---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to use as few commas as possible…"
description: "\"I like to use as few commas as possible so that sentences will go down in one swallow without touching the sides.\" — Pamela Frankau"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/pamela-frankau-67599_commas_i-like-to-use-as-few-commas-as-possible_2836164.jpg"
---

#  I like to use as few commas as possible so that sentences…

![“I like to use as few commas as possible so that sentences will go down in one swallow without touching the sides.” quote by Pamela Frankau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/pamela-frankau-67599_commas_i-like-to-use-as-few-commas-as-possible_2836164.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/pamela-frankau-67599_commas_i-like-to-use-as-few-commas-as-possible_2836164.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/pamela-frankau-67599_commas_i-like-to-use-as-few-commas-as-possible_2836164.jpg)

> “I like to use as few commas as possible so that sentences will go down in one swallow without touching the sides.”

[Pamela Frankau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-frankau/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Using minimal punctuation can make prose feel fluid and swift, but may sacrifice clarity.

**In simple terms:** Few commas create a smooth reading flow.

Key Takeaway

Balance brevity with clarity.

Themes

writing style punctuation clarity

Mood

analytical reflective

Type

advice literary

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- editing
- literary workshops

Key Concepts

minimalism sentence rhythm

Questions to Reflect On

- When does minimal punctuation hinder understanding?
- How to decide where commas are essential?

A Different Perspective

Risk of ambiguity.

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[Commas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commas/) [Commas Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commas-possible-3692456/) [Possible Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-sentences-3692457/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Sentences Swallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences-swallow-3692455/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Touching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touching/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Use Commas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-commas-3228562/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [The rule is: dont use commas like a stupid person. I mean it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/the-rule-is-dont-use-commas-like-a-stupid-person-i-mean-it/)

[Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/)

> [The proper use of commas is often more art than science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walsh/the-proper-use-of-commas-is-often-more-art-than-science/)

[Bill Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walsh/)

> [The rule is: don’t use commas like a stupid person. I mean it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/the-rule-is-don-t-use-commas-like-a-stupid-person-i-mean-it/)

[Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/)

> [Speak and live in simple sentences. Bring closure -- put a period to -- those experiences that you don't want to carry on forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/speak-and-live-in-simple-sentences-bring-closure-put-a-period-to/)

[Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/)

> [The commas are the most useful and usable of all the stops. It is highly important to put them in place as you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-commas-are-the-most-useful-and-usable-of-all-the-stops-it-is/)

[Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/)

> [I leave my editor to put the periods and commas in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-foley/i-leave-my-editor-to-put-the-periods-and-commas-in/)

[Mick Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-foley/)

> [“Commas: commas for everyone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-hughes/commas-commas-for-everyone/)

[Aaron Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-hughes/)

> [Neither death nor wisdom has a full stop. There are only commas-no destinations, only waiting rooms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/neither-death-nor-wisdom-has-a-full-stop-there-are-only-commas-no/)

[Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/)

> [“1) I’m, a, comma, whore. Apparently, I throw them around like confetti. Or glitter. The title of my next book: WHY COMMAS RULE THE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/1-i-m-a-comma-whore-apparently-i-throw-them-around-like-confetti-or/)

[Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/)

> [Commas, like nuns, often travel in pairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/commas-like-nuns-often-travel-in-pairs/)

[Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/)

> [“You mean that's your idea of desire, with all those commas?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palmer/you-mean-that-s-your-idea-of-desire-with-all-those-commas/)

[Michael Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palmer/)

> [“I tried to put the displacement between parenthesis, to put a last period in a long sentence of the sadness of history, personal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/i-tried-to-put-the-displacement-between-parenthesis-to-put-a-last/)

[Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/)

> [“...my war on commas. They are a pestilence. They must be stopped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/my-war-on-commas-they-are-a-pestilence-they-must-be-stopped/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [Chicken pot pie sounds like such a good idea. If you add commas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/chicken-pot-pie-sounds-like-such-a-good-idea-if-you-add-commas/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Anyone who finds himself putting down several commas close to one another should reflect that he is making himself disagreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-watson-fowler/anyone-who-finds-himself-putting-down-several-commas-close-to-one/)

[Henry Watson Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-watson-fowler/)

## More by Pamela Frankau

> [Hyphens, like cats, are capable of arousing tenderness or shudders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-frankau/hyphens-like-cats-are-capable-of-arousing-tenderness-or-shudders/)

[Pamela Frankau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-frankau/)

> [the virtue of imagination has this in common with the virtue of courage. Without it, you are less good: with it, you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-frankau/the-virtue-of-imagination-has-this-in-common-with-the-virtue-of/)

[Pamela Frankau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-frankau/)

> [ \[The English\] find ill-health not only interesting but respectable and often experience death in the effort to avoid a fuss. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-frankau/the-english-find-ill-health-not-only-interesting-but-respectable-and/)

[Pamela Frankau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-frankau/)

[Explore all 4 Pamela Frankau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-frankau/)

## More Commas quotes

> [Anyone who finds himself putting down several commas close to one another should reflect that he is making himself disagreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-watson-fowler/anyone-who-finds-himself-putting-down-several-commas-close-to-one/)

[Henry Watson Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-watson-fowler/)

> [Chicken pot pie sounds like such a good idea. If you add commas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/chicken-pot-pie-sounds-like-such-a-good-idea-if-you-add-commas/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“...my war on commas. They are a pestilence. They must be stopped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/my-war-on-commas-they-are-a-pestilence-they-must-be-stopped/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [“I tried to put the displacement between parenthesis, to put a last period in a long sentence of the sadness of history, personal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/i-tried-to-put-the-displacement-between-parenthesis-to-put-a-last/)

[Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/)

> [The rule is: don’t use commas like a stupid person. I mean it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/the-rule-is-don-t-use-commas-like-a-stupid-person-i-mean-it/)

[Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/)

> [“You mean that's your idea of desire, with all those commas?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palmer/you-mean-that-s-your-idea-of-desire-with-all-those-commas/)

[Michael Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palmer/)

> [Commas, like nuns, often travel in pairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/commas-like-nuns-often-travel-in-pairs/)

[Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/)

> [“1) I’m, a, comma, whore. Apparently, I throw them around like confetti. Or glitter. The title of my next book: WHY COMMAS RULE THE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/1-i-m-a-comma-whore-apparently-i-throw-them-around-like-confetti-or/)

[Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/)

> [Neither death nor wisdom has a full stop. There are only commas-no destinations, only waiting rooms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/neither-death-nor-wisdom-has-a-full-stop-there-are-only-commas-no/)

[Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/)

> [“Commas: commas for everyone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-hughes/commas-commas-for-everyone/)

[Aaron Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-hughes/)

> [I leave my editor to put the periods and commas in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-foley/i-leave-my-editor-to-put-the-periods-and-commas-in/)

[Mick Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-foley/)

> [The commas are the most useful and usable of all the stops. It is highly important to put them in place as you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-commas-are-the-most-useful-and-usable-of-all-the-stops-it-is/)

[Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/)

> [Now, you lose something in your life, or you come into a conflict, and there's gonna come a time that you're gonna know: There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/now-you-lose-something-in-your-life-or-you-come-into-a-conflict-and/)

[Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/)

> [“Smiles are commas and full stops... and few are those who still know how to put commas and full stops into their words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malek-haddad/smiles-are-commas-and-full-stops-and-few-are-those-who-still-know-how/)

[Malek Haddad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malek-haddad/)

> [I hate commas in the wrong places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-hate-commas-in-the-wrong-places/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

[Browse all 43 Commas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commas/)

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