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398 PUNCTUATION In the next examples the comma separating two coordi- nated verbs (while not necessary because of their length) gives the idea more emphasis: We turned to them, and paused. At night we were stained by dew, and shamed into pettiness by the innumerable silences of stars. T. E. Lawrence t> The Comma with Lists and Series A list or series consists of three or more grammatically parallel words or constructions such as three of four subjects of the same verb, say, or three verbs of the same subject, or four or five adjectives modifying the same noun. The items in a list, or series, may be joined by coordinating conjunctions ("She bought bread and eggs and cheese") or by parataxis ("She bought bread, eggs, cheese"). The most common method is to combine parataxis and coordination, linking the last two items with and, or, or but not, and joining the others paratactically: "She bought bread, eggs, and cheese." When a list or series is completely paratactic, commas are used between the items: Oriental luxury goods, jade, silk, gold, spices, vermilion, jewels, had formerly come overland by way of the Caspian Sea. . Robert Craves When it is completely coordinated, the commas are usually omitted: She was crying now because she remembered that her life had been a long succession of humiliations and mistakes and pains and ri- diculous efforts. jean Rhys In the combined method (the most frequent practice), a comma goes between each pair of paratactic elements and is STOPS 399 optional between the final coordinated pair, the choice de- pending on the preference of the writer or the policy of an editor. The first of these examples uses the comma; the second does not: Fifty years ago, when all type was set by hand, the labor of several men was required to print, fold, and arrange in piles the signatures of a book. Carl Becker His plan was to clinch his teeth, shut his eyes, whirl the club round his head and bring it down with sickening violence in the general direction of the sphere. p. G. Wodehouse But whether you choose to place a comma between the final coordinated items or to leave it out, you should follow the same practice consistently in any piece of writing. Finally about lists and series, remember that semicolons are conventionally used between all items when any item contains a comma within itself. PUNCTUATING A SERIES I. Combined parataxis and coordination: commas and optional comma bread, eggs, and cheese II. Completely paratactic: commas bread, eggs, cheese III. Completely coordinated A. Conventional punctuation: no stops bread and eggs and cheese B. Optional punctuation: commas for emphasis or rhythm bread, and eggs, and cheeses IV. Series with a comma in one or more items: semicolons bread, which she found too moldy; eggs; and cheese \> The Comma with Adjectivals An adjectival is a word, phrase, or clause functioning as an adjective. 400 PUNCTUATION Single-Word Adjectives Most single-word adjectives are restrictive—that is, essential to the meaning of the nouns they modify. A restrictive adjec- tive is placed after the noun marker, if there is one (a, an the, some, this, any, and so on), and is not punctuated (italics added in the following examples): The angry man sat down abruptly. However, adjectives are often used in a rather different sense, being either placed before the noun marker (when one is present) and followed by a comma, or after the noun and set off by commas: Angry, the man sat down. The man, angry, sat down. They may even be pushed to the end of the clause and pre- ceded by a comma: The man sat down, angry. In such patterns (especially common with participles acting as adjectives), the word really functions more like an adverb. It tells us something about the action (in this case, how or why the man sat down) rather than about the noun (the man himself). Such "adjectives" are punctuated. Finally about single-word adjectives: when two or more are used together they are not usually punctuated if they are co- ordinated. However, should emphasis require it, the second of a pair of coordinated adjectives may be set off by commas: It [England] always had a peculiar, and a fond, relationship with the papacy. Paul Johnson STOPS 4OI When two or more adjectives are run together without con- junctions, they must be punctuated for clarity: A novel is in its broadest definition a personal, a direct impression of life. . . . Henry James Participial Adjectival Phrases Used restrictively, participial phrases follow the noun and are not preceded by a comma: A man leading a horse was walking inland from the sea. W. S. Merwin Often, however, participial phrases function nonrestric- tively. They supply pertinent information about the noun they modify, but not information essential to understanding its meaning in the sentence. Nonrestrictive participles are al- ways punctuated. They may precede their noun; follow it, introduced between it and the verb or remainder of the clause; or be postponed to the end of the clause. In any case they must be followed, set off, or preceded by commas: Born to lowly circumstances, he came up the easy way. Samuel Hopkins Adams Words, being but symbols by which a man expresses his ideas, are an accurate measure of the range of his thought at any given time. Albert C. Baugh For years he had been blackmailing the rector, threatening to pub- lish the facts about a certain youthful escapade of his dead wife. Robin G. Collingwood Adjectival Clauses Adjectival clauses are less flexible in their positioning than the participial phrase: they must follow their noun. But they too may be either restrictive or nonrestrictive, and they are punc- tuated accordingly. Restrictive clauses are not punctuated; nonrestrictive ones are set off by commas when they fall 402 PUNCTUATION inside the main clause, preceded by commas when they fall at the end: 2 At the apex of the social pyramid, which was still nominally Re- publican, stood the Emperor Augustus. Robert Graves All images are symbols, which make us think about the things they mean. Susanne K. Langer Nonrestrictive clauses are sometimes used in a loose sense, to modify not a single noun but an entire idea. Such clauses are introduced by which, placed at the end of the sentence or clause they modify, and always preceded by a comma: Lenin was cruel, which Gladstone was not. Bertrand Russell COMMA WITH ADJECTIVAL I. Single-word adjectives Restrictive: no comma The angry man sat down. Nonrestrictive: comma(s) Angry, the man sat down. The man, angry, sat down. The man sat down, angry. II. Participial adjectival phrases Restrictive: no comma The man sitting down looked angry. Nonrestrictive: comma(s) Sitting down, the man looked angry. The man, sitting down, looked angry. III. Adjectival clauses Restrictive: no comma The man who was sitting down looked angry. Nonrestrictive: comma(s) The man, who was sitting down, looked angry. 2. This rule reflects current American practice. Sometimes in older usage all adjectival clauses were punctuated without regard to whether they were re- strictive or nonrestrictive in meaning. STOPS 403 > The Comma with Adverbials An adverbial is any word or construction used as an adverb. Adverbials are more flexible in their positioning than adjec- tivals, modify more kinds of words, and convey a wider range of meanings. Consequently their punctuation is especially variable. In the discussion that follows, advice about using commas with adverbials must be understood as loose gener- alizations, which skillful writers frequently ignore or adapt to their particular need to be emphatic or clear or rhythmic. Single-Word Adverbs When simple adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other ad- verbs, they are not usually punctuated (italics are added in the following examples): He wept quietly. The people were extremely happy. Everyone was very deeply concerned. Sentence adverbs (those that modify an entire clause rather than any single word) are more frequently punctuated. In composition, sentence adverbs often take the form of con- nectives, qualifiers, and what may be called "attitudinals" (words like fortunately or unhappily that express a writer's attitude toward the statement he or she is making). Mostly such words are punctuated, whether in the opening, inter- rupting, or closing position (italics added): Further, Hamlet's world is a world of riddles. Maynard Mack Unhappily, the gibe has point. Brand Blanshard In spite of all these dissimilarities, however, the points of resem- blance were quite as profound. Bertrand Russell But, luckily, even at the dreariest moments of our pilgrimage there were compensations. Aidous Huxley I missed that class, fortunately. student 404 PUNCTUATION There is, however, considerable variation in punctuating such sentence adverbs. Some (however, for example) are al- ways punctuated. With others (therefore, luckily, fortunately) the comma(s)—while probably more often used than not— may be omitted if the writer does not like the pause and feels that clarity does not require it. When the coordinating conjunctions and, but, for, or are used to introduce a sentence, they are not punctuated, even though they are acting, for all intents and purposes, as con- junctive adverbs: But we stayed. NOT But, we stayed. Adverbial Prepositional Phrases In the first position, when they open a sentence, adverbial prepositional phrases may or may not be punctuated. Much depends on the conventions regarding specific phrases, on the writer's own preference, and on the need for clarity or em- phasis. Some idiomatic phrases are usually followed by com- mas; this is especially the case with those acting as sentence adverbs signaling logical relationship or attitude (for example, on the other hand, of course): For example, in 1913 there was produced in Great Britain seven billion yards of cotton cloth for export alone. Carl Becker Less formulaic phrases are often punctuated or not, ac- cording to the writer's sense of rhythm: In a crude way, Mickey Spillane is something of an innovator. Charles J. Rolo Of Pushkin's shorter stories The Queen of Spades is perhaps the most entertaining. Rosemary Edmonds However, if there is any chance that an initial phrase may be misconnected, a comma should always be used. These two sentences, for instance, would be clearer with commas: STOPS 405 In writing these signals must be replaced by punctuation. In business machines are built to become obsolete within a few years. In each case the object of the preposition can be misread as grammatically tied to the following word, as if the writers were talking about "writing these signals" and "business machines." Within a sentence adverbial phrases are punctuated with great variability. What the phrase modifies, where it is placed, what rhythm or emphasis the writer wants are all important. A key consideration is whether or not the phrase is felt as an interrupter—that is, as intruding into the normal grammatical flow of the sentence. If it is, set off the phrase by commas. Interrupting phrases often come between subject and verb: Jerusalem, of course, contains more than ghosts and architectural j monstrosities. Aldous Huxley 1 Barrett Wendell, in his admirable book on writing, points out that clearness and vividness often turn on mere specificity. Brand Blanshard But they may come elsewhere: And their former masters were, from the start, resolved to maintain the old difference. Oscar Handlin Coughlin's activities were clearly, after Pearl Harbor, intolerable. Wallace Stegner Newspapermen have always felt superstitious, among other things, about Lindbergh. John Lardner In such cases the writer is seeking clarity or emphasis. The option is not so much whether to punctuate the phrase as where to place it. Any of the phrases in the three examples above could be positioned, and more idiomatically, at the end 406 PUNCTUATION and would then probably not need commas. But placed where they are, they do require punctuation. At the close of a sentence or clause, adverbial phrases are not generally punctuated: The party adjourned to the kitchen Herbert Asbury He was quiet and in-dwelling from early boyhood on. John Lardner Final adverbial phrases may be isolated for emphasis, though the technique quickly loses value if overworked: They were not men of equal status, despite the professed demo- cratic procedure. Harry Hansen And why is this picture an absurdity—as it is, of course? George Orwell Adverbial Clauses In initial position, when they precede the main clause, adver- bial clauses are usually punctuated: If we figure out the answer, we feel devilishly smart; if we don't, we enjoy a juicy surprise. Charles j. Rolo When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer. George Orwell A writer has the option of omitting the comma after a short initial adverbial clause if clarity will not suffer. (British writers seem to exercise that choice more often than do Americans): When he describes the past the historian has to recapture the rich- ness of the moments, . . . Herbert Butterfield However, the comma should never be left out if there is any possibility that readers will see an unintended grammatical connection between the last word of the adverbial clause and STOPS 407 the first word of the following construction. In the sentence below, for instance, a comma after "sail" would prevent read- ers from the misstep of thinking the writer is referring to "sail boats": When you are first learning to sail boats seem to be very cumber- some things. Adverbial clauses in an interrupting position are conven- tionally punctuated: The whole thing, as he himself recognized, was a clean sporting venture. P. C. Wodehouse On occasion, if no operations were scheduled for the next day, he would be up early and out on an all-day hunt after getting only one Or tWO hours of sleep. Ralph K. Andrist Adverbial clauses in the dosing position may or may not be punctuated. The primary considerations are clarity and rhythm. A comma generally helps readers follow the gram- mar, especially before clauses expressing a concession or qual- ification: The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, although the judges could not agree on any one opinion. Roger Fisher Now I seldom cuss, although at first I was quick to open fire at everything that tried my patience. Richard E. Byrd On the other hand, some writers prefer to omit the comma when the main and the adverbial clauses are both short and unpunctuated within themselves. The comma is often omitted before because if the pause might seem overly emphatic: Locke thought traditional theology worthless because it was not primarily concerned with truth. Paul Johnson [...]... predicative possessive forms of the personal pronouns, however, do not use an apostrophe: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs Its is especially likely to be misused, probably because of confusion with the contraction it 's for it is Never use it 's for the possessive of it: The cat washed its tail NOT The cat washed it 's tail The possessive of who is whose, not who 's, which is the contraction of who is t>... several syllables if it would result in an awkward combination of sounds: Jesus' ministry NOT Jesus 's ministry Xerxes' army NOT Xerxes 's army When the plural form of a family name is used in the possessive, the apostrophe alone is called for: the Browns' house, the Johnsons' boat Pronouns Indefinite pronouns form the possessive by adding - 's: anyone 's, anybody 's, someone 's, everyone 's, and so on The predicative... possessive form of nouns and some pronouns, the contraction of two words, and the omission of sound within a word It also appears in the plurals of certain abbreviations t> Apostrophe to Show Possession Common Nouns In their singular form common nouns that do not end in -s or another sibilant add - 's to show possession: the cat 's bowl, the girl 's hat, the boy 's jacket Singular nouns with a final sibilant... function that is uniquely its own Instead it acts as a strong comma and as a less formal equivalent to the semicolon, the colon, and the parenthesis As a substitute for the comma, the dash signals a stronger, more significant 414 PUNCTUATION pause For that reason it should be used sparingly, reserved for occasions when emphasis is really needed t> The Dash Isolating Final Constructions Dashes force an... convert American Indians had not been hypocritical David Levin When the idiomatic phrase more or less is treated as a suspended construction, it always requires commas to distinguish it from its more common meaning Usually more or less signifies a qualified affirmation, and then is not punctuated: He was more or less interested = He was mildly interested STOPS 413 But when more or less is used in a strict... that the dash is less formal: In short, says the historian Friedrich Heer, the crusades were promoted with all the devices of the propagandist—atrocity stories, over-simplification, lies, inflammatory speeches Morris Bishop t> The Dash Around Intrusive Sentence Absolutes An intrusive sentence absolute is a completely independent second sentence which is stuck into the middle of a containing statement... pause before the last word or phrase of a sentence: Our time is one of disillusion in our species and a resulting lack of self-confidence—for good historical reasons Barbara Tuchman So the gift of symbolism, which is the gift of reason, is at the same time the seat of man 's peculiar weakness—the danger of lunacy Susanne K Langer t> The Dash Around Interrupting Phrases and Dependent Clauses Dashes may... sibilants, practice varies If the noun is monosyllabic, it is conventional to add the full - 's: Henry James 's novels, John Keats 's poetry But opinion differs when proper names have more than a single syllable Some people prefer - 's, some the apostrophe alone: THE OTHER MARKS Reynold 's paintings 419 OR Reynolds' paintings However, the -s should be omitted from the possessive of names containing several syllables... and television programs) With newspapers the title is what appears on the masthead, except that it is now customary not to italicize an initial article: the New York Times Names of ships are also italicized, as are the titles of long musical works (symphonies, tone poems, operas; songs and shorter compositions are referred to in quotes) O Underline Foreignisms Any foreign expression that has not been... Definitions When a word is defined, its meaning is sometimes put in quotes, the word itself being italicized: 42.6 PUNCTUATION Other-directed means "accepting and living by the standards of the social group to which one belongs or aspires." Slang and Colloquialisms It is not necessary to place quotation marks around slang or colloquial expressions, apologizing for them, so to speak If the term says exactly . Apostrophe to Show Possession Common Nouns In their singular form common nouns that do not end in -s or another sibilant add -&apos ;s to show possession: the cat&apos ;s bowl, the girl&apos ;s hat,. Dash Around Interrupting Phrases and Dependent Clauses Dashes may set off dependent interrupting constructions such as nonrestrictive adjective clauses, adverbial phrases and clauses, appositives,. List The colon conventionally introduces a series of specifics. The dash, however, is employed for the same purpose. The only difference is that the dash is less formal: In short, says the historian