CONTENTS FEATURE: Comma wields commanding power in separating phrases and clauses GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn up to $500 FEATURE: Comma wields commanding power in separating phrases and clauses      The hackles of all too many writers, editors, journalists and linguistic scholars have been raised in debates about the use of the "serial comma" (which also is known as the "Harvard comma" or "Oxford comma"). The dispute concerns whether or not to insert a comma before the concluding conjunction (typically "and" or "or") in a sequence of three or more items in a sentence. Journalists shun the serial comma, while just about everyone else favors it. Many writers are so adamant in their serial comma posture that they may mistakenly assume that serial comma conventions automatically apply anytime a conjunction appears as part of a sequence of items, including clauses and phrases. That erroneous notion is the topic of this article, but a brief discussion about serial comma principles will help illustrate the distinctions that need to be made.      This discussion arose in response to a question that Hilary H. sent to the EditPros "grammar coach." She wrote, "I'm an editor on both a Canadian and an American publication, and I've been unable to find the answer to my question in either the CP [Canadian Press Stylebook] or AP [Associated Press Stylebook]. When it comes to a series of verbs in a sentence, it appears that a serial comma is used before the 'and,' which is contrary to the rule for nouns. I've noticed, however, that one of the editors on my team always uses a comma before the 'and' even when there are only two verbs in the sentence. For example: 'The government sought dramatic decreases in gang violence by fundamentally changing the relationship between law enforcement and the community, and engaging residents in powerful efforts to re-establish social norms and community supports.' This seems wrong to me, but I can't find anything to support either position. What do you think?"      As Hilary indicated, many grammar books and style guides recommend use of the "serial comma" before the word "and" when listing a series of nouns (such as "planes, trains, and automobiles"), adjectives ("red, white, and blue") or gerunds (participles that function as nouns, such as "cooking, sewing, and gardening"). The Associated Press Stylebook and other journalistic style guides endorse elimination of the comma before "and" in a series ("planes, trains and automobiles").      When commas are optional, we at EditPros recommend dispensing with them. Overabundance of commas can tend to "litter" text like so many dead leaves. Commas are often necessary, however, for clarity.      Both style guides specify use of the serial comma when at least one of the series elements has its own internal coordinating conjunction. Here's an example: "Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Mamas and the Papas."      Under some circumstances, placement of a serial comma may do nothing to alleviate confusion, or may even unwittingly alter meaning. Consider this sentence: At the luncheon, Alan met Janice, an economist and a management consultant. From that sentence, can you determine how many people Alan met at the luncheon? Was it three people? Or perhaps only one: Janice (who works as an economist and a management consultant)? That sentence was written in AP style, but insertion of a serial comma (Alan met Janice, an economist, and a management consultant) would change the intended meaning if Janice IS an economist and a management consultant.      For clarity, toss both stylebooks aside and rewrite the sentence: At the luncheon, Alan met Janice, in addition to an economist and a management consultant or At the luncheon, Alan met three people — Janice, an economist and a management consultant.      Hilary, however, asked about the use of a comma with a series of verbs — or, more precisely — with clauses and phrases. Some complicated sentence structures require an intervening comma before a coordinating conjunction, but others do not. Here are some examples.      Compound sentence:      A comma is required before the coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, for, but, so, yet) in a compound sentence (which consists of two independent clauses). An independent clause is a grouping of words that can constitute a sentence alone. Here's an example: Roger collected the data, but Alice wrote the report.      The independent clauses are "Roger collected the data" and "Alice wrote the report." Either one of those could independently stand as a sentence. Complex sentence:      A comma is required to separate the dependent clause from an independent clause in a complex sentence. Here's an example: Although Roger collected the data, Alice wrote the report.      In that sentence, "Although Roger collected the data" cannot stand as a sentence on its own; even though it contains a verb, it is a dependent clause because it depends upon another sentence for intelligibility. It does make sense when linked to the independent clause "Alice wrote the report." Simple sentence with a compound verb:      A sentence that contains two verbs is not necessarily compound or complex. Here's an example: Roger collected the data and wrote the report.      Although the first segment of the sentence ("Roger collected the data") preceding the coordinating conjunction is an independent clause, the second segment ("wrote the report") is not because it lacks a subject. The two verbs share a common subject — Roger. In this case, a comma should NOT be used before the coordinating conjunction.      If you add a subject to the second clause — thereby changing the statement from a simple sentence to a compound sentence — you'll need a comma. Example: Roger collected the data, and he wrote the report.      Now let's see how — or if — these rules apply to Hilary's example sentence: The government sought dramatic decreases in gang violence by fundamentally changing the relationship between law enforcement and the community, and engaging residents in powerful efforts to re-establish social norms and community supports.      Although that's a complicated sentence, it is neither compound nor complex in the grammatical sense. The portion of the sentence preceding the comma is an independent clause (with associated prepositional phrases performing object and adverbial functions). The material following the comma is a prepositional phrase. It's not immediately recognizable as such because it lacks the implied preposition "by," and because it's so distant from the main clause. If the preposition is restored, here's how the sentence looks: The government sought dramatic decreases in gang violence by fundamentally changing the relationship between law enforcement and the community, and BY engaging residents in powerful efforts to re-establish social norms and community supports.      Both of the prepositional phrases introduced with the word "by" have adverbial functions — analogous to this example: Richard completed the job by working on Saturday and postponing his other assignments.      That sentence does not require a comma. With more complicated prepositional phrases, a comma may be advisable. Consider this one: Richard completed the job by working on Saturday and Sunday and postponing or ignoring his other assignments.      Lacking a comma, the sentence is somewhat confusing. Addition of a comma and insertion of the implied parallel preposition produces an improved version: Richard completed the job by working on Saturday and Sunday, and by postponing or ignoring his other assignments.      We agree with the editor's use of the comma in Hilary's example sentence. A comma may be unnecessary, however, in more concise sentences. When deliberating whether or not to use commas to separate parallel prepositional phrases, clarity should be the determining factor.      The remaining unresolved question is whether or not Alan had to buy lunch only for Janice, or whether he also had to pick up the tab for an economist and a management consultant. GRAMMAR COACH: Fielding your questions 1. Molly H. wrote:      "How do you write: 'home of Molly and Jock Hillman'? Is it: Molly and Jock Hillman's home or Molly and Jock Hillmans' home — i.e., the Hillmans' home?" [Note: EditPros intentionally altered the couple's surname.] The grammar coach replies:      To express joint ownership by two or more individuals, only the last proper name should contain an apostrophe — as in Lucy and Ricky's kitchen — or Molly and Jock's home.      When discussing property that people have or own separately, an apostrophe should be used with each name, as in Lucy's and Ricky's dinners are getting cold.      When discussing property that is jointly owned by a couple who have a surname in common, they can be treated as a unit — Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, or Molly and Jock Hillman. The correct way to refer to their property is Lucy and Ricky Ricardo's kitchen; Molly and Jock Hillman's home.      The form Molly and Jock Hillmans' home would be used only if the family name ended in an "s" (Molly Hillmans and Jock Hillmans rather than Hillman). 2. Fred M. wrote:      "Our local TV news reporters all seem to be afflicted with the same grammar disease. They say, The Ohio State Buckeyes, they are practicing hard.... or The weather, it will be terrific tomorrow. This is not typical speech in Ohio. In fact, television is the only place where it is heard. My question: is there a name for this grammar error?" The grammar coach replies:      The error you cited (The Ohio State Buckeyes, they are practicing hard...) is a grammatical redundancy. The pronoun "they" is unnecessary because the sentence previously named the subject — "the Ohio State Buckeyes."      The sentence should read, The Ohio State Buckeyes are practicing hard.... Addition of the pronoun "they" would be warranted only if the sentence consisted of two independent clauses linked by a semicolon — for example: The Ohio State Buckeyes were defeated yesterday; they are practicing hard today.      Likewise, the pronoun "it" introduces grammatical redundancy in "the weather, it will be terrific tomorrow." That's because "it" unnecessarily restates the subject: "the weather."      Because of their limited time allotments, newscasters ought to be well practiced in expressing themselves concisely and articulately. We further believe that as professional communicators, news reporters are obligated to understand and observe the rules of grammar. You would perform a public service by advising the station's news director of the problem.      Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help—at no charge, just for the sport of it. FINDER'S FEE: Recommend a friend—and earn a finder's fee of up to $500      Do you know of a friend or colleague whose office can benefit from EditPros' services? 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