In the current issue of Newsweek, Robert J. Samuelson writes about “The Sad Fate of the Comma” in his weekly column. I agree with his theory that the sad fate of the comma, which is becoming almost extinct in grammar thanks to text messages and e-mails, is a metaphor for something larger in our modern life. To Samuelson, the lonely comma is a small sign that flashes PAUSE and tells the reader to slow down, think a bit and move on.
This entire essay made me PAUSE and reflect on not only the rush-rush society in which we live but the entire assault that occurs daily on our English language. I’m old enough to remember having grammar pounded into my little skull in grade school and while I struggled initially to diagram sentences, the whole process later came together for me and was actually fun. I shudder to think what reaction I would have received at home if I had uttered such phrases as “her and me…” or “they wasn’t…” – phrases where the subject and verb were not in sync. I can almost see my father giving me “the look” and telling me “that’s not the way we talk in this house”, as if I’d spoken a 4-letter word.
While I’m heralding the Grammar Police I may as well expound on the atrocities I see daily in spelling. Common sense tells me that Spellcheck should be improving spelling ability but it seems to have the opposite effect. Misspelled words are common in numerous forms of correspondence I receive and I fear we have a whole cadre of youth who not only won’t be able to spell but actually won’t care. Shudder!!!
So if you see a lonely comma wandering around, please pick it up and use it correctly in a sentence. If you can’t save a whale, save a comma instead.
I’d save a comma, but I don’t know where it’s at!
That’s a deliberate preposition I left at the end of the sentence. One of my biggest grammar pet peeves.
You better hope Jean Stinson doesn’t grade your comments because you would probably flunk with that one.