Would You Like Commas With That?

Commas may be the parsley of the punctuation world: many writers seemingly use them by the handful to garnish their sentences. But do these pint-size pauses really enhance the meal?

Insofar as they enhance digestion of the sentence, yes. But, as with any ingredient, you can have too much of a good thing -- particularly if, as here, you have, without a doubt, too many clauses. Or if you, divide subject and verb.

Some would argue that those writers who espouse the "salt shaker" view of commas are the same ones who still insist on skipping two spaces between sentences; that is, they are old enough to remember the days before computers and stubborn enough to miss them. Others maintain that commas, like salt, bring out the flavor of the rest of the dish.

Here is The Onion's (no culinary pun intended, though it is rather appropriate) take on the subject:

Commas, Turning Up, Everywhere