Comma Drama: That, Which, and Who—It’s All Relative

“The maple tree that Kate planted,” or “The maple tree, which Kate planted”? The use of that versus which and how to pair (or not pair) each with a comma is a common point of confusion in everyday writing. Since that and which are both relative pronouns used to join a relative clause (modifying a noun that precedes it) to an independent clause, they are often used interchangeably in error. The key to remembering the correct word choice is the following question: Is the relative clause you are working with essential or nonessential? That is used to introduce an essential clause, while which is exclusively for introducing clauses that are nonessential.

Let’s take a closer look at essential versus nonessential clauses. A clause is essential when removing it from a sentence would change its overall meaning. 

Example: The bicycle that has training wheels is in the garage.

In this sentence, the relative clause that has training wheels (modifying the noun bicycle) is essential because removing it would change the overall meaning of the sentence, leaving the reader without clarification that the bicycle being referenced is the one with training wheels. Commas are not used to separate an essential clause because the writer needs that clause to formulate the core meaning of their sentence.

By contrast, a nonessential clause includes added detail about the noun (or noun phrase) being modified that is informative but not crucial to the sentence’s meaning. Let’s see how switching that to which in the sentence above changes the writer’s overall message.

Example: The bicycle, which has training wheels, is in the garage.

Whereas the use of that in the first version of the sentence emphasizes the importance of the training wheels, the second version—using which to introduce a relative clause separated by commas—indicates that the training wheels on the bicycle are a dispensable detail; therefore, there must only be one bicycle in the garage. As demonstrated here, using which is the proper way to introduce a nonessential clause. 

Example: Emperor penguins, which live in Antarctica, have orange and yellow patches

on their heads.

Emperor penguins that live in Antarctica have orange and yellow patches 

on their heads.

In the above example, changing which to that makes the second sentence inaccurate altogether. Since Emperor penguins only live in Antarctica, the first sentence properly separates this information in the form of a nonessential clause introduced by which and separated by commas. If this clause is removed, the meaning of the sentence remains intact, seeing as the habitat of these penguins is indisputable and needs no clarification. However, when that is used to create an essential clause, the writer indicates that only Emperor penguins living in Antarctica have orange and yellow markings, misleading the reader to believe there are Emperor penguins without this feature living elsewhere. 

Example: The café in Midtown that is my favorite serves cocktails and tapas.

The café in Midtown, which is my favorite, serves cocktails and tapas.

Here, changing that to which alters the meaning of the sentence, once again. In the first sentence, the writer is comparing the café mentioned solely to other cafés in Midtown, whereas the second sentence compares the café in Midtown to all cafés in a broader category. Also, note that removing the nonessential clause which is my favorite still retains the writer’s core message about what is served at the café—whether or not the café is the writer’s favorite is irrelevant to their primary message. 

What about who? Clauses beginning with who can be essential or nonessential, depending on the intent of the writer. Using commas properly here will provide your reader with the necessary clues to understand your message clearly. 

Example: The professor who offers that course is currently on sabbatical.

The professor, who offers that course, is currently on sabbatical.

In this example, the first sentence aims to distinguish the professor mentioned from other professors by referring to the course they offer while using an essential clause without commas. Alternatively, the second sentence would be used in a context where the reader already knows the identity of the professor. The notice of the professor being on sabbatical is the main focus of this sentence, while the course they offer is a side detail separated by commas as a nonessential clause.

A common pitfall to avoid with the use of who to introduce a relative clause is substitution of that. When the noun being modified is a person rather than an object, the relative pronoun who is preferable to that.

Example: ✅ The professor who offers that course is currently on sabbatical.

⌧ The professor that offers that course is currently on sabbatical.

Additionally, make sure to check for proper use of who versus whom. Whom should be used specifically in contexts where the person being referenced is the object of the verb.

Example: ✅ The caterer who you met over the weekend just returned your call.

✅ The caterer whom you contacted just returned your call.

⌧ The caterer who you contacted just returned your call.

In summary, using a handy cheat sheet like the one below can help you make error-proof decisions about when to use commas with relative pronouns. 

Relative Clause Type	Relative Pronoun to Use	Separate with Commas?
essential	that	no
nonessential	which	yes
noun being modified is a person (may be essential or nonessential)	who	no for essential clauses yes for nonessential clauses

Thanks for reading! Continue to follow my blog for more advice on quelling comma drama!

8 Grammar Tips for Picture-Perfect Holiday Cards

The end-of-year holiday season is upon us, bringing perpetual to-do lists and frantic hustle and bustle. Many of us who intend to thoughtfully craft messages of good will for our nearest and dearest in the form of polished holiday cards simply can't find the time! While creating a picture-perfect holiday card always requires effort, following these eight grammar tips will make the process much faster and help your message shine flawlessly!

1. Properly Pluralize Family Names

   Unless a last name ends in s, sh, ch, x, or z, all one needs to do is add s to perfectly pluralize any surname on holiday cards and invitations. For example, the surname Johnson becomes "The Johnsons" while the surname Dodd becomes "The Dodds." If your family name does end in one of the exceptional letters mentioned above, you will need to add es instead—think Williams→The Williamses, Diaz→The Diazes, and Hatch→The Hatches. Don't like the result? It's always safe and fashionable to use this alternative: "The (insert surname here) Family."

   
   

   

   
   

2. Use a Comma After Your Complimentary Close

   A complimentary close is that lovely farewell sentiment included right before your signature. Popular phrases in this category for holiday cards include "With love," "Sincerely," and "Happy holidays." Whichever closing you choose, make sure to add a comma afterward to visually separate it from your signature.

   
   

   

   
   

3. Use Commas to Separate Individual Names in a Series

   If you, like many people, choose to include the individual names of all your family/party members in your holiday card signature, make sure to separate these names with a comma in between. The spot where a comma is most commonly forgotten is just before the and joining the final name in the series to the names listed beforehand. This "Oxford comma" is used consistently in academic writing but is often dropped in journalistic contexts, causing confusion about when it's necessary. Why keep the Oxford comma here? Using this serial comma is standard practice in formal correspondence like holiday cards.

   
   

4. Know How to Use Ampersands

   Did you know the ampersand was considered the twenty-seventh letter in the English alphabet prior to the mid-1800s? In informal writing, the ampersand icon is used in place of the word and as a space-saving measure as well as between common word pairings, such as peanut butter & jelly. If space on your card is ample, you may still consider using an ampersand for stylistic purposes or to highlight the joint status of individuals who are coupled up, such as spouses (e.g., "Josh & Molly"), twin siblings (e.g., "Liam & Chloe"), or even pets (e.g., "Milo & Bear"). Just make sure not to use a comma directly before an ampersand (even if the name that follows it is the last in the series) since it appears awkward and out of place.

   
   

5. Always Capitalize Names of Holidays

   This rule is as simple as it sounds—the name of a holiday itself, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, is always capitalized. Modifiers, however, are another story. Read on to learn more!

   
   

6. Only Capitalize Holiday Modifiers at the Start of a Sentence

   Modifiers, in this case, are adjectives describing the type of holiday you are having or wish for yourself or another to have. What type of Christmas might you wish for? A merry Christmas. What type of Hanukkah may you be hoping for? A happy Hanukkah. In these examples, the modifiers merry and happy are not capitalized (even though the holiday names that follow them are) because each occurs in the middle of a sentence and is not part of the formal holiday name itself. At the beginning of a sentence, however, both words should be capitalized. We commonly see this in greetings like the following: "Merry Christmas to you!"

   
   
   
   

   

   
   

7. Check Capitalization of Nonspecific Holiday Greetings

   "Happy holidays" and "Season's greetings" are popular sentiments used to express all-inclusive good will toward others one may not know well or at all. Since a proper name for a specific holiday is not being referenced in these instances, there is no need for capitalization unless the initial word happens to begin a sentence. Therefore, both of the following are correct:

   "Happy holidays to you and yours!"

   "Wishing you and yours happy holidays!"

   
   

8. Know Where Apostrophes Belong (and Where They Don't)

Greetings in holiday cards are notorious for flaunting misplaced apostrophes. The following list covers the most common errors to avoid.

In summary:

• Season in "Season's greetings" is written in singular possessive form since it refers to the comprehensive holiday season in general.

• While "Happy New Year's" is commonly heard near the stroke of midnight on December 31st, this sentiment when written should reflect the more accurate "Happy New Year," "Happy New Year's Eve," or "Happy New Year's Day."

• Don't forget that the seasonal terms ’tis and ’twas need apostrophes too! Serving as contractions, ’tis is short for it is while ’twas stands for it was.

• Finally, when referring to a home, location, or other element belonging to more than one person—remember the possessive 's is only required in the name of the last person listed (e.g., "Josh & Molly's house" rather than "Josh's & Molly's house"). This trick will come in handy when writing holiday invitations, simplifying both text and space. Plus, it just sounds better!

Need more grammar tips? Follow my blog for more tricks of the trade and style guidelines in my "Technical Tips" feed!

Season's greetings to you,

Squashing Comma Drama: When to Use Commas Between Adjectives

You’re looking for a short story to read and are given the two samples below—which story would you choose?

1) “They ended the long day watching a colorful sunset over the ocean from the top of the dunes.”

2) “They ended the long day watching a vast vibrant tropical sunset fill the sky with a warmth that mirrored their contented souls as they rested their weary legs in the soft, silky sand at the top of the dunes, shimmering above the seashore like luminous grains in an hourglass tipped sideways by an unseen force suspending this sacred moment in time.”

Most readers would find the second choice—with its added details, vivid imagery, and sentimental impression—more intriguing because the descriptive language used brings the story to life. Adjectives are one of the most common elements utilized in descriptive language. While the quality of adjectives used adds more substance to a story than the sheer quantity, elaborate depictions do go a long way in terms of keeping readers engaged.

When using a series of adjectives to add depth to a character, setting, or situation, comma drama can arise— Do you really need commas between all those adjectives? Can you just avoid the use of commas altogether without readers taking notice? Unfortunately, basic punctuation and grammar errors can stick out like a sore thumb to experienced readers and distract them from your core message. Because so many writers dread losing creative momentum while worrying about these petty details, proofreaders like myself are here to lighten the load!

For this particular comma drama, the solution comes down to one question: Which kind of adjective series are you working with—coordinate or cumulative? Coordinate adjectives modify the same noun independently of one another, hold equal weight when it comes to the overall meaning of a sentence, and are always separated by commas. For example, this adjective series from the excerpt above is coordinate:

“...as they rested their weary legs in the soft, silky sand…”

In this sentence, soft and silky are adjectives that modify the noun sand separately and hold equal importance to its description. Coordinate adjectives can be verified through two tests. First, replace the comma you are considering using between them with the word and. If this sounds right and doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence, you are, indeed, looking at coordinate adjectives! 

“...as they rested their weary legs in the soft, silky sand…”

“...as they rested their weary legs in the soft and silky sand…”

You will notice in this comparison that changing the initial comma to the word and has not changed the meaning of the sentence and still sounds pleasing. Yep—we are working with coordinate adjectives here, so our comma will stay put. Secondly, try switching the order of your adjectives. Once again, if the sentence still sounds right and hasn’t lost its meaning, the adjectives are coordinate. Let’s try this with the same phrase from above:

“...as they rested their weary legs in the silky, soft sand…”

Reversing the order of these adjectives preserves the meaning of the sentence and still sounds acceptable. Once again, the comma remains. Comma drama solved!

If your adjective series does not pass the “and test” and the “interchangeable order test,” it is cumulative rather than coordinate. Cumulative adjectives modify the same noun in different ways and are placed in hierarchical order based on category with no commas needed in between. These adjectives build upon one another to enhance the meaning of the noun, so each adjective in the series modifies the adjectives that follow it in combination with the noun itself. Let’s use the following example from the same excerpt above to examine the difference between cumulative and coordinate adjectives:

“They ended the long day watching a vast vibrant tropical sunset fill the sky…”

Let’s try the “and test” here:

“They ended the long day watching a vast and vibrant and tropical sunset fill the sky…”

Adding and between all the adjectives here sounds awkward and superfluous. Even omitting one and still sounds inaccurate. For example:

“They ended the long day watching a vast and vibrant tropical sunset fill the sky…”

Next up is the interchangeable order test. I think you will find that any rearrangement of these adjectives falls short. For instance:

“They ended the long day watching a tropical vibrant vast sunset fill the sky…”

Anyone familiar with the English language knows that just doesn’t sound right. In fact, there is a so-called royal order for cumulative adjectives to follow that English speakers casually become accustomed to while acquiring the language. This standard order is as follows: 

1. Number/amount

2. Opinion 

3. Size (e.g, vast)

4. Age/condition (e.g., vibrant)

5. Shape

6. Color

7. Origin/material (e.g., tropical)

8. Purpose

Now that you understand the rules for cumulative adjectives, it’s best you also understand the exception to the rule! Occasionally, an adjective that would usually follow the “royal order” becomes inseparable from the noun it modifies when the two words together create their own unique identity. Take the following example:

“Tom wore a yellow hard hat while surveying the construction site.”

In another context, Tom would be wearing a “hard yellow hat,” a description that conforms to the royal order of cumulative adjectives by placing a condition-based adjective (hard) before a color-based adjective (yellow). However, the popular term “hard hat” conveys a separate meaning of its own and, therefore, takes precedence over the customary order. 

Need more help clarifying comma confusion? Follow the Comma Drama feed on my blog page for more guidelines!