🥑 comma-pletely irrelevant

Was that a good pun? No.

Was it secretly an amazing pun? Still no, but I’m not sorry, because now we can talk about five instances when you DON’T need commas.

🚫 Between two independent clauses

If you use a comma between two independent clauses, we call that a comma splice.

Instead, put periods between two complete sentences. This paragraph is Exhibit A.

You can also use semicolons, colons, em dashes, and ellipses in some cases . . . but let’s stick with the comma conversation for now.

EXCEPTION: You can use a comma splice for greater impact in dialogue and conversational prose.

🚫 Between two verbs with the same subject

“He walked into the room and sat down.”

That’s a compound predicate—one subject, two verbs. No commas needed.

EXCEPTION: Use a comma if the first part of the sentence is super long. That’s literally* what the Chicago Manual of Style says.

^{_{*not literally, but it’s the vibe}}

🚫 Around modifiers (sometimes)

Last time, we used this example of an appositive: “My dog, Spot, is happy.” Spot is my only dog, so I use a comma.

But if I have other dogs as well . . .

”My dog Spot is happy.” Spot isn’t my only dog—the other one’s probably named Max or Fido or something generic like that. Don’t use a comma.

🚫 Before essential adjectives

Hoo boy. We’ll cover adjectives in depth another time, but for now, essential adjectives form a unit with the noun they modify? An easy example: “alarm clock.” Alarm is an essential adjective modifying clock.

So if I put another adjective in front of “alarm clock,” I don’t need a comma.

E.g., “a red alarm clock.”

🚫 Before or after quotes that AREN’T dialogue

“Commas separate dialogue from dialogue tags,” I said. That comma is crucial.

But if you’re quoting me as saying that “commas separate dialogue from dialogue tags” in your manuscript (killer line, honestly), no comma is used. It’s being referenced, not spoken.

As always, the most important question is this: will my choice provide clarity or distraction for the reader? If you’re stuck, ask an editor!

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