Comma Rules

#1. Use commas to separate 3 or more items in a series

• Use commas to separate words in a series.– We have read poems by Longfellow,

Teasdale, and Dickinson this week.NOTE: Suzie, Zack and I are going riding.

Suzie, Zack, and I are going riding.

• Use commas to separate phrases in a series.– We found seaweed in the water, on the

sand, under the rocks, and even in our shoes.

#1. Use commas to separate 3 or more items in a series

• Use commas to separate subordinate clauses and short independent clauses in a series.– We worked, we played, and we rested.

• If all items in a series are joined by and or or, do not use commas to separate them– Have you read Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer or A

Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court?

Practice

1. Carolos and Anna and Frankie ran across the park climbed over the fence and hurried to the bus stop.

2. The three states that have produced the most U.S. Presidents are Virginia Ohio and New York.

3. The school band includes clarinets saxophones trumpets tubas flutes and drums.

#2. Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives preceding a

noun• An Arabian horse is a fast, beautiful

animal.NOTE: When the final adjective is so

closely connected to the noun that the words seem to form one expression, do not use a comma before the adjective.Training a frisky colt to become a gentle, dependable riding horse takes great patience.

#2. Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives preceding a

noun• A comma should never be used between

an adjective and the noun immediately following it.

Incorrect: Mary wrote a tender, suspenseful, story.

Correct: Mary wrote a tender, suspenseful story.

Practice

1. They made a clubhouse in the empty unused storage shed.

2. This book describes the harsh isolated lives of pioneer women in Kansas.

3. What a lovely haunting melody that tune has!

4. A group of proud smiling parents watched the nervous young musicians take their places on the stage.

#3. Use a comma before and, but, or, nor, for, and yet when they join

independent clauses.

The musical comedy originated in America, and it has retained a distinctly American flavor.

Compound Sentence:Margo likes golf, but she doesn’t enjoy

archery.

Simple Sentence with Compound Verb:Margo likes golf but doesn’t enjoy archery.

Practice

• Human beings must study to become architects yet some animals build amazing structures by instinct.

• One kind of male gardener bird builds a complex structure and he decorates it carefully to attract a mate.

• This bird constructs a dome-shaped garden in a small tree and underneath the tree he lays a carpet of moss covered with brilliant tropical flowers.

#4. Use commas to set off an expression that interrupts a

sentenceA) Nonessential participial phrases and

subordinate clausesB) Appositives are usually set off by

commas.C) Words used in direct address are set off

by commas.D) Parenthetical expressions are set off by

commas

Nonessential participial phrases

Participial Phrase—A group of related words that contains a participle.

Participle—a verb form that can be used as an adjective

Two kinds of participles:1. Present participles—end in –ing2. Past participles—end in –ed, -d, or –t

The duck, seeing itself in the mirror, seemed bewildered.

Sam, riding his bike to school, crashed into a tree.The statue, built in 1992, honors war veterans.

Participles continued

The treasure, buried by pirates, lay undiscovered for centuries. [Buried (form of the verb bury) modifies the noun treasure—buried treasure.]

1. Records cracked and warped were in the old trunk.

2. Becky shouting loudly warned the pedestrian to look out for the car.

3. The spectators cheering and clapping greeted their team.

4. The children fidgeting noisily waited eagerly for recess.

Nonessential Subordinate Clauses

Subordinate Clause—Dependent clauses that cannot stand alone in a sentence.

Example:Jimmy Carter, whose full name is James

Earl Carter, prefers to be known as Jimmy.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retired from professional basketball, holds several NBA records.

Nonessential vs. Essential Phrases and Clauses

• The small turtle, crossing the street slowly, was in danger.

• Harvard College, founded in 1636, is the oldest college in the United States.

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retired from professional basketball, holds several NBA records.

• All farmers growing the new hybrid corn should have a good harvest.

• The theories developed by Einstein have changed the way people think about the universe.

• Someone who does a good deed gains more than the person for whom the deed is done.

Practice

1. Athena who ranked as an important Greek goddess protected the city of Athens.

2. Frances Perkins who served as Secretary of Labor was the first woman to hold a Cabinet position.

3. We enjoyed the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks who for years has been poet laureate of Illinois.

Appositives

A word that means the same thing as the noun it follows. It usually explains or identifies the

noun. My best friend, Nancy, is studying ballet.We’re out of our most popular flavor,

vanilla.NOTE: When the appositive is short, closely related to the noun it follows, and essential to the meaning of the sentence, no comma should be used.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes issued a statement.

Words Used in Direct Address

When someone speaks directly to another person, using that person’s name, commas precede and follow the name.

Examples:Mrs. Clarkson, I just want to get to the beach.

Can you tell me, Hazel, when the next bus is due?

Parenthetical Expressions

Words that are not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence (like words used in PARENTHESES)

EXAMPLES:To tell the truth, in my opinion, in fact, for example, however, etc.

What, in her opinion, is the best closing hour?

#5. Use a comma in certain conventional situations.

A. Use a comma to separate items in dates and addresses

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Passover begins on Wednesday, April 14, this year.My friend moved to 6448 Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois,

last year.

NOTE: If a preposition is used between items of an address, a comma is not necessary.He lives at 144 Smith Street in Moline, Illinois.

#5. Use a comma in certain conventional situations.

B. Use a comma after the salutation of a friendly letter and after the closing of any letter.

Examples:Dear Aunt Margaret,Sincerely yours,Yours truly,

Practice

1. 11687 Montana Avenue Los Angeles CA 90049

2. Monday December 2 19953. Dear Joanne4. From December 1 1995 to March 15

19965. Dresser Road at North First Street in

Lynchburg Virginia

#6. Use a comma after certain introductory elements.

• Why, you really should know that!• Well, I don’t.

Note: Words such as well, yes, no, and why are not followed by a comma if they do not interrupt the sentence; that is, if no pause follows them.

Example: Why is Rebecca early?

A) A word such as well, yes, no, and why when it begins a sentence.

B) Use a comma after a prepositional phrase, verbal phrase or adverb clause when they begin the sentence.• Forced onto the sidelines by a torn

ligament, Harris was restless and unhappy.

• When March came, the huge ice pack began to melt and break up.

#6. Use a comma after certain introductory elements (continued).

Prepositional Phrases

• A comma is used after an introductory prepositional phrase if the phrase is long or if two or more phrases appear together.– In the darkening attic room, the girls

searched for the box of old photos.– At night in the desert, the temperature

falls rapidly.

Verbal Phrases

Participial phrase– Signaling the referee for a timeout, the

coach gathered her players for a pep talk.

Infinitive Phrase (verb form that can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb)

*Most infinitives begin with the word to.– To keep your bones strong, be sure

to get regular exercise and eat foods rich in calcium.

Adverb Clauses

Adverb Clauses can appear anywhere in a sentence. When it begins a sentence, the adverb clause is followed by a comma. It tells where, when, how, why, to what extent, or under what conditions.

• When March came, the huge ice floe began to melt and break up.

• Because I had a sore throat, I could not audition for the school play.

Practice

1. Issued in 1991 this stamp honoring inventor Jan Matzeliger is part of the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series.

2. Since the Postal service began issuing the series in 1978 the stamps have become popular collectors’ items.

3. Originally picturing only government officials or national symbols U.S. stamps now feature a wide variety of people, items, and events.

Practice

4. As stamps become more varied stamp collecting becomes even more popular.

5. Because stamps portray our country's culture they fascinate many people.

6. In the United States alone more than twenty million people enjoy stamp collecting.

7. To attract collectors the Postal Service produces limited numbers of special stamps.

Practice

8. To find a valuable, rare stamp is a dream of many a collector.

9. To keep their collections from becoming too bulky, many collectors concentrate on a single topic.

10. With their treasures safely stored in albums collectors enjoy examining their first stamps as well as their most recent ones.