1. Who said using Commas was difficult? Who, said, using Commas, was difficult?

2. #1: Words in a Series Separate “lists” of items: lists of nouns lists of adjectives series of phrases series of clauses I will be a bald, brawny, boring teacher. Laying on the floor, face down in a pillow, I thought about my fish Gilbert, crying my eyes out.

3. #2: FANBOYS Two independent clauses separated by a COMMA and a CONJUNCTION. IC, (conj.) IC Lauren and Heidi used to be friends, but Spencer tore them apart. See. Independent Clause.

4. FANBOYS (two ICs separated by a conjunction) For And Nor But Or Yet So Will probably see these the most! “School is almost over, and then I will be home free!! “She can’t wait to graduate, but she will miss her friends.”

5. -ING Phrases Separate all –ing phrases from the rest of the sentence. (Works similar to Introductory and Interrupter rules.) “Seeing the need for help, Jacob ran away from the situation.” “Jacob, seeing the need for help, ran away from the situation.”

6. I went to the store I went to the bank and I went to my favorite restaurant. WORDS IN A SERIES PRACTICE

7. PRACTICE Varun waltzed into the store slipped on the wet floor crashed into the egg carton display spilled yolk all over his new argyle sweater and laughed incredibly hard when it was all over.

8. WORDS IN A SERIES and – ing PRACTICE Priya noticing that the students of room 120 were in danger quickly sprang into action fighting off the aliens monsters dinosaurs and zebras that attacked.

9. FANBOYS practice I never thought I’d see the light of day again but eventually I finished all my work and could breathe easily.

10. Ashley just didn’t know which assignment to begin first so she avoided the work altogether and went on-line shopping all night instead.

11. -ING PHRASES Practice David held the mighty sword aloft chanting the mystic incantations his ancestor had passed on to him.

12. I skipped singing the songs and hymns I most enjoy into school for another exciting day.

13. The End..... Or is it?......

14. Interrupters A break in the middle of a sentence’s flow must be separated with commas: “I wish, by the way, that I was in my pajamas.” “I love, naturally, to eat whole containers of cottage cheese.”

15. There are lots of ways to break up the flow of a sentence. All sorts of words and phrases are inserted into the middle, INTERRUPTING an Independent Clause. Vicky wonders, on occasion, why people are so devoted to watching shows like “The Hills" and “The OC”. Nigel what’s-his-face a terribly hard person to impress enjoyed Mr. C’s sense of fashion and photogenic qualities. Chad Michael Murry is you know only the hottest guy to ever grace my television with his presence.

16. Participial (-ING) phrases also act as interrupters: Maggie daydreaming to herself imagined how nice it would be to own a pony and ride it on the beach. Geena pondering to herself decided that life would be much better without ponies altogether. Maggie and Geena glaring at one another secretly devised ways to tie the other’s shoe laces together without getting caught.

17. Participial (-ING) phrases also act as interrupters: Maggie, daydreaming to herself, imagined how nice it would be to own a pony and ride it on the beach. Geena, pondering to herself, decided that life would be much better without ponies altogether. Maggie and Geena, glaring at one another secretly, devised ways to tie the other’s shoe laces together without getting caught.

18. Introductory Elements Sometimes words, phrases, or Dependent Clauses begin sentences, and we want to separate these introductory elements from the rest of the sentence.

19. Some introductory words that are set off with commas: “Yes” “No” (Any Names when you’re addressing that person) Exclamations! However Therefore Nevertheless In fact On the other hand

20. Introductory Elements Special Introductory Words ABBI SAW A WUWU “Yes, Abbi did indeed see a wuwu.” “Because I am beautiful, people hate me.”

21. Any sentences that BEGINS with a Dependent ABBI Clause will separate that clause from the rest of the sentence: Although I’ve never seen Finding Nemo I still feel good about myself as a person. Whenever Monil plays Guitar Hero he rocks out to “Cliffs of Dover” on expert mode. Since no one would give me a Batman lunchbox for Christmas I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.

22. Any sentences that BEGINS with a Dependent ABBI Clause will separate that clause from the rest of the sentence: Although I’ve never seen Finding Nemo, I still feel good about myself as a person. Whenever Monil plays Guitar Hero, he rocks out to “Cliffs of Dover” on expert mode. Since no one would give me a Batman lunchbox for Christmas, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.