Commas
Grammar Saves Lives
Commas No price too high! No, price too high! Let’s talk turkey. Woman without her man is nothing. Woman! Without her, man is nothing.
Commas should be used to . . . separate items in a series of three or more. set off introductory and parenthetical phrases. set off appositives. set off nonrestrictive clauses. set off parts of dates and addresses. set off parts of compound and complex sentences.
Commas separate items in a series of three or more. Each item in a series can consist of one word or more than one word. Tom, Dick, and Harry all came to the party. I can’t decide if I want to sleep in, go jogging, or get started on my next essay.
Commas set off introductory and parenthetical phrases. introductory phrases—phrases that begin a sentence On Saturdays, I go to school. conjunctive adverbs and transitionals My boss wants me to work on Saturdays; however, I need to attend class. parenthetical expressions—“afterthought” words that interrupt the main sentence She, of course, has no sympathy for me.
Commas set off appositives. An appositive is a word or word group that identifies, describes, or renames a noun or pronoun. Appositives can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Place commas on either side of an appositive in the middle of a sentence. Dr. Shabazz, our math professor, is considered hard but fair.
Commas set off nonrestrictive clauses. A nonrestrictive clause is not necessary to the meaning of a sentence. You could delete it, and the sentence would still make sense. Put commas on both sides of a nonrestrictive clause when it falls in the middle of the sentence. Sandra, who is regularly late, turns in the best essays.
Commas set off parts of dates. Use commas to separate the day of the week from the month and the day of the month from the year. I got my first job on Monday, January 28,1993. When a date that includes commas falls in the middle of a sentence, place a comma after the date. August 30, 2004, was our first day of school.
Commas set off parts of addresses. Use commas in addresses to separate the street address from the city and the city from the state or country. The new restaurant is at 3020 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When an address that includes commas falls in the middle of a sentence, place a comma after the state or country. The annual gem show in Franklin, North Carolina, is world famous.
Comma summary: Use commas to . . . separate items in a series of three or more. set off introductory phrases and parenthetical phrases. set off appositives. set off nonrestrictive clauses. set off parts of dates and addresses. set off parts of compound and complex sentences.
Do NOT use commas . . . before the first element of a series or after the last. When school ends, I am going to , sleep late every Saturday, go out every Friday, and forget about commas for at least a day. Sleeping, partying, and ignoring commas , sounds pretty good to me. X X
X Do NOT use commas . . . between a subject and its verb. The computer at the end of the table , doesn’t seem to be working. X
Do NOT use commas . . . before FANBOYS when the FANBOYS are not connecting two complete sentences. Workbook exercises , and grammar are my two favorite activities. There’s nothing more exciting than getting up early in the morning , and driving to school. To check the rule, look on both sides of the FANBOYS conjunction used to see if you can make two sentences. In this case, look at the word and to see if there is a sentence on either side. If not, then no comma should be there. X X
Do NOT use commas . . . before a group of words beginning with that. We all said , that we understand commas. Please give us the test , that has the easiest questions. X X
WARNING!!! Don’t go comma crazy! Now that you know the proper uses for commas, resist the urge to use one every time you’re unsure. Don’t give in to comma-itis! Take your time; check the rules. And, finally, remember: When in doubt, leave it out!
To review comma do’s and don’ts, see Chapter 31.