* See the Comma Usage in Daredevil Section Below As an Example

COMMA-SENSE

1. As a starter activity for between six and twelve lessons, introduce either one or two of the twelve comma rules which follow.

2. Once you feel that your class has a rudimentary understanding of these rules then, at the start of each subsequent lesson, project three appropriate sentences from a text of your choice and ask your students to respond by simply stating which comma rules have been applied.

* See the ‘Comma usage in Daredevil’ section below as an example:

TWELVE RULES FOR USING COMMAS

Rule 1: Only use a comma when absolutely necessary; if in doubt, leave it out. If you think of the sentence as a highway, then unnecessary commas are like bricks in the road. They severely hinder the smooth flow of traffic.

Rule 2: Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the word ‘and’ can be inserted between them.

EXAMPLE:

Karen Page is a beautiful, vibrant woman and Matt Murdock is a tall, handsome man.

You could say: Karen Page is a beautiful and vibrant woman AND Matt Murdock is a tall and handsome man. Thus, the comma is required.

She and Matt visit a picturesque seaside location whilst on an out of town business trip.

You would not say picturesque and seaside location so a comma is not required.

Rule 3: a) Use commas before or surrounding the name or title of a person directly addressed.

EXAMPLE:

Karen, will you have dinner with me?

Yes, Matt, I will.

b) You should also use a comma when the inclusion of a name is additional information as opposed to being in the main flow of meaning.

EXAMPLE:

Author: Peter Morrisson See the example for Rule 8.

Rule 4: Use commas to embed individual words that interrupt the sentence flow.

EXAMPLE:

Matt, though, does not feel as confident as he might look as he issues this invitation.

Rule 5: Use commas to embed clauses or phrases that interrupt the sentence flow.

EXAMPLE:

Matt, secretly in love with Karen, is very nervous about this dinner date.

N.B. Clauses and phrases which fall into this category will not be in the main flow of meaning. The way to recognise them is to ask yourself if it would be possible to put brackets around them and thus isolate them from the rest of the sentence. If the rest of the sentence would still make perfect sense without this bracketed section, then it is extra / additional information. In order to demarcate (separate out) such extra / additional pieces of information, you need to embed them using a pair of commas which work like brackets.

Rule 6: But do be careful when using embedding commas in conjunction with words like WHO, WHICH and THAT (relative pronouns). If the information is essential to the reader’s understanding of the subject of the sentence (i.e. the person or thing being referred to), then the information is not additional and thus does not interrupt the sentence flow. In such cases, the information should not be embedded and so the commas are unnecessary:

EXAMPLE:

Matt, who has movie star looks, is very shy when he is around Karen.

It is perfectly clear that the subject of the sentence is Matt and so the physical description of him is additional and, therefore, embedded.

The man who has the movie star looks is very shy when he is around Karen.

This time, we do not know who is being referred to and so the ‘movie star looks’ information is essential to helping the reader identify who the subject of the sentence is. In fact, ‘the man who has the movie star looks’ has now become the subject. Therefore, it is in the main flow of meaning and thus should not be embedded. This is why commas have not been used.

Rule 7: When starting a sentence with a subordinate (weak) clause, use a comma after it. Conversely, do not use a comma when the sentence starts with a main (strong) clause followed by a subordinate (weak) clause.

EXAMPLE:

Because Karen is employed as his secretary, Matt has avoided revealing his true feelings to her.

(Comma required)

Matt has avoided revealing his true feelings to Karen because she is employed as his secretary.

(Comma not required)

Author: Peter Morrisson Rule 8: Use a comma when beginning sentences with such single word sentence-starters (introductory words) as: ‘However’, ‘Alas’ and ‘Conversely’.

EXAMPLE:

Alas, this reticence has resulted in Karen unenthusiastically dating Matt’s business partner, Foggy.

N.B. See rule 3 for the explanation as to why there is a comma before ‘Foggy’.

Rule 9: Use a comma when beginning sentences with short phrase sentence-starters (introductory phrases) such as ‘On occasions’, ‘From time to time’, ‘Without further ado’.

EXAMPLE:

On occasions, Foggy has seriously wondered about the nature of Karen’s feelings for Matt.

N.B. It seems to be the case that when starting a sentence with anything other than a main clause, you will most likely need to put a comma after it, e.g. if beginning a sentence with a subordinate clause, short phrase sentence- starter or a single word sentence-starter.

Rule 10: Use a comma to demarcate (to separate) clauses if it will help avoid confusion or make the meaning clearer and easier to understand.

EXAMPLE:

Matt wonders if it is time for a change, time to finally reveal the feelings that he has suppressed for so long.

Rule 11: Use commas to separate direct speech from narrative.

EXAMPLE:

Karen can see that Matt is deep in thought and asks, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

Rule 12: Use commas to separate items in a list.

EXAMPLE:

Matt can sense that Karen is deeply disappointed about his failure to open up his heart to her from her sad tone of voice, frequent sighs, sudden silences and obvious reluctance to continue the conversation.

Basically, most of the above could be summarised as follows. Use commas:

 when beginning a sentence with anything other than a main clause

 in order to demarcate (separate out) extra / additional information which is not in the main flow of meaning

Author: Peter Morrisson  in order to separate words, phrases and clauses when it is necessary to make the overall meaning of the sentence clearer for the reader

* FINAL NOTE:

 A comma splice is an error caused when two sentences are separated with a comma instead of with a full stop.

 A run-on sentence is an error caused by placing two sentences together without any form of punctuation at all.

INCORRECT:

 The evening has not been a success, they both leave feeling disappointed. (Comma splice)

 The evening has not been a success they both leave feeling disappointed. (Run-on sentence)

CORRECT:

 The evening has not been a success. They both leave feeling disappointed.

 The evening has not been a success and they both leave feeling disappointed.

Author: Peter Morrisson Comma usage in Daredevil Episode 163: Beware … The Hulk!

Activities

Lesson Starter 1

1. Stan Lee presents Daredevil, the man without fear!

2. He dwells in eternal night but the blackness is filled with sounds and scents that other men cannot perceive.

3. Though attorney Matt Murdock is blind, his other senses function with superhuman sharpness, his radar sense guiding him over every obstacle.

Lesson Starter 2

4. He stalks the streets by night, a red-garbed foe of evil!

5. The occasion, a hundred dollar a plate fund raiser to launch the re-election campaign of district attorney Blake Tower, is also attended by highly successful blind lawyer, Matthew Murdock.

6. But the main topic of conversation this evening centres around a misunderstood man- monster, The Hulk.

Answers

Lesson Starter 1

1. Stan Lee presents Daredevil, the man without fear! Rule 10

Author: Peter Morrisson 2. He dwells in eternal night but the blackness is filled with sounds and scents that other men cannot perceive. Rule 1

3. Though attorney Matt Murdock is blind, his other senses function with superhuman sharpness, his radar sense guiding him over every obstacle. Rules 7 and 10

Lesson Starter 2

4. He stalks the streets by night, a red-garbed foe of evil! Rule 10

5. The occasion, a hundred dollar a plate fund raiser to launch the re-election campaign of district attorney Blake Tower, is also attended by highly successful blind lawyer, Matthew Murdock. Rules 3 and 5

6. But the main topic of conversation this evening centres around a misunderstood man- monster, The Hulk. Rule 3

Author: Peter Morrisson