Saturday, April 21, 2018

Punctuation: Comma

 Do not break sentences in two.

In other words, do not use periods for commas.

  I met them on a Cunard liner several years ago. Coming home from Liverpool to New York.

  He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries.

In both these examples, the first period should be replaced by a comma,and the following word begun with a small letter.

It is permissible to make an emphatic word or expression serve the purpose of a sentence and to punctuate it accordingly:

  Again and again he called out. No reply.

The writer must, however, be certain that the emphasis is warranted, and that he will not be suspected of a mere blunder in syntax or in punctuation.

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