What’s sweeter than a Pina Colada? A well-placed comma.
“Place a comma anywhere you’d take a breath.”
Sound familiar?
Let’s just go ahead and set fire to everything you learnt in school. Maybe except how to play Hot Cross Buns on the recorder. Definitely a useful skill…
Did you know that commas control the reader’s experience and have actual rules around their usage?
We use commas to:
offset additional info
separate an intro, multiple thoughts, & independent clauses
create lists
identify the name of a subject
but most importantly, create a pleasant experience for your reader
I’m all for utilising different sentence lengths, paragraphs, bullet points, and headings for readability — more on those later — but commas are the tiny floppy penis looking things that make a big difference.
Today, let’s chat additional info.
Nice and easy: use a set of commas to offset a clause, phrase, or words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Little less easy: there’s a few types.
Let’s take a look at three.
Parenthetical Expressions: phrases or words that interrupt and aren’t part of the independent main clause (main sentence).
Strippers, also known for their admirable strength, have the ability to rock a set of heels without imitating a newborn giraffe.
Appositive Phrases: phrases that define or give more info about a noun (subject of the sentence).
Your dog, the one covered in mud, loves to dig holes in my garden.
Conjunctive Adverbs: adverbs that occur in the middle or end of a sentence as extra material.
The cop, however, did not find it as funny as I did.
Or
The cop did not find it as funny as I did, however.
So, hop, to it! Take a little looksy at where you’re placing your floppy penises and ensure they’re not just “when you’d take a breath”.
Peace out, comma nerds.
Lis
May your copy be kick-ass!
Last updated 20/1/25
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