Putting The Comma In Its Place Often Becomes A Judgment Call

In a recent issue of National Review, Bill Buckley penned a lovely little farewell to William Shawn, the late, great editor of The New Yorker. No one writes these lapidary pieces better than Buckley, and this was a jewel.

He recalled that in 1970 Mr. Shawn - he was always "Mr. Shawn," never anything else - purchased excerpts from Bill's "Cruising Speed" for first publication in the magazine. Subsequently he invited the author to lunch, in order to discuss the final editing. In the course of their conversation Mr. Shawn said, "Mr. Buckley, I really do not think that you know the correct use of the comma."

Well, pooh! In that reproach the venerable Mr. Shawn exhibited a nice conceit. He doubtless knew "the correct use of the comma" in The New Yorker, but modesty should have stopped him at that point. In many instances, there is no such thing as an invariable "correct use" of the comma.

Consider, if you please, the use of the comma in serial constructions. Is it "red, white, and blue" or is it "red, white and blue"? Wilson Follett, one of the all-time great authorities on copy editing, had no doubts or reservations. He demanded a comma between ALL members of a series. He defended this rule "on the commonsense ground that to do so will preclude ambiguities and annoyances at negligible cost."

The Chicago Manual of Style, perhaps the ultimate authority on these things, is just as positive: "When a conjunction joins the last two elements in a series, a comma is used before the conjunction."

On the other hand, The New York Times' Manual of Style and Usage goes the other way: "In general, do NOT use a comma before `and' in a series." The Los Angeles Times has the same rule: "Use commas in a series but NOT before the conjunction." So, too, The Associated Press: "Do NOT put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series."

What, then, is the "correct usage" of the comma? Come close, if you are writing for publication, and I will whisper in your ear. The correct usage of the comma is whatever your editor tells you is the correct usage of the comma. That is the long and the short of it. If you disagree with that proposition - that is, if you disagree stubbornly, adamantly and nastily - perhaps you would like to write for some other publication?

Let us talk common sense. We punctuate for two reasons only - for clarity, and for cadence. Why did I just put a comma after "clarity"? I put it there for cadence' sake. I wanted to slow the sentence down. The comma provided a pause for emphasis and for separation. The punctuation would have been equally "correct" if I had written ". . . for two reasons only, for clarity and for cadence."

Consider: "The door flew open and Lancelot fled." Now, again, "The door flew open, and Lancelot fled." What is the correct usage? It depends entirely upon the meaning one intends to convey.

When the comma is omitted, we have a sense of ongoing narrative. We anticipate that something more is to come. "The door flew open and Lancelot fled. Guinevere turned to the guards. . . ." Insert a comma after "open," and the sentence changes. The pause provides a dramatic effect. "The door flew open, and Lancelot fled." The affair is over.

In certain constructions the comma is indispensable. "Helen is a pretty tall woman." Or, "Helen is a pretty, tall woman." The whole meaning of the sentence is controlled by the comma in, "Helen saw Fred when he came in, and blushed."

Some months ago a TV guide described a documentary on alcohol: "It includes comments from writers Mike Royko and Studs Terkel, bartenders and former drinkers." Omission of a comma after "bartenders" left the sentence in shambles. We have to go for clarity first.

In many constructions a comma may subtly alter the meaning. "My son Michael challenged the speaker" is not quite the same thing as "My son, Michael, challenged the speaker." I would put a comma after "her" in this sentence: "Ronald adored her, and she him." Without the comma it sounds as if one were speaking Chinese.

Believe me, most of the "rules" for use of the comma are more guidelines than rules. The Chicago Manual of Style offers 43 guides for the placement of a comma. The first of the guides says: "The use of the comma is mainly a matter of good judgment, with ease of reading as the end in view."

(Copyright 1993, Universal Press Syndicate)