Few elements of punctuation are as daunting as the comma. When do I use it? Where do I put it? There are rules, and sometimes controversy (Oxford commas come to mind).
Reference this article on 8 basic uses of commas: Commas (Eight Basic Uses)
This month, we will focus on independent clauses.
reference: Independent Clause: What It Is Explained with Examples
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Independent Clause plus a Dependent Clause:
| Boomer, a cat who started life in the park, enjoys playing in my backyard.
The independent clause in this sentence is: Boomer enjoys playing in my backyard. This is a complete thought, with a subject (Boomer), a verb (enjoys), and an object phrase (in my backyard). As an independent clause, the above statement does not require a comma. The following clause is dependent, because it cannot stand alone: a cat who started life in the park The dependent clause is almost a parenthetical description, used to provide a little ‘background’ info on Boomer, but not essential to the main clause. When you add the two clauses togther, you need to separate them with a comma (in this case, two commas, because the dependent clause is dropped into the middle of the independent clause: Boomer, a cat who started life in the park, enjoys playing in my backyard. |
Two Independent Clauses in one Sentence:
Example: The following two clauses are independent because they can each stand alone as a complete thought: My dog is an Australian shepherd. I don’t have any sheep for him to herd. When combined, they need a comma and a conjunction (but) to connect them. My dog is an Australian shepherd, but I don’t have any sheep for him to herd.
Examples: I used to live in Montreal; however, I am not fluent in French. We discovered the thief—it was my next-door neighbor!
reference: Independent Clause: What It Is Explained with Examples |
I hope you have enjoyed my TED talk!
Leanne’s short story, Playing Possum, was accepted by Mystery and Horror, INC for an anthology to come out later this year!
The latest episode of Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater has been released, and our resident actress, Patience Martin, is a featured player.
Magnolia Blossoms, Reggie Chronicles 3 and Heart of the Matter, Reggie Chronicles 4 by Lynda Rees and audio by Sally Barron just came out in audiobook format and should soon be picked up by all audiobook retailers.
We’re delighted to announce that 
Judith Turner-Yamamoto’s work has appeared in StorySOUTH, Mississippi Review, Snake Nation Review, and American Literary Review, among others, and in many anthologies, including Walking the Edge: A Southern Gothic Anthology, Show Us Your Papers, and Gravity Dancers. Her awards include two Virginia Arts Commission fellowships, an Ohio Arts Council fellowship, VCCA and Fundación Valparaiso fellowship residencies, the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize, the Washington Prize for Fiction, and the Virginia Screenwriting Award. Her article assignments, which include interviews with such luminaries as Frank Gehry and Annie Leibovitz, have taken her all over the world, and she has published more than a thousand cover stories and features on the arts, design, architecture, interiors and gardens, travel, food, fashion, and books in such publications as The Boston Globe Magazine, Elle, Interiors, Art & Antiques, The Los Angeles Times, and Travel & Leisure.