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The SIX Basic Comma Rules

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1 The SIX Basic Comma Rules
Thanks to a great book: The LEAST You Should Know about English

2 Comma Rule #1 The Serial…Comma, not Killer…
Place a comma between items in a series as in the example below. I have my laptop, my pens, my pencils, and my MP3 Player in my backpack.

3 Comma Rule #2 The Coordinating Conjunction Comma... Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses. The coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet. For Example: The best place to take a vacation is Chicago, but the best place to take a honeymoon is Hawaii.

4 Comma Rule #3 The Introductory Word or Phrase comma…
Always place a comma after an introductory word or phrase. See below. John, what are you doing to my car? OR As I walked down the street, I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in years.

5 Comma Rule #4 The Interrupting Word/Phrase Comma…
Always place a comma before and after any word or phrase that can be removed from the sentence and still make sense. For Example: John, the teacher, wrote his name on the board. OR I ran down the street, though I didn’t have to, and fell down and hurt my crown.

6 Comma Rule #5 The Concluding Word/Phrase Comma…
Always place a comma before any word or phrase that is just tagged on at the end of the sentence. See below. Is that you in the corner, John? OR I hadn’t seen John in years, though that didn’t make much difference in our friendship.

7 Comma Rule #6 The Catch-all Comma…use it…
to separate numbers more than four digits long (1,000,000), to separate city from state, (Paris, Texas), to separate month & year (August 15, 1980), before and after titles (James Smith, M.D., is no longer working here.), or to prevent confusion (To err is human; to forgive, divine.)

8 Here’s the book…

9 Brought to you by Tim McGinn & The NWACC Writing Center


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