‘Comma comma comma comma chameleon’
If your week has been ruined because this blog post is not about the ’80s hit “Karma Chameleon,” by the Culture Club, let me be perfectly honest: I’m worried about you. Get help.
No, this post is about what is by far the most common mistake I see in published material: books, newspapers, magazines – you name it. (Strangely, I’ve never seen this mistake, to be outlined below, made by graffiti taggers; maybe they’re smarter than we think.)
What is wrong in the following sentences?
• She purchased a cheap, denim coat.
• They toured a dank, British castle.
• He was a savvy, first-string quarterback.
There should be no commas in all three.
Don’t think so? Try substituting every comma in the preceding sentences with the word “and.”
• She purchased a cheap and fur coat.
• They toured a dank and medieval castle.
• He was a savvy and first-string quarterback.
These sound goofy because in every sentence, each use of the word “and” should be eliminated. In the same fashion, the commas should also be nixed.
Why? Although the words “fur,” “medieval” and “first-string” are normally used as adjectives, in the preceding examples they’re actually used as nouns.
The nouns in these examples are not “coat,” “castle” and “quarterback.” They’re actually “denim coat,” “British castle” and “first-string quarterback.”
Another way of looking at this: The quarterback in the third sentence is not savvy and first-string; rather, “first-string quarterback” (the noun) is savvy (the only adjective).
Here are four more examples. All of the commas in red should be deleted.
• The Rolling Stones performed at a famous, iconic, open-air theater.
• The Raiders drafted a powerful, fast, intelligent, outside linebacker.
• Times hired several experienced, freelance writers.
• Phil Mickelson is a rich, famous, talented, friendly, professional golfer
If you keep your mental radar pointed in this direction, you’ll see this mistake in professionally edited material on a regular, if not daily, basis. Just don’t do it yourself.
Love this! And hadn’t heard the litmus test but it’s a great way to assess for comma use. I have another one for you and I see this one misused constantly by people who are making a sincere attempt to use proper grammar – when to use I or me when referring to yourself and others in a sentence. The rule should be as prevalent as “i before e,” yet I don’t think 80% of people know it or are taught it at all. It’s so simple that to judge if I or me is used, take the other person out of the sentence. I’m sure this would help MANY people to know that saying “so and so and I” is not always the proper phrasing.