Shorter oxford english dictionary breakup

Crystal offers, as a general rule, that phrases longer than 7 words are more likely to take a comma in such cases.

The last, longer wind-up is much easier to read with an elocutionary comma separating it from the main clause, and some would argue that this comma is grammatically obligatory. In this qualitative research study conducted by Sinclair et al during the shift to competency-based medical education in Canada, the focus was residents’ experience of workplace-based assessment. In this qualitative research study the focus was residents’ experiences of workplace-based assessment. In this qualitative research study, the focus was residents’ experiences of workplace-based assessment. (As Crystal acknowledges, the trouble is when these two factors are in tension, but that is beyond the scope of this brief paper.) Ĭommas can be used, or not, to set off ‘wind-ups’, those introductory phrases at the head of the sentence: The tighter the semantic link, the less likely the comma. The longer the length, the more likely the comma. In deciding whether to use them, you will usually be weighing their effect on elocution: do they help the reading process? According to Crystal, two factors are important in such decisions: 1) the length of the phrase to be separated and 2) the tightness of its semantic link with the rest of the sentence. These commas, however, are not obligatory. Complicating matters, comma preferences are often presented as if they were rules. These preferences have evolved across history, with a more modern, minimalist approach to commas prevailing now in comparison with a 100 years ago. The aim of this Writer’s Craft section is to help you ascertain when commas are prohibited, when they are necessary, and when they are unnecessary but acceptable as a matter of preference.Įditorial preferences for comma use abound. Getting control of your commas requires distinguishing between rules and preferences, which map closely onto the grammatical and elocutional schools of comma use. What’s tricky is that both approaches are still alive and well, so that most of us have been trained, explicitly or implicitly, to use a bit of both in our writing. In the grammatical school, which arose with the advent of the printing press, commas express grammatical relations among parts of the sentence. In the elocutional school, with its origins in antiquity, commas indicate intonation and pauses in oral speech. It turns out that there are two broad schools of punctuation, and understanding them can help us to unravel the complexities of comma use. But, as David Crystal insists in his history of punctuation, variation in comma use is neither infinite nor totally idiosyncratic. This is because comma use is not fully explained by rules it depends in part on taste. Ask someone about comma rules and even those who begin with confidence are likely to trail off apologetically. The comma is arguably the most misunderstood of punctuation tools. The purpose of a comma is to separate clauses within a sentence, phrases within a clause or words within a phrase, in order to succinctly and unambiguously express meaning. How do you decide? Do you treat commas like salt, sprinkling them over your writing according to your personal taste? Have you a vague sense that, like too much salt, too many commas are bad for you? Or are you an adherent of the ‘breathing’ rule, inserting commas wherever a reader might need an O 2 break? Have you ever wondered why those editing your work have removed one comma but not another? But many of us struggle to know where exactly to put them. We encourage readers to share comments on or suggestions for this section on Twitter, using the hashtag: #how’syourwriting?Ĭomma placement can radically alter the meaning of a sentence. Each entry focuses on a key writing feature or strategy, illustrates how it commonly goes wrong, teaches the grammatical underpinnings necessary to understand it and offers suggestions to wield it effectively. In the writer’s craft section we offer simple tips to improve your writing in one of three areas: Energy, Clarity and Persuasiveness.