Commas © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

What are commas? Commas (,) are punctuation marks that separate words and word groups to help readers understand a sentence. Commas are used: to separate three or more items in a series: I am wearing a hat, gloves, and a scarf. to separate a compound sentence: two sentences joined by and, but, for, nor, or, so, or yet: I am tired every morning, but coffee wakes me up. to set off introductory words: Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go to your party. If I am correct, we won’t arrive until 7. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

What are commas? (Continued) to set off appositives and interrupters: An appositive is a phrase that renames a noun. Marta Lopez, the president of our company, will speak at the meeting. [The underlined words rename Marta Lopez.] An interrupter is a word or word group that interrupts a sentence but does not affect the meaning of the sentence. Tim, by the way, isn’t my husband. [The underlined words interrupt the sentence.] © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Adjective clauses to set off adjective clauses that can be taken out of a sentence without completely changing the meaning. (Adjective clauses begin with who, which, or that.) The Lius, who used to live in that house, moved to New Jersey. Do not use commas to set off adjective clauses essential to the meaning of a sentence. Children who see their parents read are more likely to want to read themselves. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Use of Commas to set off quoted words from the rest of a sentence: “I know what the thief looked like,” the victim said. The police officer replied, “Please tell me.” to separate the parts of an address or the day from the year in a date: They live at 254 Cherry Circle, Tyler, PA 15208. My birthday is January 5, 1983. to set off the name of someone addressed directly: Tom, can you please come here? to set off yes or no in response to a question: Yes, I like apple pie. No, I don’t like melon. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Fix the following sentence by adding commas where needed: Pete when you go to the store please buy carrots tea and coffee filters. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: Pete, when you go to the store, please buy carrots, tea, and coffee filters. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Fix the following sentence by adding commas where needed: (continued 1) I asked Bob if he would babysit but he frowned and said “No I’m busy that night.” © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 1) I asked Bob if he would babysit, but he frowned and said, “No, I’m busy that night.” © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Fix the following sentence by adding commas where needed: (continued 2) According to Steve an expert on the North Pole there is no Santa Claus. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 2) According to Steve, an expert on the North Pole, there is no Santa Claus. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Fix the following sentence by adding commas where needed: (continued 3) Yes we have pizza subs and calzones but we don’t make deliveries. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 3) Yes, we have pizza, subs, and calzones, but we don’t make deliveries. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Fix the following sentence by adding commas where needed: (continued 4) The deadline by the way is December 15 2015. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 4) The deadline, by the way, is December 15, 2015. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Fix the following sentence by adding commas where needed: (continued 5) “This is my first visit to Dallas Texas” said Rita who was born in Boise Idaho. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 5) “This is my first visit to Dallas, Texas,” said Rita, who was born in Boise, Idaho. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s