Commas Matter Novels & Stories

"Did you turn in the assignment you were supposed to rewrite?" "Yes. This morning, a whole six hours before the deadline. I have nothing to fear. And this time around, I followed all his instructions to the letter. I dare professor asshole to find any fault in my essay." Gia laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did. That man could nail you to the cross for using a semi colon instead of a colon. Or not using the oxford comma." "I use the oxford comma." I pointed out. She made a disgusted face. "Remind me why we're friends again."

“Guess what – pressing Mac for a divorce again this morning – he said no one would have to suffer much longer.” “So?” “What if someone put in a punctuation mark that would change the whole meaning of the fax,” I told him. I repeated the message again, this time with the added comma. “Guess what – pressing Mac for a divorce again this morning – he said no, one would have to suffer much longer. It changes the whole meaning of the message and as far as you were concerned it had the desired effect. Kutziyez was obviously a volatile character who loved Coco very much. The kissing smudge on the glass of the photo frame in the bedroom is evidence of that. He probably kissed the photograph of

Théo says. "I did not edit Théo's sections," Nadia says. "They were already correct." "You edited the punctuation," Théo says. "Your relationship with commas requires occasional intervention," Nadia says. Théo looks at his notebook. "The commas are deliberate," he says. "The commas are aspirational," Nadia says. Petra is looking at the table with the expression she uses when she is the youngest person in a conversation and the conversation has developed a quality that amuses her and which she is deciding not to voice.

he asked. I went on. “Second: the advertising indemnity clause. The draft as written lacked a comma. Without that comma, the clause implied unlimited liability for the company. Legal counsel confirmed that adding a comma changed the meaning to limited liability, saving potential legal exposure that could have cost the company millions in future damages. I suggested that amendment.” A lawyer at the table cleared his throat. He had the contract open on his tablet. He looked up at me with a small, surprised smile. “Yes. That comma was crucial,” he said. “Thank you for noticing.”

Nothing else matters. ***

Matteo points between us. “This thing is inventing a language and you two are discussing style choices.” “It matters,” Aidan says. “How.” “Preference reveals cognition.” Matteo lowers his hand. “…I regret asking.” The point holds. Then repeats the last motion three times. Softly. Measured intervals. Exactly as before. “It wants emphasis,” Aidan says. “Yes.” “Or confirmation.” “Yes.” Matteo groans. “So now we have to guess punctuation too.” No. We have to test.

I silently reread it twice before looking up at him, wondering what about the seemingly-inoffensive sentence had caused him to call me in. "Could HAVE," he said, before once more pausing for effect. "Sir?" "The phrase is could HAVE, Amber. You've written 'could OF'." A long sigh escaped my lungs - I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath - and my entire body relaxed. I mean, it was an analytics report - not something that could have bankrupted the company - but it was a relief to know that it was a simple grammatical error that he was upset about, and not something more serious.

It's more straightforward and easier to read, which is what we aim for. He didn't address her as his mothercall her mom. Instead, he called her by her name. Comment by Caitlyn Chin: A period works better here. Only use semicolons occasionally. Basically, if you can use a period, stick to using a period instead of semicolon. Correction: ... mom. Instead, he... Thaddeus continued, "Considering what you said earlier, I need to clarify some things to prevent any misunderstandings. "Firstly, following Jessie to Hajera was my own decision, it had nothing to do with her. Relocating the company here was also a decision I made after discussing it with Grandpa. It was not made on a whim.

"It what?" "It doesn't matter." "It matters to me."