No Comma Between Subject and Verb, Verb and Object, or Verbal and Completer
The Comma
Rulebase Summary
Do not place a single separating comma between the subject and its verb, between a verb and its direct object, or between a verbal (an -ing, -ed, or to form) and the word that completes it.
This error most commonly occurs in long, complex sentences where the distance between these elements tempts the writer to insert a comma. The grammatical connection between these pairs must not be broken by a single comma — though a pair of commas setting off a parenthetical element between them is acceptable.
Examples
A. The attorney who handled the estate for nearly three years, was unable to resolve the dispute.
A. The attorney who handled the estate for nearly three years was unable to resolve the dispute.
No comma between subject ('attorney who...years') and verb ('was').
A. We decided later, to go into the office to talk.
A. We decided later to go into the office to talk.
No comma between verb ('decided') and its verbal complement ('to go').
Style Guides Disagree
When the connection is interrupted by a long adverb clause or long prepositional phrase — for example, when such a clause falls between an introductory 'that' and the words that complete its clause — the result is NOT a lone separating comma; it is a paired-comma construction. In that case authorities agree a comma follows the interrupting element (where the sentence rejoins the main connection) but differ on whether a matching comma also precedes it: read the interrupter as parenthetical and it is set off on both sides (leading comma stays); read it as essential or introductory to the embedded clause and only the trailing comma is used (leading comma dropped). Margie Wakeman Wells has described this as a construction on which experts differ. Treat the leading comma as a reporter-preference call — do not dismiss it as a comma wrongly wedged between a verb and its object.
Transcript Notes
In testimony with very long subjects or complex verb phrases, there is a strong temptation to insert a comma where a natural pause occurs. Resist this when the comma would fall between a subject and verb or between a verb and its object. The fact that a list follows the verb does not justify a colon or comma unless the sentence structure calls for one.
Style Guide References (3)
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP