Ask Good Comma

As a rule, use a hyphen to form compound adjectives before nouns but not after:

• That entrepreneur is faith driven! 

• That is one faith-driven entrepreneur! (No offense meant to the hyphenless-yet-excellent Faith Driven Entrepreneur.)

Q: Why “Good Comma”?

A: My students at the school in Boston where I taught English (including comma usage) often talked about good and bad karma (pronounced “comma”). So, the edit of karma to comma in our logo is playfully incorrect, unless you’re Bostonian.

Q: Why is there an “Editing” side and a “Travel” side to the Good Comma Companies?

Mike: Both sides grew out of my passions and unique abilities as I began my entrepreneurial journey in 2013.

Since 2018, the two sides have reflected entirely separate companies, visions, strategic plans, business models, and (with some overlap) teams. They share the core values of clarity, purity, stewardship, creative destruction, and relentless service.

Is it acceptable to begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so)?

Yes. It is a widespread but inaccurate belief that sentences should not begin with coordinating conjunctions. In reality, using conjunctions at the start of sentences can help readers understand connections between ideas.

Is it acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition?

Yes. This is another long-taught restriction, but ending sentences with prepositions can render readings more natural. Our beliefs on this “rule” align with a quote attributed to Winston Churchill: “That is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put.”