1. No comma. I agree with those who said that if there were a list of three or more, commas would be needed. In this case, it's not a compound *sentence* -- simply a compound verb phrase.
2. Neither. Delete the second 'she'.
Lois gasped with surprise and giggled when his beard stubble scratched her cheek.
3. I would go with no comma (and thus voted no). Because...it looks wrong with it. However, according to my friend who is an *expert* in grammar (and can explain why, instead of saying "it feels right/wrong" like I do <g>), this one *is* a compound sentence and thus needs the comma. However, I would never put it in and would probably resist if an editor tried to add it. O:-)
(Note: She also said that I feel like the sentence here is bulky with the comma because the clauses are so short. If it were a longer, more complicated sentence, I would likely have no problem with the commas. Of course, I'd need a long example to be sure. <g>)
4. Comma. Without it, 'her' becomes possessive and it reads as if he is kissing 'her Lois'. Which makes no sense! :p
5. Comma usuage -- or rather, comma mis-usage, does annoy me to an extent. Especially when it's
rampant and clear that the author didn't even bother to *try*. Usually this is linked with poor tense usage, poor grammar, poor spelling, etc. A random comma (or lack thereof) out of place will not be enough to make me quit reading or disregard the author afterwards.
Bethy
