1. Commas
(Why should we care?)

5. So when do we use commas? Five main ways: Listing
Introductory Material
Extra Material
Sentences
Quotations

6. Listing Listing three or more things:
“I had eggs, toast, and orange juice.”

8. Practice! I bought apples bananas and oranges.
The rainbow is made up of red orange yellow green blue and purple.
The rainbow is made up of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

9. Introductory Material
Stuff we use to introduce the sentence
Introductory material is not a complete sentence by itself (dependent clause or phrase)
“Although he was tired, he aced his Beowulf test.”
“However, he fell asleep during the movie.”

10. Practice! When John was finished he turned in his test.
Even though Beowulf was a man he could lift the giant’s sword.
Even though Beowulf was a man, he could lift the giant’s sword.

11. Extra Material
Extra material is nonessential – if you take it out, the sentence still makes sense
Sort of like using (parentheses)
“Ms. Moore, my teacher, is really awesome.”
“Have you read The Hunger Games, a novel by Suzanne Collins?”

12. Some Relevant Definitions
Dependent clause: contains a subject and verb, but cannot stand independently
Before the teacher could see
Dependent phrase: does not contain a subject and verb and cannot stand independently
Flying through the air

13. When we put extra material between commas, it is also called an appositive—a noun or phrase that renames or identifies a noun

14. Practice! Joe is visiting Charlotte his hometown.
Math my favorite subject is easy for me.
Math, my favorite subject, is easy for me.

15. Sentences
Use a comma to separate complete sentences with a coordinating conjunction
(A complete sentence has a subject and a verb)
Conjunctions
For
And
Nor
But Or
Yet So
“I went to the store, and I saw Bill.”
“I said hi, but he didn’t see me.”
Not scary 

17. Some Relevant Vocabulary
Independent Clause: When a subject and verb are combined to express a complete thought
Billy and Bobby love Master Pizza.

18. Some Relevant Vocabulary
Comma Splice: When two independent clauses are joined by a comma
Billy and Bobby love Master Pizza, they order it every Friday. WRONG
Ways to Fix It:
Add a conjunction: Billy and Bobby love Master Pizza, and they order it every Friday.
Add a semicolon: Billy and Bobby love Master Pizza; they order it every Friday.
Break into two sentences: Billy and Bobby love Master Pizza. They order it every Friday.

19. Practice! I can do homework or I can watch TV.
My favorite food is pizza so I eat it every day.
My favorite food is pizza, so I eat it every day.

20. Quotations (the last one!!)
Introducing or defining a direct quotation
“I can’t wait to read The Canterbury Tales,” said the entire class.
“My favorite movie,” she said, “is The Avengers.”

22. Practice! My grandma said “Don’t steal my recipes!”
“The best singer” he explained “is definitely Beyoncé.”
“The best singer,” he explained, “is definitely Beyoncé.”

23. Now it’s your turn…
Complete the two activities—Include the rule in addition to correcting the sentences.
BONUS: Create one sentence for each of the five comma uses we discussed.
Listing
Introductory Material
Extra Material
Sentences
Quotations