Comma Coma #7: When You Have an Introductory Word, Phrase, or Clause, Insert a Comma.

A sentence has a primary subject and a verb:

Stephen Harper (subject) is (verb) our former prime minister.


There might be other parts of the sentence with subject-like words and verb-like words, but you need to be able to identify your primary subject and verb.

We often put introductory material in front of the primary subject and verb.  It might be 

• a single word:

Finally, Stephen Harper is our former prime minister.

• a phrase:

In my dreams, Stephen Harper is our former prime minister.

• or a subordinate clause (nouns and verbs that do not form a stand-alone sentence):

Whenever I think about Canada's future, Stephen Harper is our former prime minister.

Separate the primary subject and verb from the introductory material with a comma, especially if the intro is long.

QUIZ:  Insert the missing commas:

1. If I were showing my work at a gallery in another city it would appear to my dealer that he was losing potential income rather than capitalizing on an opportunity.
2. When she would eventually talk to me I would be very surprised and ultimately upset.
3. Having not seen any warnings signs I would feel defensive and respond as if I was under attack

Answers 1.  after "city"; 2.  after "me"; 3.  after "signs"

Parallel Structure ~ Blurred Lines

Towards the end of the last century, one of my college students wrote, "I work with men, women, and truck drivers."

I suggested he change it to "mechanics, accountants, and truck drivers" or "men, women, and intersex people."  

What Is Good Parallel Structure?
Parallel structure involves writing so that the connecting or balancing parts of a sentence have the same grammatical structure.

Examples of Incorrect Parallel Structure:  

1. At that time, I was young, very eager to search for opportunities and did not have much confidence in myself. 
2. When she arrived late at my dinner in a halter and started handing out her new CD, I judged her as selfish for being late, not wearing appropriate clothing, and promoting herself to one and all.”
3. I did not explain alternate solutions such as contacting the ombudsman or visit a counsellor.
4. My coworker will often speak to me about the issues she encounters at work and when she is frustrated by our manager's ambiguous instructions.

Corrections:

1. The three items should be adjectives or adjectival phrases and should follow from "I was":  "I was young, eager, and lacking confidence."
2. I judged her as selfish for being late, inappropriately dressed, and attention-seeking.
3. Visit, of course, should be visiting.
4. Both items following "about" should be noun phrases:  1) the issues she encounters at work and 2) her frustration at our manager's ambiguous instructions.

How Can I Spot Faulty Parallelism?

Reading aloud will help.  Also look at any place where you have a list.  If I have called you out on a parallel structure error, read over these examples of parallel structure.  You will become informed, discerning, and perceptive.  Moreover, you will learn to write better, dammit.

Very Insecure, Pretty Significant, Quite Irrational

It seems that the Harris Academy in Upper Norwood has banned some words.  Good for them.  I'd like to ban some words as well.  Here's some sentences I recently read in my students' essays:

• "I strongly believe the trip would be a pretty significant waste of money."
• "Basically, I find her reasons to be quite irrational."
• "I felt very insecure about my knowledge in that area."

Read the sentences again without the Italicized words.

Do you lose any meaning when you lose those words?

If a word doesn't add meaning, you know what to do, especially if you want to write better (dammit).

PROOFREADING

Last year, some students were rushed preparing their Getting to Yes presentation.  It seems that one team member ended up doing all the last-minute work.  No one proofread her slides.  They did not practice together.

She was describing the different possible results of a negotiation.  Her slide looked like this:

Results of Negotiation

WIN-WIN

WIN-LOSE

and

LOOSE - LOOSE

I imagine when the results are loose-loose, everything is still open to discussion. Nothing is binding.  Unfortunately, the consequences of having a disorganized team are clearly LOSE - LOSE.