Re: grammar tricks

[COBLENTZ@DT3.DT.UH.EDU]

This is certainly not a real trick, and you should use it only when 
confident that the student you are talking to is not armed.  

After several silly minutes of coping with commas, say:

"Here is the ultimate comma rule.  It always works.  It's fail-safe.  
Are you ready to receive the secret to control commas forever?" 

Be sure you get the student's eager pledge that she will use the secret
hid from her for so long.  

"Always use a comma where one belongs;  never use a comma where one
doesn't belong."

Is that true, or what?  

Having reduced the tension, you can then move on to something serious, like the
second rule of commas:

"If you use one comma between a subject and verb, use another."

This one sounds as dumb as the first, but it's real.  It can also be restated 
as a *never* rule:

"Never use one comma between a subject and a verb."

If you're coping with a clever student, she will find the coordinate
adjective exception, but for most case, this works.  You cansubstitute
"between major sentence elements" for "Between a subject and its verb" and
still be helpful.

The trouble with comma tricks, of course, is that they assume a basic 
understanding of the way sentence parts relate to each other.  

On the other hand, giggling with students about commas has got to helpful,
doesn't it?

Linda Coblentz
UH-Downtown
coblentz@dt.uh.edu