Nicole Parker Answers and Asks Grammar and Punctuation Questions: December 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Comma Usage Question

"don't put a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows it (except for cases of extreme contrast).

Incorrect: She was late for class, because her alarm clock was broken.

Incorrect: The cat scratched at the door, while I was eating.

Correct: She was still quite upset, although she had won the Oscar. (This comma use is correct because it is an example of extreme contrast)"

source: Purdue OWL: Commas

Friday, December 9, 2011

Lie, lay, laid, lain

LIE versus LAY
Lie vs. Lay usage Present

Lie, Lying: to tell a falsehood:
Present: I lie, and I am lying.
Past: I lied about eating the cake.
Past Participle: I have lied about eating ice cream too.

Lie, Lying: to recline
Present: I lie, and I am lying.
Past: I lay down after eating too much cake last night.
Past Participle: I have lain down for hours and hours on cold winter Sundays.

Lay, Laying: to put or place
Present: I lay the book on the table, and I am laying down the book.
Past: I laid the slippers next to the bed.
Past Participle: I have laid many coins on store counters in the past.

Hints that might help to remember:
LaiN is for sleeping, which happens at Night.

LaiD and LaiD: Always put or place the 'D' at the end.

I lay down yesterday....I lAY down yesterdAY.

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If anyone sees any mistakes, or wants to add on, please do so!

After reading so many rules from so many sources, in so many contexts, I've decided that no one really knows absolutely what's right and what's wrong. If they do, I would love to see the exhaustive list. Anyway, I'll start.

Commas:

Ex: Use commas with lists, dependent clauses, and after introductory phrases.

Ex: I have red shoes, a black headband, and a blue bicycle.

Everyone knows you use commas when you have a list of 2 or more things. The confusion comes about whether or not you put a comma before the "and" before the last item. You do. (Unless you work at a newspaper or magazine company.)

Ex: When you called I had an entire popsicle.
When I said you were stupid, I had eaten most of my popsicle.

Personally, I feel like a comma should always be used after a prepositional phrase; however, from what I've gleaned, if there's a prepositional phrase that's less than 5 words, you don't need a comma to follow.
However, if the phrase is 5 or more words, use a comma. This seems to be up for debate though. I think if you want to use a comma in a prepositional phrase, no matter how long it is, you may. If you use a comma, I think you'll always be correct; if you don't, you could be wrong.

Ex: If you were 8 years old, you would think that rule was silly.
If there is a dependent clause preceding an independent clause, use a comma to separate the two. (as shown above) If an independent clause precedes a dependent clause, do not use a comma.

Ex: The woman at the store, whose name I do not know, was very nice.

Commas come before and after paranthetical phrases. (non-restrictive) If you could take a phrase out of a sentence, and the sentence would still make sense, it is paranthetical; hence, surrounded by 2 commas.

If a phrase is necessary to the meaning of a sentence, it's considered restrictive and does not require commas around it.

Ex: The woman at the store who had red hair was very nice.

The difference between restrictive and non-restrictive can be confusing, to me anyway, but just think: if you're talking about a woman at a store, that could be anyone, so you NEED to mention that you're talking about the one with red hair. If it's obvious what woman you're talking about, and you want to mention that she has red hair, as an aside, then it's non-restrictive, and you use commas before and after the phrase.

The Semi-Colon
At first, I thought she was nice; however, now I know better.
She has curly hair; I have straight hair.
I used to think that aside from using a semi-colon after words like "however," "otherwise," "therefore," etc., you also used them when you wanted a longer pause than a comma seemed to provide. Now I don't think that's correct. You definitely DO use a semicolon before the words I listed above (and then a comma after the word,) but you use a semi-colon to join two independent clauses, when you don't use a conjunction (in which case you'd use a comma.)