By Drew Billsteinand

Ethan Ciolkevich

Common uses of Commas

1) Use a comma after an introductory word group that is not the subject of the sentence.

• Finally, the car careened to the right, endangering passers-by.

2) Use commas between items in a series.

• Three industries that have been important to New England are shipbuilding, tourism, and commercial fishing.

3) Use a comma in front of a coordinating conjunction (such as and or but) that joins two independent clauses.

• Injuries were so frequent that he began to worry, and his style of play became more cautious.

4) Add a comma between coordinative adjectives, unless they are joined by and, but do not separate cumulative adjectives with a comma.

• This brave, intelligent, persistent woman was the first female to earn a Ph.D. in psychology.

5) Use commas to set off nonessential additions to a sentence, but do not set off essential words or word groups with commas.

• Mary Shelley’s best-known novel, Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, was first published in 1818.

6) Use a comma or commas with transitional expressions, parenthetical expressions, contrasting comments, and absolute

phrases.

• Brian Wilson, for example, was unable to cope with the pressures of touring with the Beach Boys.

7) Use a comma or commas to set off words of direct address, yes and no, mild

interjections, and tag questions.

• We have finished this project, Mr. Smith, without any help from your foundation.

• Of course, if you think that’s what we should do, then we’ll do it.

8) Use a comma or commas to separate a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence.

• Irving Howe declares, “Whitman is quite realistic about the place of the self in an urban world” (261).

9) Use a comma to take the place of an omitted word or phrase or to prevent misreading.

• Under the tree he found his puppy, and under the car, his cat.

10) Use commas with parts of dates, letters, and addresses, with people’s titles, and in numbers.

• On March 4, 1931, she traveled to New York.• Dear Martha,• At Cleveland, Ohio, the river changes

direction.• Andrew Jackson received 647,276 votes in the

1828 election.

QUIZ- ADD COMMAS APPROPRIATELY!

Finally the car careened to the right, endangering passers-by.

Injuries were so frequent that he began to worry and his style of play became more cautious.

Brian Wilson for example was unable to cope with the pressures of touring with the Beach Boys.

Under the tree he found his puppy, and under the car his cat.

On March 4 1931, she traveled to New York.