ACCTG 527 -- COMMA USAGE – BASICS



ACCTG 527 -- COMMA (and a little bit of semi-colon) USAGE BASICS

A. When and Where Necessary

1. The new accounting system software was delivered, but the installation will require an additional week.

Why? Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.

Coordinating conjunctions are remembered by FAN BOYS

For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So.

2. We delivered the new accounting system and installed it last week.”

Why?

No comma because construction is independent + dependent clause. Additionally, placing a comma before “and” would separate the subject “we” from its second main verb “installed.” See Item 2 Page 5

3. The new accounting system software was delivered; however, the installation will require an additional week.

Why? Semicolon needed to join two independent clauses that are not connected by a coordinating conjunction. Comma is needed after “however” because it is an introductory element to the second independent clause.

4. (a) Our new factory, which began operations last month, should add 25 percent to total output.”

(b) The accountant, working quickly and efficiently, finished early.

(c) We can, of course, expect their lawyer to call us.

(d) The report, however, needs to be revised.

Why? A pair of commas is used in each sentence to separate non-essential information from the main idea of the sentence.

5. (a) Since we have not yet received all the confirmations, we cannot proceed with the analysis.

(b) In the Mattel audit, Andersen failed to follow through on several key warning signs.

(c) Furthermore, we shall need to advise the audit committee of our findings.”

(d) We cannot proceed with the analysis since we have not yet received all the confirmations.

Why? In sentences (a) through (c), the comma is used to indicate the end of an introductory subordinate element at the beginning of the sentence. Note, however, that if subordinate element is positioned after the main clause, no comma is required.

6. (a) Random House, Bantam, and Doubleday and Dell are individual publishing companies.

(b) Among those present were Ralph Thompson, senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Miami; Hank Ledbetter, president of ABC Corporation; and Cal Mitchell, district manager of Compunet.

Why? Commas are used to separate elements in a series of three or more items. A comma before the coordinating conjunction preceding the last item in the list is not formally required unless it is necessary to avoid confusion (as in Sentence (a). Note, however, that current practice prefers a comma before the coordinating conjunction even if confusion is not an issue.

If there are internal commas in any one or more of the elements in the series, we use semi colons to separate the series items. (See Sentence (b).

7. (a) Morton and Lucia White said, “People live in cities but dream of the countryside.”

(b) “People live in cities but dream of the countryside,” said Morton and Lucia White.

Why? A comma is used before the opening and closing quotes of any direct quotation that is incorporated into a sentence. Periods and commas always precede closing quotes in American usage.

8. (a) We shall meet on October 20, 2005, to discuss our options.

(b) We shall meet 20 October 2005 to discuss our options.”

Why? Commas are used to separate date elements that are formatted MONTH then DAY then YEAR. They are not used if the date is formatted with the day before the month.

9. (a) October 2005 was a cold, blustery month.

(b) It was a foggy autumn morning.

Why? A comma is used between adjectives that modify the noun equally. To test, see if the sense is the same if you join the adjectives with “and” or reverse them. If the sense changes, no comma is used because the adjectives are not equal in their function.

11. (a) The accountant, a graduate of the University of Washington, prepared our tax return.

(b) The accountant is a friend of mine, a person I trust and admire.

Why? Commas are used to separate appositives from their nouns. Appositives are a special case of word groups that present non-essential information. Those placed at the end of sentences are often incorrectly punctuated.

12. (a) On Thursday morning orders will be handled by Jim.

Why? A comma is needed either after “Thursday” or after “morning” to prevent misreading the information.

(b) He was merely ignorant, not stupid.

Why? A comma is used to separate sharply contrasting ideas at the end of a sentence.

(c) You’re one of the senator’s closest aides, aren’t you?

Why? A comma is used to separate an interrogative form of the verb at the end of a sentence.

B. Unnecessary and Inappropriate Usage

The highlighted commas in the following sentences are unnecessary and incorrectly used for the reasons indicated.

1. An eighteen-year old in most states, is now considered an adult.

Why? Don’t separate a subject from its verb.

2. We laid out our music and snacks, and began to study.

Why? Don’t put a lone comma between two verbs that share the same subject.

3. We decided that we should not lend her the money, and that we should explain our decision.

Why? Don’t put a comma before every “and” or “but.” The “and” in this sentence joins two “that” clauses: “that we should lend …” and “that we should explain …”

4. He explained to me, that he is afraid to fly.

Why? Don’t put a comma in front of the direct object of a verb.

5. Accountants are highly respected professionals, they work hard to retain the public’s trust.

Why? Don’t try to join independent clauses with only a comma. This is a comma splice. Refer to Sentence 1, p. 1.

Final note. Don’t rely on Word’s grammar-check! On the previous page, Word picked up the error only in sentence number 6. It identified none of the others.

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