WRITER 2 WRITER: WRITER'S CHALLENGE #1

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Welcome to Writer 2 Writer, my weekly discussion of topics important to...you guessed it...writers! Today I'm introducing a new game called WRITER'S CHALLENGE.  I give you two examples of a sentence and you tell me which one is correct! Today we're going to tackle COMMAS.

Let's get started!  Here is the first two examples:

A)  Jeannette slammed the bedroom door and Brian flopped back onto the bed.

B)  Jeannette slammed the bedroom door, and Brian flopped back onto the bed.


Answer:  B

Rule:  Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

Tip:  If you can remove the conjunction and read each clause as an independent sentence (each with a noun and verb) then a comma is required.

 
Let's try one more that is closely related:

A)  Billy opened his book and sat down to read.

B)  Billy opened his book, and sat down to read.

Answer:  A

Rule:  Don't put a comma between the two verbs or verb phrases in a compound predicate.

Tip: If you remove the conjunction and one clause cannot form a complete sentence, a comma is not required.