Commas Sara Sanchez Commas for Lists They divide

Commas Sara Sanchez

Commas for Lists • They divide items in lists. It is correct if it could be replaced by “and” or “or” – List of adjectives- if modifying verbs modify the same thing • Not required before “and” versus the Oxford Comma – Oxford comma can prevent confusion if there are other ands in the vicinity – I went to the chemist, Marks & Spencer, and Nat. West – I went to Natwest, the chemist, and Marks & Spencer

Commas for Joining • When two complete sentences are joined together with conjunctions such as and, or, but, while and yet – Comma splice-deliberately omitting conjunctions and keeping a comma where a semi-colon is called for – “It was the Queen’s birthday, she got a lot of presents” – Often adopted by professional writers as a stylistic choice • Words that must not be used to join to sentenes with a comma are however and nevertheless. Use a semicolon

Commas Filling in Gaps • Missing words that are implied by a comma – Annie had dark hair; Sally, fair • Not very common anymore

Commas before Direct Speech • Genuine pause for breath comma – The Queen said, “Doesn’t anyone know it’s my birthday? ” • Many writers use colons or just quotation marks. Do NOT do this – Steve replied “No problem” – Steve replied: No problem

Commas Setting off Interjections • Interjections are words or phrases that exclaim, protest, or command – Blimey, what would we do without it? – Stop, or I’ll scream. • Rarely used in formal writing

Commas that Come in Pairs • Bracketing commas – Use to mark both ends of a “weak interruption” or a piece of “additional information. ” In these cases, the phrase should be able to be taken out without damaging the sentence as a whole – I am, of course, going steadily insane. – Never forget to close these commas – The Highland Terrier is the cutest, and perhaps the best of all the dog species • Need a comma after best

• Sometimes bracketing commas can be incorrect. It depends on whether the inserted word or phrase is “defining” or “nondefining. ” • If the clause is “defining” it does not need to presented with a pair of commas – The Highland Terriers that live on our street aren’t cute at all • If the phrase is non-defining then it does require bracket commas – The Highland Terriers, when they are barking, are a nightmare

• Bracketing commas can also change the meaning of a sentence – The people in the queue who managed to get tickets were very satisfied • In this case, it can be inferred from the absence of commas that not everyone in the queue got tickets – The people in the queue, who managed to get tickets, were very satisfied • In this case, it is implied that everyone in the queue got tickets.

Don’t Use Commas Like a Stupid Person • Be alert to potential ambiguity – The driver managed to escaped from the vehicle before I sank and swam to the river bank – Don’t guess, use a timer or watch – The convict said the judge is mad – Leonora walk on her head, a little higher than usual • The comma is also given the job of replacing and thus in headlines – UK study spurns al-Qaeda, Iraq link Mother, three sons die in far fire • The Yob’s Comma • It has no syntactical value. It is often used as a place to breathe and gather thoughts, but this use is wrong