The basics
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Comma ,
This little thing has a big importance in sentences.
1. Use a comma “,”to:
- Surround expressions that interrupt the sense of the sentence
Example:
She is, as you know, very happy.
- Surround the name or title of a person directly addressed
Example:
Could you, Frank, figure out this problem?
Yes, Professor, I will.
- Surround degrees or titles used with names
Example:
Professor Wiseman, Ph.D., is going to give some courses.
- Separate two adjectives when the conjunction "and"
can be inserted instead
Example:
She is really a nice, educated woman.
- Separate the day of the month from the year and after the year
Example:
On Monday, April 26, 1985.
On Monday, April 26, 1985, in Massachusetts.
On Thursday, 1936, in Caracas.
(Omit the comma after the year if just the month and the
year are used)
- Separate a statement from a question tag
Example:
She didn’t come, did she?
- Separate the city from the country and after
Example:
She has been living in Los Alamos,New Mexico, USA,
since 1937.
- Separate introductory words such as well, however, now,
or yes: before a main clause
Examples:
Yes, she did.
No, she cannot.
Yes, I do come as soon possible.
- Separate independent clauses when they are joined
by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions:
and, or, for, but, nor, so, yet.
Example:
She closed the window, but the bird is still whistling.
- Separate an adverb clause and the rest of the sentence
Example:
Before she comes, she had prepared the stuff.
- Separate an -ly adjective with other adjectives (not a hyphen)
Example:
He was a friendly, wise man.
- Give contrast in a sentence
Example:
The idea is yours, not mine.
- Surround parenthetical expressions
Example:
She is, we have remarked, as fit as fiddle.
- Separate the name of the speaker from the direct speech
Example:
"I didn’t see him," she said.
She said, " I didn’t see him."
- Separate a weak clause from a strong clause
Example:
I am very sorry, I cannot.
- Separate parallel structures in series (adjectives, nouns,
phrases and sentences)
Examples:
He saw a bird, a star, a cloud and a plane in the sky.
He was supposed to clean up the house, do the dishes, mow
the grass and do his homework.
- Surrounded nonessential descriptions:
(Nonessential: regarding the meaning)
Example:
The woman, who had a blue hat, left the park without her dog.
- Separate big, introductory prepositional phrases
Example:
Before the First calculator in 1642, I was difficult to do some
calculations.
- Separate introductory clauses whish use common starter
words: After, although, as, because, if, since, when, while.
Examples:
Because his car was broken down, he stayed at home.
While he was sleeping, she knocked at the door.
- Separate introductory phrases that come before the main clause
(Introductory phrases: with three or more words)
Examples:
To be nice, you should tell the true
Keeping in mind all the words, she went to introduce
herself to the group.
- Surround a contrast in the sentence
Example:
She asked him, not boldly, the question whish he
never wanted to hear.
- To prevent possible confusion or misreading wherever
necessary
Example:
To him, everything is all right.
2. Don't use a comma:
- If the subject does not appear in front of the second verb
Example:
He came yesterday and was not aware of the hurricane.
- To separate the subject from the verb
Example:
Her mother (,) was sixty-seven years old last month.
- Between the two nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses in a
compound object or compound subject
Examples:
The book I read, and the Frank’s were the same (compound subject)
She have seen her friend, and her sister didn’t care about.
- After the main clause when and before a dependent
(subordinate) clause
Example:
He was late, because his car was broken down.
- Between two verbs or verb phrases in a sentence
Example:
He bought a car last week, and lost its keys in a gas station.
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Abder. Ajaja - © - All rights reserved 2002.
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