Booher's Rules of Business Grammar - Dianna Booher 2009

She needs no introduction
Punctuation problems

COMMAS TO INTRODUCE

You’ve heard emcees introduce speakers with this line, “Here’s a man who needs no introduction….” Unlike that clichéd opening, some main thoughts in sentences do need an introductory word, phrase, or clause.

And when those introductory comments are not set off by a comma, they can cause misreading—as they do in the following passage:

Be certain your paycheck is protected with disability income insurance. Only one in four workers has group or individual disability insurance to protect their incomes if they become disabled. Even those few who do have it through their employer, and there are limits to the amount of protection and how long the benefits are paid.

Did you do a double take on that last sentence? “Even those few who do have it through their employer” WHAT? What about even those few who do have it through their employer? I kept rereading and rereading, trying to figure out the meaning. Staring at the paragraph, I sat dumbfounded that such a nonsensical statement could have slipped through all the editors and proofreaders of this typically well-edited magazine.

Finally, the meaning surfaced. This was a case of a missing introductory comma, not an incomplete thought. (Insert a comma after do.)

Be certain your paycheck is protected with disability income insurance. Only one in four workers has group or individual disability insurance to protect their incomes if they become disabled. Even those few who do [have group or individual disability insurance], have it through their employer, and there are limits to the amount of protection and how long the benefits are paid.

Big difference. Generally speaking, use a comma after introductory words, phrases, or clauses to help readers quickly skim to the major idea of the sentence:

Honestly, I am pleased with this product.

Disappointed by the results on the job, he resigned.

Before you leave, please explain the pricing options.

Having heard the ad during the Super Bowl, they were prepared for the competitive reaction.

In the first few months of the product launch, the salespeople seem more highly motivated to call on inactive accounts than they do later in the campaign.

Memory tip

Although the pause should not be your general method of punctuation, it’s a good rule of thumb for placing introductory commas. Consider yourself an actor: If you feel the need to pause after delivering the introductory word, phrase, or clause in your script, add the introductory comma.