If you have a compound subject or a compound object in a sentence that consists of two nouns, you shouldn’t separate the parts of it using commas. I hope this helps you make more sense of commas. Commas are the bane of my life. Ultimately, it’s up to you (and your editor!) If you can master these comma rules, your writing will be neater, clearer, and perfectly acceptable to English teachers and grammar purists everywhere, no matter where they stand on the gray areas. If you feel like a comma can help to avoid confusion, use one.

When you’re describing something with two or more adjectives, you can use a comma between them if those adjectives are coordinating. But, that's beside the point. Explore the hard and fast rules for when to use commas. To conclude your comma mastery, study these examples of comma splices to learn how to avoid the common error.

She's going to leave in the morning.

Get a clear picture of when to use commas by exploring their usage through examples.

As well as helping you ensure your writing is correct, this will make you more aware of when you’re not using commas correctly.

While a period ends a sentence, a comma indicates a smaller break. However, I didn't pull the trigger. For example: The truth, in my opinion, is that we are all guilty in part. They’re also useful if you have several other commas in the sentence, to help avoid confusion. Below, you’ll find guidance for the trickiest comma questions. The non-defining subordinate clause, "which was built in 1930," gives some information about the Empire State Building, but we don't need that information to identify the building or distinguish it from any other Empire State Buildings.
It should include a comma before and after the appositive: Bob Vance, the president of Vance Refrigeration, married my coworker Phyllis. However, it is not absolutely necessary. Betty walks to work every day, talks to clients, makes appointments, eats lunch, has afternoon meetings, and walks back home. The cake mix requires flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. In general, it’s more commonly used in American English than in British English, but you’ll find that opinions vary on both sides of the Atlantic. "It's too late," she replied. Mrs. Peacock, on the other hand, did. Here, you could identify Phyllis's husband as either "Bob Vance" or "the president of Vance Refrigeration." Most of its suggestions regarding them arre wrong.

Incorrect: There were no clouds in the sky, I went for a jog. You should set this information off using a comma before and a comma after it: John went for a jog, which took half an hour, before having a long hot shower. Sometimes, you might want to include extra information within a sentence that isn’t essential to its meaning. If you're adding more information, a comma after "also" will set things up nicely. If you're writing an informal piece and starting your sentence with "but," it's best to use a comma after it. Depending on preference, you don’t have to use the final comma before “and”; however, it does work to add clarity. Words or phrases used to introduce or interrupt a sentence need a comma. A non-defining subordinate clause gives some information about a noun, but the information is not necessary for identifying that particular noun. I think I have them sussed and then a sentence comes along where I am doubting everything again. If you have more than two nouns, separate them with commas. For more on this, see Rule #8.

Comma rules can be confusing, not necessarily because they're difficult, but because people often disagree on what they are. You also use a comma to separate a dependent clause at the beginning of a sentence. But fear not! Commas can be a particularly tricky punctuation mark. Of course, always refer to your style guide, as it may have differing guidelines.
"She stopped and turned around slowly. When your clauses are independent (they could stand alone as complete sentences), it is absolutely necessary to use both the comma and the "and" before the final clause: Betty gets home at 5:30, she and her husband have dinner together, they watch TV for a few hours, and they go to bed around 11:00. The only rule here is to be consistent throughout your piece of writing.

He doesn't look for charm in a restaurant, but service. Incorrect: The rain poured down on John, and Sue. A comma is used here, because it would also make sense to say, “He’s a cheerful and kind boy”. In the second case, that comma is omitted. It's just extra information. "You had your chance.". Best summary on commas that I have seen. Copyright © 2020 LoveToKnow.

However, there are still a few gray areas.

Rule 1. In the salutation of a letter, a comma is needed after the person's name: If you're writing a formal business letter, you might substitute a colon (:) for the comma in the greeting. Writing a book, if I haven’t put you off already, is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It's helpful to know what they are so you understand where you absolutely need a comma, where you absolutely shouldn't put one, and also where you can fiddle around a bit.

But one day, dad explained that the family dog had died. They are the same person. You can use a semi-colon, or you can use a conjunction plus a comma. If you have any doubts about this fact, please check her purse. Correct: The rain and the wind battered the house.

One teacher may tell you one rule for using commas, while another may tell you the opposite, and the frustrating truth is that they're probably both right. The rules for when to use commas and when not to use them are, for the most part, firmly set.

Sometimes, writers end up inserting unnecessary commas or using commas incorrectly. Here, “bath” is acting as an adjective to modify “towel”, but it’s not coordinate with “blue”. It's a word or phrase that can be substituted for a name. While commas are normally either required or not required, there’s one key instance when you can choose whether or not to use a comma – and either option is equally correct.

whether or not you use it. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., "The time is always right to do what's right.". Most people consider it correct to include a comma after "lemons" in the example above. You'll also get three bonus ebooks completely free. When a word or phrase forms an introduction …

On the other hand, it might be best to wait until next week. For example: When I went dancing, I couldn’t get on the floor. Normally, you should put a comma between two complete sentences that are joined with a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet) that creates a single sentence with two independent clauses: Sue didn’t know whether she had enough money in her account to pay for the groceries, so she went to an ATM to check her balance. These clauses usually begin with "which" or "who” and should be separated by commas before and after the non-defining subordinate clause: The Empire State Building, which was built in 1930, is still New York's tallest building. Called the Oxford or serial comma, this final comma is a topic of hot debate, and some people prefer to leave it out. This probably the first use of commas you learned in school: separating items in a list of three or more things. If you’re finding commas particularly tricky, though, you might want to use an app like ProWritingAid (reviewed here) to help check your writing. That isn't necessarily incorrect. What Is a Comma? An appositive is similar to a non-defining subordinate clause, but it doesn't include "which" or "who." If you prefer minimal punctuation and feel the sentence is readable without it, don't use one. If you have two independent clauses, you can’t just use a comma to join them. Correct: The rain poured down on John and Sue. As for dates, a comma is required between the day of the month and the year. It should be separated from the independent clause that follows it using a comma: However, it’s normally not necessary to use a comma if the independent clause comes first: For more on this, plus an example of an instance where a comma is required after the independent clause, take a look at Subordinate Clauses and Commas. The sections in bold could be removed from the sentences completely and it would still make perfectly good sense. When listing a city and state, a comma is required to separate the two. Correct: There were no clouds in the sky, so I went for a jog. Numbers also require a comma after every third digit from the right.

These conjunctions include but, for, and, or, yet, so, nor. "Also" works in the same way. For more on coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives, check out this post. You should always put a comma immediately before a quotation: John Smith told us, “You can’t come in after ten o’clock.”. (They’re coordinating if you could place “and” between them.) But, one day, dad …

Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! There are some cases where you know you should use a comma – such as when separating items in a list – but there are other times when you might be unsure whether or not a comma is needed.


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