Probably the biggest hurdle for me while learning how to proofread came in the form of commas. “Is that comma really okay there?” “Does there need to be a comma here?” I agonized over it, and I know I’m not the only one. Comma mistakes are probably what I see most often while I’m proofreading. So for my first blog, I thought I would talk about an invaluable rule I came across while learning about commas: the FANBOYS rule.
It’s pretty simple: place a comma before the FANBOYS in compound sentences. The FANBOYS are the following coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yes, so.
Let’s look at the following sentence.
Lane explored the rooms of the castle, and Dave scoped out the surrounding grounds.
The coordinating conjunction is and. And separates two independent clauses (meaning each could be its own sentence). This means that a comma needs to go before and.
You would do the same for any of the FANBOYS when they separate two independent clauses. The only exception to this rule is when the clauses are short (five words or less). Here is an example of that.
You run and we’ll hide.
Here is an example of when you wouldn’t use a comma due to the fact that the coordinating conjunction doesn’t separate independent clauses.
The butler opened the door and greeted the guests.
There is no comma needed here because greeted the guests cannot stand as its own sentence.
Here are some more examples using each of the aforementioned coordinating conjunctions.
The warrior drew his blade from the scabbard, for he came to defend his homestead.
Jason has been an audiophile for a long time, and Mary has more recently seen the appeal.
The escaped convict did not want to be seen, nor did he want to be heard.
(Note that the nor clauses may look a little funny but that’s okay.)
The professor did not feel like lecturing today, but he was thankful it was Friday.
The CIA could be looking for him, or MI6 could be looking for him.
Drew didn’t like the smell of what his aunt was cooking, yet he was extremely hungry this morning.
The college student only had so much money saved up, so he decided to go to a used car lot instead.
That’s basically it. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it informative. Check back soon for another. Thanks for reading.