In this week’s vlog, we look at Bite #177, “It’s Just a Phase, I Mean Phrase,” in my book, Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time.
We talk about comma rules, especially how introductory phrases work and why commas matter for clarity and pacing.
Although some writers skip that comma, I often find myself rereading to understand the sentence’s meaning. My bottom line is simple: I use the comma.
Now tell me, how do you handle introductory phrases and commas?
But whether you comma or not, always remember: The only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
Visual representation of a sentence:
The walkway is the introductory phrase,
the woman frozen in step is the comma,
and the lake is the main clause.
Glad to see you back, Patricia.
My commas tend to appear where I think they clarify the sentence for the reader; I put them when I would make a pause when speaking—and I see I’m not the only one—and if the reading feels awkward, I describe details in an add-on sentence.
Great to see you, Patricia! I’m glad to hear that your ankle is improving and I’m sending good wishes for the PT. Concerning commas, my rule of thumb is whether the comma needs to be there in order for the sentence to make sense. I will sometimes skip a comma after an introductory phrase if I think the pause is disruptive, for example “At least I took the time to say thank you!” In general, I think using too many commas is more prevalent than using too few. It’s a hard-working punctuation mark!
Welcome back Patricia! We missed you terribly and look forward to 2026 sessions. Glad all is going well.
As to commas, I always use after introductory phrases. It lets the reader know the change in the sentence and thought. To me it’s automatic. Introductory sentence, comma. I think Dave may be overthinking this little quotation mark though.
Welcome back, Patricia! As you start your PT ( Patricia Terrific ) phase, we will turn in our “Practice Theses”, with acceptable “Punctuation Targets” loose onto the shared-stories phase. What will the results be like? “Positively Topflight” writing, encouraged by our friends in Life Writers! See you next week! Happy face…. I love commas and try to use them in more cases than not, when I would pause in speaking; whether, or not, the grammatical terminology for its use is known to me. I would like to learn if we should use it after the “or” phrases. I’ll give the… Read more »
I used commas after introductory phrases all the time. It shows a change of thought or idea progression. It would be confusing without the comma.
It’s great to see you! 2026 will be an epic year. I can tell already, because your first vlog is about commas. That means I can bring out my worst comma jokes, like “Keep Comma and Carry On” because I always use commas. I still think about writing a Comma Sutra, if only I could get someone to do the illustrations. I like using commas to separate my sentences, which generally ramble on like an old man at a bar, into coherent phrases. I hear in my head where the commas should go, which is very likely not proper. I… Read more »
Hahahahahahahah
It’s so wonderful to see your smiling face in person! I’ve been thinking of you, and I’m sorry to hear you’ve had some setbacks but happy to know they are behind you. Commas make me think of my high school English teacher. Mrs. Pollitt was a sticker for commas…and everything else! I try to follow all her rules that I remember. Please, continue your wellness journey to a complete recovery.