A wonderful, furry, hug,,,,And other comma glitches

Let's tackle a comma Glitch today. One basic rule is that you do not use a comma to separate an adjective from the noun it modifies. This sentence appears in a delightful article in 280 Living about Macy, the loveable service dog:

Say the word "snuggle" at Danberry at Inverness retirement community and you will get a wonderful, furry, hug....

The first comma (between WONDERFUL and FURRY) is fine because it separates one adjective from another adjective. The second comma (between FURRY and HUG) is not fine because it separates the descriptive word FURRY from what it describes, which is HUG. The sentence should read as follows:

Say the word "snuggle" at Danberry at Inverness retirement community, and you will get a wonderful, furry hug....


In an article on the same page of 280 Living, two sentences illustrate another basic rule for comma use: If an introductory clause is longer than three words, it should be set off by a comma so that the reader can find the main subject of the sentence. Those of you who have attended my business writing workshops have heard me compare this to Hansel and Gretel dropping breadcrumbs--Yoo-hoo, the subject is over here!

When a doctor approaches the bedside with an air of quiet confidence the therapeutic process can begin.

When you are calm and filled with self-respect others immediately pick up on that energy and some of it rubs off on them.

Whew! That is a lot of information to muddle through without any breadcrumbs or road signs. In the first sentence, the main subject is PROCESS, which is the 15th word in the sentence! In the second sentence, the main subject is OTHERS, which is the 9th word in the sentence. In my opinion and according to most business writing manuals, a comma is necessary after the introductory clause in each sentence, as follows:

When a doctor approachs the bedside with an air of quiet confidence, the therapeutic process can begin.

When you are calm and filled with self-respect, others immediately pick up on that energy, and some of it rubs off on them.

BONUS POINT: In the second sentence, I also added a comma before AND because the last part of the sentence (some of it rubs off on them) is a completely separate idea.