Quiz 43 · Commas — The Talking Hands Series

First, the idea

The photograph above is by Alfred Stieglitz: the hands of the painter Georgia O'Keeffe, one finger wearing a thimble — the sewing hand, protected for close work. Sewing is careful work, done one small stitch at a time, and placing commas is careful work of the same kind. Here is the most useful thing to know about commas: a comma is not a pause. Many people were taught to put a comma wherever they would stop to breathe, and that habit often puts commas in the wrong places. Every comma does one of a few jobs, and the job — not the pause — decides where it goes.

Job 1 — Lists. Commas separate three or more items: The case holds rye, challah, and two kinds of sourdough. (The comma before and is optional; this series uses it. Be consistent.)

Job 2 — After openers. An introductory dependent clause or long opening phrase gets a comma when it leads: Before the manager arrives, Marisol counts the till. And the rule you were promised in Quizzes 32 and 34: when the same clause trails, usually no comma — Marisol counts the till before the manager arrives. Leads: comma. Trails: usually none.

Job 3 — Around interruptions. A clause or phrase that adds information the sentence doesn't need to make its point takes a comma on each side: Daniela, who started in March, runs the counter. But when the clause identifies — says which one — it takes no commas: Bakers who miss the delivery start the day behind. A rough guide: which-clauses usually take the commas; that-clauses never do.

Job 4 — Joining sentences. A comma plus a joining word welds two independent clauses: Pickup starts at seven, and the line moves fast. Quiz 33 already taught the two failures: the comma alone (a splice) and the comma between two verbs sharing one subject — Marisol wipes the counters and stacks the trays takes none, because it's one clause doing two jobs.

This page uses a picture from sewing. A comma is like a stitch: a small mark that holds the pieces of a sentence in place. Someone who sews uses two kinds of stitching. Basting is loose, temporary stitching. It holds two pieces of cloth in place for a while, and you can pull it out later; the cloth is still whole. A seam is the strong stitching that holds a garment together. If you pull a seam out, the garment comes apart. A clause that only adds extra information is like basting: you can lift it out, and the sentence still says the same thing, so it takes a comma on each side to show that it can come out. A clause that tells which one is like a seam: lift it out, and the sentence says something different, so it is sewn in tight, with no commas.

And one place a comma never goes, which catches many writers: never put a comma between a subject and its verb, no matter how long the subject is. You may feel a pause there when you read aloud, but none of the four jobs belongs there.

Worked example — thinking out loud

The removal test means lifting a clause out of the sentence and asking whether the sentence still makes the same claim. Here it is twice. Take Daniela, who started in March, runs the counter and lift the interruption out: Daniela runs the counter. Still true, still the same claim — the clause was extra information about a person already named. It was basting, so it takes a comma on both sides.

Now take Bakers who miss the delivery start the day behind and lift the clause out: Bakers start the day behind. That is a different claim — suddenly it's all bakers. The clause was not extra; it told the reader which bakers. It was a seam, so it takes no commas. The two sentences are built the same way and are punctuated in opposite ways, and the removal test tells you which is which every time. This is why commas matter: put commas around a clause that tells which one, and the sentence says something you did not mean.

Part A · The skill by itself

1. Which list is punctuated correctly?

The pickup shelf holds bagels a seeded rye and two dozen muffins. The pickup shelf holds bagels, a seeded rye and, two dozen muffins. The pickup shelf holds bagels, a seeded rye, and two dozen muffins. The pickup shelf holds, bagels, a seeded rye, and two dozen muffins.

2. Which sentence handles its opener correctly?

While the ovens heat the crew preps the trays. While the ovens heat, the crew preps the trays. While, the ovens heat, the crew preps the trays. The crew, preps the trays while the ovens heat.

3. Which sentence correctly needs no comma?

While the ovens heat the crew preps the trays. The crew preps the trays while the ovens heat. The crew preps the trays, while the ovens heat. While the ovens heat, the crew, preps the trays.

4. Which sentence uses commas around its clause correctly?

Mr. Okafor who opened the shop twenty years ago still bakes on Sundays. Customers, who order before Friday, get their pies on Wednesday. Mr. Okafor, who opened the shop twenty years ago, still bakes on Sundays. Mr. Okafor, still bakes on Sundays.

5. Which is punctuated correctly?

Ahmed lights the ovens and mixes the first dough. Ahmed lights the ovens, and mixes the first dough. Ahmed lights the ovens and, mixes the first dough. Ahmed lights the ovens he mixes the first dough.

6. The tray of morning rolls by the register belongs to the senior center. Where does a comma go?

After "register" Nowhere — the sentence is correct as written After "tray" After "register" and after "rolls"

Part B · The skill in the wild

The bakery's holiday pre-order sheet, going up by the register. Five decision points; at each dropdown, choose the version where every comma is doing one of its four jobs, and no comma is out of place.

OKAFOR'S BAKERY — Holiday Pre-Orders

1(a. We bake challah, rye, and rolls for the holidays. / b. We bake challah rye and rolls for the holidays. / c. We bake, challah, rye, and rolls for the holidays.) 2(a. If you want a large order please call three days ahead. / b. If you want a large order, please call three days ahead. / c. If you want, a large order, please call three days ahead.)

3(a. Ask for Daniela our counter lead when you pick up. / b. Ask for Daniela, our counter lead when you pick up. / c. Ask for Daniela, our counter lead, when you pick up.) 4(a. Orders that arrive after Friday, cannot be guaranteed. / b. Orders, that arrive after Friday, cannot be guaranteed. / c. Orders that arrive after Friday cannot be guaranteed.)

5(a. The doors open at seven, and the first rolls are still warm. / b. The doors open at seven and, the first rolls are still warm. / c. The doors open at seven, the first rolls are still warm.) Thank you — and happy holidays from the morning crew.

The key — and why the tempting answers tempt

Part A

1. C. Three items, commas between them. B puts the comma after and instead of before it, a common mistake. A leaves out the commas, so the reader cannot tell where one item ends. D puts a comma between the verb and its list, where none of the four jobs belongs.

2. B. The dependent clause leads, so the comma follows it — Job 2. D puts a comma between the subject and its verb. You may pause there when you read aloud, but no comma belongs there.

3. B. The clause trails, so no comma — the other half of Job 2. C tempts most: many writers add that comma because they hear a pause there. Leads: comma. Trails: usually none. The same words, the two positions, the two treatments — this pair is the whole rule.

4. C. The clause about the twenty years is extra information; Mr. Okafor is already named, so we know who he is. It is basting, so it takes a comma on both sides. B is the hardest trap. The clause who order before Friday tells which customers get their pies on Wednesday, so it is a seam and takes no commas. With the commas in, the sentence says that all customers order before Friday, which is a different claim. Run the removal test and the difference appears. A leaves out the commas around extra information, and D puts a comma between the subject and its verb.

5. A. One subject, two verbs: Ahmed lights and mixes. That is one clause, so no comma. B tempts because a comma-plus-and is Job 4 — but Job 4 needs two full clauses. Add a second subject (…, and he mixes the first dough) and the comma becomes correct.

6. B. However long the subject — the tray of morning rolls by the register — no comma stands between it and its verb. A tempts because many readers pause after register. A pause is not a reason for a comma; only one of the four jobs is.

Part B — the pre-order sheet

1. a. Job 1, clean.

2. b. The if-clause leads; the comma follows. Option c breaks the clause in half — if you want isn't the opener; if you want a large order is.

3. c. Our counter lead is extra information about a person already named. It is basting, so it takes a comma on both sides. B opens the extra information with a comma and never closes it. Extra information in the middle of a sentence needs a comma on both sides.

4. c. The that-clause identifies which orders: a seam, no commas. B doesn't just look wrong — it claims all orders can't be guaranteed, which is not what the sheet means to say. Commas change meaning, and that is why the test asks about them.

5. a. Two full clauses, comma plus and: Job 4. C is the comma splice from Quiz 33: two full sentences joined by a comma alone. B puts the comma after and instead of before it.