The comma, if used improperly, can kill you. Or at least your job prospects.
In our global village, where individuals connect professionally through email, blog posts, and countless other forms of online written communication, and such communication necessarily happens quickly, strong grammar skills can make or break your career. Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit and Dozuki, and Cheryl Conner, founder of Snapp Conner PR, have both stated that poor grammar skills will (Wiens) or may (Conner) prevent them from hiring you. Why?
Grammar is not, as most think, arbitrary. The rules typically make sense. The underlying goal is simple: clarity. If, as researchers claim, writing reflects thinking, prospective employers can discern much about your potential and current ability from grammar. If you use proper grammar, they will assume that your thinking is organized and you are detail oriented. Revising and editing your writing is a MUST!
The comma is crucial to demonstrating clear thinking, allowing us to show how ideas are connected and what is essential or trivial.
Nuts and bolts time. One major segment of comma use involves subordination and coordination. Both words come from the same Latin root: ordination (order), but they have different prefixes to indicate different types of order. Sub means under: Here one idea is less important than another. Co (or com) means together: Here both are equally important.
Let’s start with subordinate ideas. Note: Both subordinate ideas and main ideas have subjects AND verbs.
Subordinate ideas involve time, cause, purpose, or concession.
Time: When does the main activity occur?
Words signifying this relationship: after, as, before, since, until, when, while
Cause: Why does the main activity occur?
Words signifying this relationship: as, because, for, since, unless
Purpose: What effect does the main activity have?
Words signifying this relationship: in order that, so that, such that
Concession: Under what conditions does the main activity occur?
Words signifying this relationship: although, despite, even though, if, provided that
The Rules
1. Use a comma AFTER subordinate ideas when they come at the BEGINNING of a sentence.
Time: After I finished coding, I tested the program.
Cause: Since the temperature was low, the DNA on the bottle did not degrade.
Purpose: So that I will be ready for the marathon, I have been running 10 miles a day.
Concession: Despite the fact that I am afraid of heights, I climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
2. Use a comma BEFORE subordinate ideas when they come at the END of the sentence IF they involve cause or concession (EXCEPT in the case of because).
Cause: I lost twenty ponds, as I had been biking to work every day for a year.
BUT
I lost twenty ponds because I had been biking to work every day for a year.
Concession: I was sweating profusely, even though the temperature had dropped enough for snow to fall.
Oftentimes, we recognize subordinate ideas unconsciously, using the appropriate word naturally. However, if we do not engage in revising and editing (adding or deleting commas), readers may not understand us.
To be continued…