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It has come to my attention that people often don’t know how to use commas properly, so I’ll point out a misuse that has been bugging me lately.

See the sentence above? It contains two independent clauses separated by a comma and a conjunction (so). It’s a rule most of us learned in middle school: Use a comma and a conjunction when combining two independent clauses.

It’s an easy grammar rule to remember. What people can’t seem to remember, or perhaps understand altogether, is that it is erroneous, incorrect, HORRIBLY WRONG to include a comma before a conjunction followed by a dependent clause.

Example: I encounter these mistakes almost everywhere, and cringe each time.

Notice the lack of a subject in the second part of the sentence. This is not OK. If it were a sentence on its own, it would be “Cringe each time,” which is a command that doesn’t make sense in this context.

The correct way to express my disgust at aforementioned grammatical blunders is as follows: I encounter these mistakes almost everywhere, and I cringe each time.

Look! It’s an independent clause! It has a subject and a verb! I’d like to give a pat on the back to those out there who remember one of the most basic grammar rules from back in the day. Thank you for caring about coherence.

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