Writers--Watch Introductory Phrases

Summer 2020

One of the nicest parts of summer is the abundance of flowers. So many kinds. So many colors. So many amazing scents. The photo for today has nothing to do with the topic. It seemed to be one to share. So enjoy the flowers sent from me to you.

As many of you know, I am in an online writing group that asks members to commit to submitting at least two times a month and critiquing a minimum of four times. For each additional submission, we are asked to do two more critiques. Consequently, I read and critique a lot of submissions. When you do this month in and month out, you begin to see certain patterns, grammatical errors, and more. 

Lately, I have noticed a grammatical error that is being committed quite often, even by seasoned writers. It's a very small thing, but I do believe in learning and using the rules of grammar and punctuation. 

What I have been seeing over and over is this: When a sentence opens with an introductory phrase, a comma should be placed at the end of the phrase. After that, the main body of the sentence continues. 

Examples:

A.  When John left the studio, he walked faster and faster until he hit a running pace. 

B.  As Susan finished dressing she preened before the mirror in Grandmother's room.

A is correct and B is wrong. When you start a sentence with a phrase like these two above, you're adding something. The rest of the sentence can stand alone. Therefore, you place the comma between the initial phrase and the main body of the sentence. 

Why? Try reading the sentences aloud. You probably came to a slight pause after the intro phrase in each sentence. That comma shows a pause. When there is no comma, the sentence runs together. Sentence B has no break, so you read it all in one big gulp of air. 

Is adding that comma a matter of life and death? A matter of your story being accepted or not? No, but it is one of those rules we should have learned in school, and the rule was made for a reason. 

Here are a few more examples of the correct way:

A.  For instance, you can take a bus or train to get downtown. 

B.  On the other hand, there is nothing lost by driving downtown.

C.  Besides all that nonsense, going downtown is important to Harry.

In each of the sentences, the intro phrase is an extra. The rest of the sentence can stand alone. The term 'introductory phrase' tells us that this is an addition to the main sentence. 

As I said earlier, it's a very small part of overall mechanics a writer uses, but I see it done incorrectly so often that I felt it might be worth pointing out in today's post.