Basic Comma Rules Commas n Use the comma
Basic Comma Rules
Commas n Use the comma to set off elements in a series (three or more things). She likes running, dancing, and jumping.
Commas n Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to separate two independent clauses. The monsoon hit the islands early this year, but few of the villages were ever in any danger.
Commas n Use a comma to set off introductory words, phrases, or clauses. Anxious to play in a new division, Timberland’s coach hoped to win against more formidable opponents this year. After winning the lottery, Mr. Perez bought himself a house in Costa Rica.
Commas n Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. Coaches ran practice on the damp, dreary soccer field. He reads only expensive, modern novels. (if you can put and between the adjectives, you should put a comma between them. )
Commas n Use a comma to set off states and countries, years (in a full date), titles, etc. ) The conference was originally set for Geneva, Switzerland, but was then rescheduled for Chicago, Illinois. Their wedding date was set for August 5, 2000, in the college chapel in Newton, Massachusetts.
Commas n Use a comma to set off quoted language. Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet begins with the lines, “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. ” “Fire when ready, Horatio, ” the Admiral said.
Commas Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements. This is a very difficult to rule to understand in comma usage. A parenthetical element is simply “added information, ” something that can be removed from a sentence without changing the true meaning of that sentence. Deciding what is “added information” and what is essential is sometimes difficult.
Commas When an appositive phrase can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning or making it ambiguous: Mr. Boesch, perhaps America’s most beloved teacher, died of sorrow because his students didn’t understand comma rules. An absolute phrase is treated as a parenthetical element: Honestly, it doesn’t seem to matter to me what you do. An addressed person’s (or people’s) name is always parenthetical: I am warning you, Daniel Benitez, this vote is crucial to the future of our city.
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