What Are The 8 Rules For Commas?

Commas (Eight Basic Uses)

• Use a comma to separate independent clauses.
• Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase.
• Use a comma between all items in a series.
• Use commas to set off nonrestrictive clauses.
• Use a comma to set off appositives.
• Use a comma to indicate direct address.
• Use commas to set off direct quotations.

What are the 8 rules for commas with examples?

• Commas (Eight Basic Uses)
• USE A COMMA TO SEPARATE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES.
• USE A COMMA AFTER AN INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE OR PHRASE.
• USE A COMMA BETWEEN ALL ITEMS IN A SERIES.
• USE COMMAS TO SET OFF NONRESTRICTIVE CLAUSES.
• USE A COMMA TO SET OFF APPOSITIVES.
• USE A COMMA TO INDICATE DIRECT ADDRESS.

What are the 10 rules of commas?

10 Comma Rules to Make Your Writing Flawless

• Rule 1: Comma Before FANBOYS.
• Rule 2: Comma after Dependent Clauses.
• Rule 3: After an Introductory Word or Phrase.
• Rule 4: Before Follow-up Elements.
• Rule 5: Between Items in a Series.
• Rule 6: Nonessential Interrupting Phrases and Words.
• Rule 7: With Dates and Places.

What are the rules for commas?

Comma Rules

• Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
• Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

What are the 12 comma rules?

Share

• Use a comma to separate items in a list (but beware of the serial comma).
• Use a comma to join independent clauses.
• Use a comma to join a dependent clause and an independent clause.
• Use a comma following an introductory word group.
• Use a comma to interrupt a sentence or to provide additional information.

When should I use a comma examples?

Compound Sentences Use a comma to separate the independent clauses in a compound sentence: Example: The snow started to fall heavily, so all the schools and universities closed early. The comma is optional if both independent clauses are short and the meaning is clear.

How do you use commas in English examples?

Commas customarily indicate a brief pause; they’re not as final as periods. Rule 1. Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more items. Example: My estate goes to my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and nephew.

What should you not do with a comma?

Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.

What are the three most important comma rules?

Since I made such a stink about it, let’s start with this rule:

• Use a comma between items in a series or list.
• Use a comma between two independent clauses separated by a conjunction.
• Use a comma between two adjectives preceding a noun.
• Your Mission.

What are the 4 types of commas?

There are four types of comma: the listing comma, the joining comma, the gapping comma and bracketing commas.

What is the first rule of commas?

Rule 1: Use a comma after an introductory clause.

Do I need a comma in this sentence?

Use a comma when the first word of the sentence is freestanding “yes” or “no.” Use a comma when directly addressing someone or something in a sentence. Use a comma between two adjectives that modify the same noun. Use a comma to offset negation in a sentence.

Why do people put 2 commas?

Use two commas to set off an appositive or an aside in the midst of a sentence. An appositive is a word or phrase that describes a noun it follows. An aside tells us something about the noun, but is not essential to defining the noun.

What are the 5 primary uses of a comma?

Separating the main elements of a sentence from each other. Setting off a parenthetical element from the rest of the sentence. Separating elements in a series. Setting off dialogs or quotations.

What is the 14 punctuation?

There are 14 punctuation marks that are used in the English language. They are: the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, brackets, braces, parentheses, apostrophe, quotation mark, and ellipsis.

How many commas can I use in a sentence?

1 Answer. There’s no set limit, but it has to make sense, and their use can affect the meaning.

Do you put a comma before and in a list?

When making a list, commas are the most common way to separate one list item from the next. The final two items in the list are usually separated by “and” or “or”, which should be preceeded by a comma. Amongst editors this final comma in a list is known as the “Oxford Comma”.

Do you need a comma before or in a sentence?

Should you use a comma before or? The answer depends on how you are using or. Always place a comma before or when it begins an independent clause, but if it begins a dependent clause, don’t. In a series (or list) of three or more items, you can use a comma before or, but this is a preference, not a rule.

Do you always put a comma before and?

Revised on October 31, 2022. In English, you must put a comma before “and” when it connects two independent clauses. A clause is independent when it could stand on its own as a sentence—it has its own subject and verb.

What is it called when a comma is used wrong?

If you’re one of those people whose writing gets corrected by someone else, you may sometimes get called out for using a comma where what’s technically called for is a period or a semi-colon. It’s called a comma splice (or comma fault, comma blunder, comma error, or don’t do that with a comma).

What is a comma error?

A comma error occurs when a comma is needed but is not present, or when a comma is used but is not grammatically necessary. Many people tend to use commas like salt: they sprinkle them in randomly to add flavor to their writing.