I see that, I scream inside. (It sounds a bit like Charlie Brown’s scream of frustration. Sometimes, I even scream out loud.)
Why? Why? Why?
My biggest pet peeve of the missing commas is when someone is addressed in passages of dialogue. The person’s name or nickname needs to be offset with commas. It’s not hard. Matter of fact, it’s pretty easy. And, yet, people still don’t get it.
Eg.
Correct: “Hi, Peggy, how are you?”
Incorrect: “Hi Peggy how are you?”
Those two little commas. They are so pretty. They are meant to be there. Please include them. They get very sad when you don’t. 😀
Or
Correct: “What do you think about that, Dad?”
Incorrect: “What do you think about that Dad?”
It’s such a little thing, but it’s so powerful.
That’s right, let’s eat Grandpa.
See, see, it’s important!
And, sometimes, I resemble this lama, just ask any of my authors/editors. LOL
The lama Comma Nazi
Go ahead, say it fast. Lama Comma Nazi. Lama Comma Nazi. Lama Comma Nazi… 😀 Yup, that’s me, although I’m not quite that hairy. LOL
And, yes, there are other comma rules that bug me. Do you really want me to elucidate on that, though? Haven’t I bored you enough with commas?
You didn’t bore me with commas, you expressed what I think all of the time! People, people, I know you hated English class, and I’m sorry your teachers were boring (though if you’d have had me as your teacher, you’d NEVER say boring!) But please write grammatically correct sentences if you want to be understood. There’s a reason the rules are there…use them!
I loved English, Fiona. I was one of the few who enjoyed parsing. It was a challenge and fun. Yeah, I’m odd. I’m sure that’s part of how I ended up as a publisher. LOL