Monday, November 14, 2011

Commas galore, or not so much?

Okay, so I've been going over my favorite reads, and I go back and forth with the rules on how to appropriately use a comma. What I see from my favorite authors and many different publishers is that no one really uses the same rules, and when they use them, it is not always applied even within the same writing! Yes, I'm still a knowledge thirsty noob for correct grammer, and what I'm realizing is that these rules are to be used, but not all the time, and it doesn't always make sense to me when these 'sometime rules' are applied.

For instance, and I'd like to take a vote on this simple example, feel free to comment, and please do!

Commas in a list, simple, right? Not so much!

The boy went down the windy road, saw a black crow, and threw a rock at it.

So do you use the last comma before 'and'? Even in the official grammer rule books, and online, I've found that the answer is: not always. Hmm... This is so not helpful, lol.

2 comments:

  1. Is there a specific writing style for paranormal romance novels? There are many different styles: MLA, APA, Chicago, etc. APA style says yes, you use the comma.

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  2. Mandi, I use The Chicago Manual of Style. Now that said I read an article the other day that said commas are subjective--go figure. Marian

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