LEND ME YOUR EAR: VENI, VIDI, VICI

According to Edward D. Johnson, author of "The Handbook of Good Usage," the comma is the most frequent mark of punctuation but also the most frequently misused. Johnson sums this up at the outset: "It is always a means of separating one word, phrase, or clause from another." His explications, however, extend beyond 18 pages. Only a limited number of misuses can be covered in a single column, but perhaps this much will prove helpful to the needy or curious.

Readers may have noticed that Johnson places a comma between the last two words in a series. Many writers omit the serial (final) comma in a series of three or more, but the authorities who grace my shelves do not. Strunk and White, however, point out that the final comma is often omitted in the names of business firms. Thus, we write "red, white, and blue," but should follow the practice of the individual business establishments: "Brown, Shipley and Company"; but "Moss, Moss, and Rhodes."

A comma is also used to separate two or more adjectives that modify the same noun if "and" could be placed between them without changing the meaning. Ramada Inn correctly advertises "big, clean, comfortable rooms." But no comma is required in "a shiny red apple" because the apple is too beautiful to be split by commas and the picture is clear without punctuation to spoil it. (Bite into it before offering a bite to others, and you may succeed in not having to split it at all.)

Most authorities insist upon using a comma between the clauses of a compound sentence if they are joined by a conjunction such as but, for, or, yet, and, or so meaning therefore: "Our plane was late, so my visit with the family was brief." Conversely, if the sentences are short, to omit the comma is acceptable: "I told my son to walk but he rode his bike." (I have no son, but if I had this one, I'd ground him for the rest of the day. I'd also use the comma.)

Very short clauses making up a series should be separated by commas: "I came, I saw, I conquered." Latin scholars will recognize this as a translation of Veni, vidi, vici. Eugene Ehrlich, author of "Amo, Amas, Amat and More," explains that the free translation is "a piece of cake." I didn't know that! Anyone out there remember it from "Caesar's Gallic Wars"?

An adverbial clause that precedes the main clause is set off by commas, unless it is very short: "When my aunt came to spend the day with me, I was not at home." The comma may be omitted, however, if the main clause preceded the adverbial: "I was not at home when my aunt came to spend the day with me." She should have warned me, but maybe she wanted to find out whether I kept her photo on the mantel all the time. (This wasn't my aunt, either. But I had one who qualified.)

Nonrestrictive phrases and clauses are set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas. "Nonrestrictive" means not essential to the sentence something that could be omitted without changing the meaning of the main clause: "The boy sitting at the end of the row, who came in last in the marathon, cheered the winner." Omit "who came in last at the marathon," and the meaning is still clear. The phrase "sitting at the end of the row" is in apposition to "boy", and essential for identification, so no comma is used. This construction is known to language mavens as "restrictive appositive" or "restrictive in apposition." Any college graduate out there baffled by this?

Perhaps it's simpler just to remember the rule: Do not place a comma between a noun and the word or phrase that identifies or describes it. If I write "my cousin Susan," no comma is used between "my cousin" and "Susan" because I have more than one cousin, and adding her name distinguishes her from the rest. However, if I write "Susan, my cousin," the phrase has nothing to do with her being my cousin, and is therefore nonrestrictive and requires the comma.

As everyone who reads these columns must know, direct quotations equivalent to complete sentences are always separated from explanatory matter by commas: "When I opened the door, a stranger said, `How are you today?'" But a short sentence quoted within another sentence may be so restricted in meaning that no comma is required: "Strangers never mean it when they ask `How are you today?'" If you've lived long enough, you might tell them they don't have time to listen, and suggest they get to the point.

In direct address, always use commas: "Let me hear, Helen, as soon as you return." In an indirect quotation, no comma is needed: "Some critics maintain that Alexander Pope was no poet." Nor should a comma appear before a title: "Edgar Allan Poe wrote `The Pit and the Pendulum'."

Often, a comma is essential for clarity: "If you have anything to say, say it.

I have a lot more to say about the comma, but readers may be relieved to see I've said my say for the present.