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The comma's two functions

In an introductory essay on commas William Sabin writes, "It's too bad that commas induce a trauma in so many writers. Despite the seemingly endless set of rules that describe their varied powers, commas have only two functions: they either separate or set off. Separating requires only one comma; setting off requires two."

The neurotic semicolon

William Sabin comments that his friends who smile if he sneers at their politics reach for a bread knife if he attacks their views on the semicolon. He blames the nature of the semicolon, not that of his friends.

Sabin writes, "The semicolon has always been a neurotic creature, continually undergoing an identity crisis. After all, it is half comma and half period, and from its name you would think it is half a colon. It is hardly any wonder, then, that a lot of people are half crazy trying to determine who the semicolon really is and what its mission in life is supposed to be."

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